Britain on Wednesday warned the Taliban against attempts to coercively seal off Afghanistan from the rest of the world and urged the militant group to keep its borders open.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said attempts by the Taliban to shut down the country could trigger a "refugee crisis" once Western forces withdrew from Kabul airport on August 31, as migrants make their way to neighbouring countries.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-agrees-to-let-afghans-leave-after-august-31-german-envoy-markus-potzel-408353" hreflang="en">Taliban agrees to let Afghans leave after August 31: German envoy Markus Potzel</a>

He noted that the Afghan border was "rugged and wide-ranging" and that efforts to isolate the country from the rest of the world would fail.

&nbsp;
<gwofw>
"If the Taliban leadership, as they were saying overnight, want to avoid the brain drain, they're not going to be able to do that by coercively blocking the border," he told Times Radio.

"You'll just see a larger flow of refugees going out and they'll have to be processed. They're not going to be able to avoid the refugee crisis by just a few roadblocks, they're not going to be able to hermetically seal the Afghan border, which is rugged and wide-ranging," he said.

During a series of interviews on Wednesday, Raab also sought to dismiss media reports of him "lounging on the beach" on holiday at the height of the Afghan crisis earlier this month.

He stressed that he had been constantly in virtual contact with the COBRA [Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms] meeting and officials to ensure the airlift of British nationals and supporters from the country. He said that the UK has evacuated more than 9,000 people from Afghanistan since August 15, including 2,000 people in the last 24 hours.

"I think it's going right the way up to the end of the calendar month," Raab said, in reference to efforts to airlift a further 4,000 people ahead of the Taliban's August 31 exit deadline. This also includes a Royal Marine veteran Paul "Pen" Farthing, who has been seeking evacuation with all the animals from his rescue shelter in the region.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/briton-to-evacuate-200-dogs-and-cats-from-his-animal-shelter-in-kabul-408364">Briton to evacuate 200 dogs and cats from his animal shelter in Kabul</a>

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had earlier said he could not prioritise animals over humans in the rescue mission but in a latest tweet he held out some hope for Farthing.

"If he arrives (at Kabul Airport) with his animals we will seek a slot for his plane. If he does not have his animals with him he and his staff can board an RAF (Royal Air Force) flight," said Wallace.

The UK and other allies, including through an emergency G7 meeting on Tuesday, had urged the US to stay beyond August 31 to allow more time for evacuation flights. But the Taliban remains staunchly opposed to any such extension and US President Joe Biden has also said the airlift had to come to an end by then because of the growing risk of an attack by the Islamic State group in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who chaired the G7 virtual meet, told reporters following the talks that the West's number one condition for releasing the frozen assets was "safe passage"&nbsp;for people fleeing the country. Last week, the US froze USD 9.5 billion in assets belonging to the central bank of Afghanistan.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-chokes-taliban-funds-freezes-95-billion-of-afghan-central-bank-406641">US chokes Taliban funds, freezes $9.5 billion of Afghan central bank</a>

"If those huge funds are going to be unfrozen eventually for use by the government and people of Afghanistan, then what we're saying is Afghanistan can't lurch back into becoming a breeding ground of terror, Afghanistan can't become a narco state, girls have got to be educated up to the age of 18," said Johnson.

"Those are important things that we value. Those are things we fought for&nbsp;years in Afghanistan, for which people in this country gave their lives. We remain committed to those values and we remain committed to Afghanistan. The No 1 condition we're insisting on is safe passage,"&nbsp;he said.

The G7 joint statement also revolves around the central concern of the safe exit of foreigners and Afghans eligible for evacuation for having supported the US-led NATO operation in the country.&nbsp;
</gwofw>

&nbsp;

Britain on Wednesday warned the Taliban against attempts to coercively seal off Afghanistan from the rest of the world and urged the militant group to keep its borders open.

Britain on Wednesday warned the Taliban against attempts to coercively seal off Afghanistan from the rest of the world and urged the militant group to keep its borders open. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said attempts by the Taliban to shut down the country could trigger a "refugee crisis" once Western forces withdrew from Kabul airport on August 31, as migrants make their way to neighbouring countries. Also read | Taliban agrees to let Afghans leave after August 31: German envoy Markus Potzel He noted that the Afghan border was "rugged and wide-ranging" and that efforts to isolate the country from the rest of the world would fail. "If the Taliban leadership, as they were saying overnight, want to avoid the brain drain, they're not going to be able to do that by coercively blocking the border," he told Times Radio. "You'll just see a larger flow of refugees going out and they'll have to be processed. They're not going to be able to avoid the refugee crisis by just a few roadblocks, they're not going to be able to hermetically seal the Afghan border, which is rugged and wide-ranging," he said. During a series of interviews on Wednesday, Raab also sought to dismiss media reports of him "lounging on the beach" on holiday at the height of the Afghan crisis earlier this month. He stressed that he had been constantly in virtual contact with the COBRA [Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms] meeting and officials to ensure the airlift of British nationals and supporters from the country. He said that the UK has evacuated more than 9,000 people from Afghanistan since August 15, including 2,000 people in the last 24 hours. "I think it's going right the way up to the end of the calendar month," Raab said, in reference to efforts to airlift a further 4,000 people ahead of the Taliban's August 31 exit deadline. This also includes a Royal Marine veteran Paul "Pen" Farthing, who has been seeking evacuation with all the animals from his rescue shelter in the region. Also read | Briton to evacuate 200 dogs and cats from his animal shelter in Kabul Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had earlier said he could not prioritise animals over humans in the rescue mission but in a latest tweet he held out some hope for Farthing. "If he arrives (at Kabul Airport) with his animals we will seek a slot for his plane. If he does not have his animals with him he and his staff can board an RAF (Royal Air Force) flight," said Wallace. The UK and other allies, including through an emergency G7 meeting on Tuesday, had urged the US to stay beyond August 31 to allow more time for evacuation flights. But the Taliban remains staunchly opposed to any such extension and US President Joe Biden has also said the airlift had to come to an end by then because of the growing risk of an attack by the Islamic State group in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who chaired the G7 virtual meet, told reporters following the talks that the West's number one condition for releasing the frozen assets was "safe passage" for people fleeing the country. Last week, the US froze USD 9.5 billion in assets belonging to the central bank of Afghanistan. Also read | US chokes Taliban funds, freezes $9.5 billion of Afghan central bank "If those huge funds are going to be unfrozen eventually for use by the government and people of Afghanistan, then what we're saying is Afghanistan can't lurch back into becoming a breeding ground of terror, Afghanistan can't become a narco state, girls have got to be educated up to the age of 18," said Johnson. "Those are important things that we value. Those are things we fought for years in Afghanistan, for which people in this country gave their lives. We remain committed to those values and we remain committed to Afghanistan. The No 1 condition we're insisting on is safe passage," he said. The G7 joint statement also revolves around the central concern of the safe exit of foreigners and Afghans eligible for evacuation for having supported the US-led NATO operation in the country.

UK warns Taliban against sealing Afghanistan off from the world

Taking aim at US president Joe Biden's Afghan policy, former President Donald Trump expressed concern that thousands of terrorists might have been flown out from Afghanistan as part of the evacuation process.

"Biden surrendered Afghanistan to terrorists and left thousands of Americans for dead by pulling out the military before our citizens," Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/joe-biden-says-us-on-pace-to-end-afghan-mission-by-august-31-408146" hreflang="en">Joe Biden says US 'on pace' to end Afghan mission by August 31</a>

"Now we are learning that out of the 26,000 people who have been evacuated, only 4,000 are Americans. You can be sure, the Taliban, who are now in complete control, didn't allow the best and brightest to board these evacuation flights."

"Instead, we can only imagine how many thousands of terrorists have been airlifted out of Afghanistan and into neighbourhoods around the world. What a terrible failure. NO VETTING. How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? We don't know!", He said.

Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, a former veteran of Afghanistan, introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives, criticizing Biden's blatant disregard for the advice of military and intelligence advisors.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/no-change-to-august-31-withdrawal-deadline-pentagons-john-kirby-408091" hreflang="en">'No change' to August 31 withdrawal deadline: Pentagon’s John Kirby</a>

He alleges that President Biden, ignored advice on the nature and speed of the Taliban offensive and that he failed to present a coherent counterterrorism or evacuation plan to the American people, and has done harm to US credibility by abandoning the US's Afghan allies.

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik cosponsored the resolution.

"President Biden has embarrassed the United States on the world stage and created the worst foreign policy blunder in our modern history," Waltz said.

Waltz said that Biden has embarrassed the United States on the world stage and has made the worst foreign policy blunder in US modern history.

As per Waltz, in order to seek a headline that he would withdraw US troops prior to the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Biden created a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/watch-taliban-evade-wions-question-on-secret-meeting-between-mullah-baradar-and-cia-chief-408084" hreflang="en">Watch | Taliban evade WION’s question on secret meeting between Mullah Baradar and CIA chief</a>

'Now, we will have shamefully given away the freedoms of Afghans, our military equipment and infrastructure, and countless other resources to the hands of Taliban terrorists because of the President's cluelessness and stubbornness,' Waltz alleged.

'Additionally, it is growing more likely by the day we will have broken our promise to thousands of Afghan allies who stood should-to-shoulder with our troops on the battlefield that have now been handed a death sentence for our failure to safely evacuate them in a timely fashion," he said.

Waltz also said that the intelligence community has repeatedly warned that Al Qaeda 3.0 will return as the Taliban have shown no signs of cutting ties with the September 11 attack perpetrators.&nbsp; &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Taking aim at US president Joe Biden's Afghan policy, former President Donald Trump expressed concern that thousands of terrorists might have been flown out from Afghanistan as part of the evacuation process.

Taking aim at US president Joe Biden's Afghan policy, former President Donald Trump expressed concern that thousands of terrorists might have been flown out from Afghanistan as part of the evacuation process. "Biden surrendered Afghanistan to terrorists and left thousands of Americans for dead by pulling out the military before our citizens," Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. Also read | Joe Biden says US 'on pace' to end Afghan mission by August 31 "Now we are learning that out of the 26,000 people who have been evacuated, only 4,000 are Americans. You can be sure, the Taliban, who are now in complete control, didn't allow the best and brightest to board these evacuation flights." "Instead, we can only imagine how many thousands of terrorists have been airlifted out of Afghanistan and into neighbourhoods around the world. What a terrible failure. NO VETTING. How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? We don't know!", He said. Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, a former veteran of Afghanistan, introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives, criticizing Biden's blatant disregard for the advice of military and intelligence advisors. Also read | 'No change' to August 31 withdrawal deadline: Pentagon’s John Kirby He alleges that President Biden, ignored advice on the nature and speed of the Taliban offensive and that he failed to present a coherent counterterrorism or evacuation plan to the American people, and has done harm to US credibility by abandoning the US's Afghan allies. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik cosponsored the resolution. "President Biden has embarrassed the United States on the world stage and created the worst foreign policy blunder in our modern history," Waltz said. Waltz said that Biden has embarrassed the United States on the world stage and has made the worst foreign policy blunder in US modern history. As per Waltz, in order to seek a headline that he would withdraw US troops prior to the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Biden created a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Also read | Watch | Taliban evade WION’s question on secret meeting between Mullah Baradar and CIA chief 'Now, we will have shamefully given away the freedoms of Afghans, our military equipment and infrastructure, and countless other resources to the hands of Taliban terrorists because of the President's cluelessness and stubbornness,' Waltz alleged. 'Additionally, it is growing more likely by the day we will have broken our promise to thousands of Afghan allies who stood should-to-shoulder with our troops on the battlefield that have now been handed a death sentence for our failure to safely evacuate them in a timely fashion," he said. Waltz also said that the intelligence community has repeatedly warned that Al Qaeda 3.0 will return as the Taliban have shown no signs of cutting ties with the September 11 attack perpetrators. (With inputs from agencies)

Trump takes aim at Biden's Afghan policy, alleges thousands of terrorists might have been airlifted out of Kabul

President Joe Biden has informed G7 leaders that the US mission in Kabul is "on pace" to end by an August 31 pullout deadline.

However, Biden has warned the deadline would depend on Taliban cooperation regarding evacuee access to Kabul airport and has ordered contingency plans to "adjust the timeline" if necessary.

Biden sent thousands of US&nbsp;troops to the Kabul airport after the Taliban militant group took over the city and much of the country less than two weeks ago.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-how-biden-misled-the-world-on-taliban-408136/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The nearly 6,000 US&nbsp;troops are helping to evacuate American citizens and at-risk Afghans and to protect the airport so other countries can evacuate their citizens as well.

Biden sent CIA Director William Burns to meet Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday in the highest level official encounter since the militant group took over the Afghan capital.

The Pentagon earlier said that it was confident the military can evacuate all Americans who want to leave. Whether thousands of at-risk Afghans would all be evacuated was unclear.

"We're absolutely still aiming towards the end of the month," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, while adding that the Pentagon may need additional bases to house evacuees from Afghanistan.

Kirby said "several thousand" Americans have been evacuated from Afghanistan but declined to give a more specific figure. He also said he was unable to provide the percentage of Americans in Afghanistan who have now been evacuated.

Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers said on Tuesday they wanted all foreign evacuations from the country completed by August&nbsp;31 and they would not agree to an extension as Group of Seven leaders met to discuss the crisis.

Western troops have been working frantically to get foreigners and Afghans onto planes and out of the country and Biden has faced growing pressure from allies to negotiate more time for the airlift.

(With inputs from agencies)

President Joe Biden has informed G7 leaders that the US mission in Kabul is "on pace" to end by an August 31 pullout deadline. However, Biden has warned the deadline would depend on Taliban cooperation regarding evacuee access to Kabul airport and has ordered contingency plans to "adjust the timeline" if necessary.

President Joe Biden has informed G7 leaders that the US mission in Kabul is "on pace" to end by an August 31 pullout deadline. However, Biden has warned the deadline would depend on Taliban cooperation regarding evacuee access to Kabul airport and has ordered contingency plans to "adjust the timeline" if necessary. Biden sent thousands of US troops to the Kabul airport after the Taliban militant group took over the city and much of the country less than two weeks ago. The nearly 6,000 US troops are helping to evacuate American citizens and at-risk Afghans and to protect the airport so other countries can evacuate their citizens as well. Biden sent CIA Director William Burns to meet Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday in the highest level official encounter since the militant group took over the Afghan capital. The Pentagon earlier said that it was confident the military can evacuate all Americans who want to leave. Whether thousands of at-risk Afghans would all be evacuated was unclear. "We're absolutely still aiming towards the end of the month," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, while adding that the Pentagon may need additional bases to house evacuees from Afghanistan. Kirby said "several thousand" Americans have been evacuated from Afghanistan but declined to give a more specific figure. He also said he was unable to provide the percentage of Americans in Afghanistan who have now been evacuated. Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers said on Tuesday they wanted all foreign evacuations from the country completed by August 31 and they would not agree to an extension as Group of Seven leaders met to discuss the crisis. Western troops have been working frantically to get foreigners and Afghans onto planes and out of the country and Biden has faced growing pressure from allies to negotiate more time for the airlift. (With inputs from agencies)

Joe Biden says US 'on pace' to end Afghan mission by August 31

Afghanistan's Taliban has appointed former Guantanamo detainee Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir as acting defense minister, Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel reported on Tuesday, citing a source in the Islamist movement.

Zakir was released from the notorious Cuba-based camp, which is run by the US, during George W Bush's Presidency in 2007.

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Arrested&nbsp;by US troops&nbsp;after their invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Zakir had&nbsp;reportedly carried the number eight while in prison.

He&nbsp;directed military operations in Helmand before taking over as the Taliban's general military commander.

Born in 1973, he is an ethnic Pashtun and a member of the Alizai tribe.

With the United States approaching the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, 75 lawmakers signed a letter saying the US Navy-run prison in&nbsp;Guantanamo&nbsp;Bay, Cuba&nbsp;was in disrepair, costly and a two-decade-old human rights embarrassment to the country.

The prison was activated in late 2001 when the United States combed the world for members and supporters of Al-Qaeda complicit in the September 11 and other attacks against US assets and facilities.

But detaining and secretly rendering hundreds of men to&nbsp;Guantanamo, subjecting many to torture, and holding them for years without charges or due process heavily tainted Washington's demands for justice after the 9/11 attacks.

Only a handful of prisoners have been charged under the military courts system set up for&nbsp;Guantanamo, and their cases have mostly ground to a halt.

The prison has become a symbol of the excesses in the "war on terror" launched after the 2001 attacks.

The United States and its allies have evacuated more than 70,000 people, including their citizens, NATO personnel and Afghans at risk, since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban swept into the capital, Kabul.

Western countries are now rushing to complete the airlift before the deadline for the withdrawal of foreign troops under an agreement struck with the Taliban last year to end America's longest war.

While the focus is now on those people trying to flee, the risk of starvation, disease, and persecution is rising for the rest of the population after the chaotic exodus from Kabul airport ends, aid agencies say.

Afghanistan's Taliban has appointed former Guantanamo detainee Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir as acting defense minister, Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel reported on Tuesday, citing a source in the Islamist movement.

Afghanistan's Taliban has appointed former Guantanamo detainee Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir as acting defense minister, Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel reported on Tuesday, citing a source in the Islamist movement. Zakir was released from the notorious Cuba-based camp, which is run by the US, during George W Bush's Presidency in 2007. Arrested by US troops after their invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Zakir had reportedly carried the number eight while in prison. He directed military operations in Helmand before taking over as the Taliban's general military commander. Born in 1973, he is an ethnic Pashtun and a member of the Alizai tribe. With the United States approaching the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, 75 lawmakers signed a letter saying the US Navy-run prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was in disrepair, costly and a two-decade-old human rights embarrassment to the country. The prison was activated in late 2001 when the United States combed the world for members and supporters of Al-Qaeda complicit in the September 11 and other attacks against US assets and facilities. But detaining and secretly rendering hundreds of men to Guantanamo, subjecting many to torture, and holding them for years without charges or due process heavily tainted Washington's demands for justice after the 9/11 attacks. Only a handful of prisoners have been charged under the military courts system set up for Guantanamo, and their cases have mostly ground to a halt. The prison has become a symbol of the excesses in the "war on terror" launched after the 2001 attacks. The United States and its allies have evacuated more than 70,000 people, including their citizens, NATO personnel and Afghans at risk, since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban swept into the capital, Kabul. Western countries are now rushing to complete the airlift before the deadline for the withdrawal of foreign troops under an agreement struck with the Taliban last year to end America's longest war. While the focus is now on those people trying to flee, the risk of starvation, disease, and persecution is rising for the rest of the population after the chaotic exodus from Kabul airport ends, aid agencies say.

Taliban appoints ex-Guantanamo detainee as acting defence minister: Report

The United Nations Human Rights Council held a special session to deal with 'serious human rights issues and situations in Afghanistan'. The special session has been convened at the official request submitted jointly by Pakistan, the Coordinator of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Afghanistan.

UN Human Rights Council holds a special session to deal with situations in Afghanistan

The world is speaking out for the Afghanistan people <a href="http://13.235.153.162/south-asia/afghanistan-founder-of-only-all-girls-school-burns-records-for-students-safety-407754">especially wome</a>n and children who are stuck in the war-torn country as the Taliban managed to seize power in the country after the USA withdrew&nbsp;their troops.&nbsp; 
 
Few days after<a href="http://13.235.153.162/entertainment/lifestyle/news-meghan-markle-prince-harry-speak-out-about-taliban-takeover-in-afghanistan-haitis-earthquake-406444"> speaking up </a>about the situations in Afghanistan and saying how they have “left heartbroken” and “speechless”, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have&nbsp;donated to the Women For Afghan Women (WAW) organisation via their Archewell Foundation.&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;The organisation posted a thank you message on social media. Sharing a graphic saying 'thank you Archwell,' alongside a caption which read:&nbsp;"We are immensely grateful for the generosity of the Archewell Foundation in support of our efforts to evacuate/relocate thousands of Afghan women, children, families, including our staff." WAW is the largest women’s organisation in Afghanistan and provide support services to women, children, and families across the country, reports.&nbsp;

The organisation kept the amount of donation money under wraps.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/angelina-jolie-to-prince-harry-celebrities-who-have-visited-war-torn-afghanistan-over-the-years-407152" hreflang="en">Angelina Jolie to Prince Harry: Celebrities who have visited war-torn Afghanistan over the years</a> 
 
The couple shared a long statement about the difficult situation not only in Afghanistan but also about calamity-stricken Haiti. 
 
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex posted a joint statement on their Archewell Foundation website encouraging followers to unite and support organizations "doing critical work" to help those in need. 
 
They wrote, "The world is exceptionally fragile right now. As we all feel the many layers of pain due to the situation in Afghanistan, we are left speechless. As we all watch the growing humanitarian disaster in Haiti, and the threat of it worsening after last weekend`s earthquake, we are left heartbroken. And as we all witness the continuing global health crisis, exacerbated by new variants and constant misinformation, we are left scared."

The world is speaking out for the Afghanistan people especially women and children who are stuck in the war-torn country as the Taliban managed to seize power in the country after the USA withdrew their troops.

The world is speaking out for the Afghanistan people especially women and children who are stuck in the war-torn country as the Taliban managed to seize power in the country after the USA withdrew their troops. Few days after speaking up about the situations in Afghanistan and saying how they have “left heartbroken” and “speechless”, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have donated to the Women For Afghan Women (WAW) organisation via their Archewell Foundation. The organisation posted a thank you message on social media. Sharing a graphic saying 'thank you Archwell,' alongside a caption which read: "We are immensely grateful for the generosity of the Archewell Foundation in support of our efforts to evacuate/relocate thousands of Afghan women, children, families, including our staff." WAW is the largest women’s organisation in Afghanistan and provide support services to women, children, and families across the country, reports. The organisation kept the amount of donation money under wraps. Angelina Jolie to Prince Harry: Celebrities who have visited war-torn Afghanistan over the years The couple shared a long statement about the difficult situation not only in Afghanistan but also about calamity-stricken Haiti. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex posted a joint statement on their Archewell Foundation website encouraging followers to unite and support organizations "doing critical work" to help those in need. They wrote, "The world is exceptionally fragile right now. As we all feel the many layers of pain due to the situation in Afghanistan, we are left speechless. As we all watch the growing humanitarian disaster in Haiti, and the threat of it worsening after last weekend`s earthquake, we are left heartbroken. And as we all witness the continuing global health crisis, exacerbated by new variants and constant misinformation, we are left scared."

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle donate to Afghan organisation amid country crisis

Two persons out of the 146 passengers who landed in Delhi from Afghanistan on Monday were found positive for COVID-19.

Speaking to ANI, Rajendra Kumar, Sub Divisional Magistrate said, "Two people coming from Afghanistan have been found COVID positive. They have been sent to LNJP Hospital."

The second batch of 146 Indian nationals who were evacuated from Afghanistan via Doha arrived in the national capital on Monday on various flights.

India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people including 329 of its nationals in three different flights.

Earlier on Saturday, government sources told ANI that India has been allowed to operate two flights per day from Kabul to evacuate its nationals stranded in Afghanistan.

Permission has been granted by the American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces, which have been controlling operations of the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the Afghan capital was taken over by the Taliban on August 15.

Hundreds of Indian nationals have to be taken out of Kabul, which is now under the Taliban's control. India is airlifting its citizens through Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Qatar.

Two persons out of the 146 passengers who landed in Delhi from Afghanistan on Monday were found positive for COVID-19. Speaking to ANI, Rajendra Kumar, Sub Divisional Magistrate said, "Two people coming from Afghanistan have been found COVID positive.

Two persons out of the 146 passengers who landed in Delhi from Afghanistan on Monday were found positive for COVID-19. Speaking to ANI, Rajendra Kumar, Sub Divisional Magistrate said, "Two people coming from Afghanistan have been found COVID positive. They have been sent to LNJP Hospital." The second batch of 146 Indian nationals who were evacuated from Afghanistan via Doha arrived in the national capital on Monday on various flights. India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people including 329 of its nationals in three different flights. Earlier on Saturday, government sources told ANI that India has been allowed to operate two flights per day from Kabul to evacuate its nationals stranded in Afghanistan. Permission has been granted by the American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces, which have been controlling operations of the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the Afghan capital was taken over by the Taliban on August 15. Hundreds of Indian nationals have to be taken out of Kabul, which is now under the Taliban's control. India is airlifting its citizens through Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Qatar.

Two passengers from Afghanistan test COVID-19 positive in New Delhi 

Spirit of sport: Afghanistan's cricket team attends training session in Kabul - see pics

Taliban swept Afghanistan in a little over a week, claiming the capital Kabul on August 15. As a result of the escalation, many Afghans have fled the war-torn country, and the US administration has rushed to evacuate its embassy workers. 
&nbsp; 
The Taliban seized a large amount of US defence equipment, including combat planes, weapons, and helicopters, during their takeover of the nation. 
&nbsp; 
The militants were shown examining lengthy lines of vehicles and unpacking packages of new guns, communications equipment, and even military drone, if videos doing the rounds are to be believed. 
&nbsp; 
According to a US official, "anything that hasn't been destroyed is now the Taliban's." 
&nbsp; 
Over the course of two decades of war, the US government invested billions of dollars to equip and train Afghan security personnel.

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/truly-sickening-kabul-skydiving-club-t-shirts-mock-afghans-who-fell-to-their-deaths-from-us-plane-407107">Truly sickening: 'Kabul skydiving club' t-shirts mock Afghans who fell to their deaths from US plane</a>

<img alt="Taliban" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ae2350ab-2060-446e-ba09-c6625c875d33" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Taliban_1.jpg" /> 
(Image: Taliban fighters and local residents sit on an Afghan National Army (ANA) Humvee vehicle along the roadside in Laghman province on August 15, 2021. Credit: AFP)

However, US weapons finding their way into the hands of Taliban troops is nothing new. 
&nbsp; 
Over the years, the rebel organisation claims to have taken American automatic rifles, grenade launchers, weapons optics, radios, humvees, and other military equipment. 
&nbsp; 
The US has spent billions of dollars equipping the Afghan military with the equipment it needs to combat the Taliban, but the military's fast capitulation means that the weapons are now fueling the militants' incredible battlefield victories.

<img alt="Taliban" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="cf3110ad-4068-4ecf-b564-46898cc7a4fc" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Taliban%20%282%29.jpg" /> 
(Image: In this picture taken on July 11, 2021 an Afghan militia fighter keeps a watch at an outpost against Taliban insurgents at Charkint district in Balkh Province. Credit: AFP)

Here's what we know about the US defence equipment left in Taliban seizure: 
&nbsp; 
According to a 2017 Government Accountability Office study, the US supplied 75,898 vehicles, 599,690 weapons, 162,643 pieces of communications equipment, 208 planes, and 16,191 pieces of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment to Afghan troops between 2003 and 2016. 
&nbsp; 
While no exact figures have been released, an official told Reuters news agency that the Taliban are thought to hold more than 2,000 armoured vehicles. 
&nbsp; 
US Humvees are among the armoured vehicles captured, as are up to 40 aircraft, including UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones.

<img alt="Taliban" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="48539244-fbf9-491b-afbe-c2611c286e99" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Taliban%20%285%29.jpg" /> 
Image: In this file photo taken on March 25, 2021 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers unload food items and petrol oil from an Afghan Air Force Black Hawk helicopter. Credit: AFP.&nbsp;The image in box shows Taliban fighters reportedly climbing on American Black Hawk helicopters Credit: Twitter/@oryxspioenkop)

Representative Michael McCaul, the senior Republican on the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "We have already seen Taliban militants armed with US-made weapons they captured from Afghan forces." 
&nbsp; 
Between 2002 and 2017, the US spent an estimated $28 billion on weapons for the Afghan military, including firearms, rockets, night-vision goggles, and even tiny drones for intelligence collection.

The US also sent aircraft like as Blackhawk helicopters, which were intended to be the Afghan force's largest edge over the Taliban and were the most obvious indication of military aid. 
&nbsp; 
According to the US Government Accountability Office, the US provided the Afghan military with 208 aircraft between 2003 and 2016.

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/armed-but-holy-afghanistan-observes-first-friday-prayers-under-taliban-rule-407325">Armed, but holy! Afghanistan observes first Friday prayers under Taliban rule</a>

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(Image: Military vehicles transferred by the US&nbsp;to the Afghan National Army in February 2021.&nbsp;Credit: Reuters)

In the past week, many of those aircraft were most useful for Afghan pilots to escape the Taliban.

Most of the high-end weaponry taken by the Taliban, including the aircraft, was not outfitted with critical US technology, according to retired US Army General Joseph Votel, who led US military operations in Afghanistan as commander of US Central Command from 2016 to 2019. 
&nbsp; 
Some of the easier-to-use weaponry and equipment, such as night-vision goggles, are causing more immediate worry. 
&nbsp; 
One legislative official said, "The capacity to function at night is a major game-changer."

Watch:

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Since 2003, the US has given at least 600,000 infantry weapons to Afghan troops, including M16 assault rifles, 162,000 pieces of communication equipment, and 16,000 night-vision goggles. Officials have stated that small weaponry captured by the Taliban, including as machine guns, mortars, and artillery pieces such as howitzers, may provide the Taliban an advantage against any resistance that might emerge in historic anti-Taliban strongholds like the Panjshir Valley northeast of Kabul.

The Pentagon has a history of misplacing weapons shipped to other countries. In 2017 and 2018, it failed to account for $715 million in materiel given to Syrian allies to combat ISIS.

A similar situation occurred in Yemen in 2015, when the Pentagon misplaced almost $500 million in military supplies.

According to current and former US officials, there is worry that the weapons might be used to murder people, captured by other terrorist organisations such as Islamic State to strike US interests in the region, or even given over to enemies like as China and Russia.

Experts believe the event demonstrates that the US needs a better mechanism to track the equipment it sends to allies.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of the videos/photos from social media

Taliban swept Afghanistan in a little over a week, claiming the capital Kabul on August 15. As a result of the escalation, many Afghans have fled the war-torn country, and the US administration has rushed to evacuate its embassy workers.

Taliban swept Afghanistan in a little over a week, claiming the capital Kabul on August 15. As a result of the escalation, many Afghans have fled the war-torn country, and the US administration has rushed to evacuate its embassy workers. The Taliban seized a large amount of US defence equipment, including combat planes, weapons, and helicopters, during their takeover of the nation. The militants were shown examining lengthy lines of vehicles and unpacking packages of new guns, communications equipment, and even military drone, if videos doing the rounds are to be believed. According to a US official, "anything that hasn't been destroyed is now the Taliban's." Over the course of two decades of war, the US government invested billions of dollars to equip and train Afghan security personnel. ALSO READ | Truly sickening: 'Kabul skydiving club' t-shirts mock Afghans who fell to their deaths from US plane (Image: Taliban fighters and local residents sit on an Afghan National Army (ANA) Humvee vehicle along the roadside in Laghman province on August 15, 2021. Credit: AFP) However, US weapons finding their way into the hands of Taliban troops is nothing new. Over the years, the rebel organisation claims to have taken American automatic rifles, grenade launchers, weapons optics, radios, humvees, and other military equipment. The US has spent billions of dollars equipping the Afghan military with the equipment it needs to combat the Taliban, but the military's fast capitulation means that the weapons are now fueling the militants' incredible battlefield victories. (Image: In this picture taken on July 11, 2021 an Afghan militia fighter keeps a watch at an outpost against Taliban insurgents at Charkint district in Balkh Province. Credit: AFP) Here's what we know about the US defence equipment left in Taliban seizure: According to a 2017 Government Accountability Office study, the US supplied 75,898 vehicles, 599,690 weapons, 162,643 pieces of communications equipment, 208 planes, and 16,191 pieces of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment to Afghan troops between 2003 and 2016. While no exact figures have been released, an official told Reuters news agency that the Taliban are thought to hold more than 2,000 armoured vehicles. US Humvees are among the armoured vehicles captured, as are up to 40 aircraft, including UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones. Image: In this file photo taken on March 25, 2021 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers unload food items and petrol oil from an Afghan Air Force Black Hawk helicopter. Credit: AFP. The image in box shows Taliban fighters reportedly climbing on American Black Hawk helicopters Credit: Twitter/@oryxspioenkop) Representative Michael McCaul, the senior Republican on the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "We have already seen Taliban militants armed with US-made weapons they captured from Afghan forces." Between 2002 and 2017, the US spent an estimated $28 billion on weapons for the Afghan military, including firearms, rockets, night-vision goggles, and even tiny drones for intelligence collection. The US also sent aircraft like as Blackhawk helicopters, which were intended to be the Afghan force's largest edge over the Taliban and were the most obvious indication of military aid. According to the US Government Accountability Office, the US provided the Afghan military with 208 aircraft between 2003 and 2016. ALSO READ | Armed, but holy! Afghanistan observes first Friday prayers under Taliban rule (Image: Military vehicles transferred by the US to the Afghan National Army in February 2021. Credit: Reuters) In the past week, many of those aircraft were most useful for Afghan pilots to escape the Taliban. Most of the high-end weaponry taken by the Taliban, including the aircraft, was not outfitted with critical US technology, according to retired US Army General Joseph Votel, who led US military operations in Afghanistan as commander of US Central Command from 2016 to 2019. Some of the easier-to-use weaponry and equipment, such as night-vision goggles, are causing more immediate worry. One legislative official said, "The capacity to function at night is a major game-changer." Watch: × Since 2003, the US has given at least 600,000 infantry weapons to Afghan troops, including M16 assault rifles, 162,000 pieces of communication equipment, and 16,000 night-vision goggles. Officials have stated that small weaponry captured by the Taliban, including as machine guns, mortars, and artillery pieces such as howitzers, may provide the Taliban an advantage against any resistance that might emerge in historic anti-Taliban strongholds like the Panjshir Valley northeast of Kabul. The Pentagon has a history of misplacing weapons shipped to other countries. In 2017 and 2018, it failed to account for $715 million in materiel given to Syrian allies to combat ISIS. A similar situation occurred in Yemen in 2015, when the Pentagon misplaced almost $500 million in military supplies. According to current and former US officials, there is worry that the weapons might be used to murder people, captured by other terrorist organisations such as Islamic State to strike US interests in the region, or even given over to enemies like as China and Russia. Experts believe the event demonstrates that the US needs a better mechanism to track the equipment it sends to allies. (With inputs from agencies) Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of the videos/photos from social media

Black Hawk choppers to armoured Humvees: Billions in US weaponry seized by Taliban

The vast majority of the world's opium and heroin comes from Afghanistan, with production and exports centred in areas controlled by the Taliban, who have taxed the drugs heavily during their 20-year insurgency.

Speaking at a first press conference since taking power, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid promised that the new government would not turn the world's leading producer of opium into a fully-fledged narco-state.

"We are assuring our countrymen and women and the international community that we will not have any narcotics produced," Mujahid told reporters in Kabul.

"From now on, nobody's going to get involved (in the heroin trade), nobody can be involved in drug smuggling."

But the anti-heroin rhetoric, like similar pledges to respect human rights and media freedom, is seen by analysts as part of efforts by the new Taliban leaders to show a more moderate face in order to secure international backing.

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In picture:&nbsp;Afghanistan's opium economy

Near-monopoly

In his premier press conference, Mujahid pleaded for "international assistance" to provide farmers with alternative crops to poppies, the source of sap that is refined into morphine and heroin.

The appeal for international aid might prompt hollow laughs from people who worked in the coalition of NATO forces, NGOs, and UN workers over the last 10 years that tried in vain to break Afghanistan's reliance on poppy farming.

The United States spent around $8.6 billion (7.4 billion euros) from 2002 to 2017 in its doomed effort to combat the drugs trade, according to a 2018 report from the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR).

Those efforts included paying farmers to grow wheat or saffron, investing in transport links, as well as spraying defoliants on crops and bombing refining facilities.

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At each step, they found themselves thwarted by Taliban fighters who controlled the main poppy-growing regions and derived hundreds of millions of dollars from the industry, according to US and Afghan government estimates.

Farmers in Taliban-controlled areas would often come under pressure to plant poppies from local warlords and fighters, investigations have found.

As a result, the country has a near-monopoly on opium and heroin, accounting for 80 to 90 percent of global output, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The amount of land planted with poppies hit a record high in 2017 and has averaged around 250,000 hectares in the last four years, roughly four times the level of the mid-1990s, UN figures show.

<img alt="F" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3b2ee4d4-41d4-406e-8272-f2d8d031ff02" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%2816%29_27.jpg" />

In picture: The opium seized and its farm-gate value in Afghanistan

Narcotics trade for survival

Widespread destruction during the war, millions uprooted from their homes, foreign aid cuts, and losses of local spending by departed US-led foreign troops are fueling an economic and humanitarian crisis that is likely to leave many destitute Afghans dependent on the narcotics trade for survival.

That dependence threatens to bring more instability as the Taliban, other armed groups, ethnic warlords, and corrupt public officials vie for drug profits and power.

Heroin production has boomed in Afghanistan in recent years, helping fund the Taliban, and experts say they will struggle to wean themselves off the profitable trade despite their promise to do so.

Some UN and US officials worry Afghanistan's slide into chaos is creating conditions for even higher illicit opiate production, a potential boon to the Taliban.

"The Taliban have counted on the Afghan opium trade as one of their main sources of income," said Cesar Gudes, the head of the Kabul office of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC). "More production brings drugs with a cheaper and more attractive price, and therefore a wider accessibility."

With the insurgents entering Kabul on Sunday, "these are the best moments in which these illicit groups tend to position themselves" to expand their business, Gudes said.

The Taliban banned poppy growing in 2000 as they sought international legitimacy, but faced a popular backlash and later mostly changed their stance, according to experts.

Despite the threats posed by Afghanistan's illicit drug business, experts noted, the United States and other nations rarely mention in public the need to address the trade - estimated by the UNODC at more than 80 per cent of global opium and heroin supplies.

Poppy cultivation soars

Afghan farmers weigh myriad factors in deciding how much poppy to plant. These range from annual precipitation and the price of wheat, the main alternative crop to poppy, to world opium and heroin prices.

Yet even during droughts and wheat shortages, when wheat prices rocket, Afghan farmers have grown poppy and extracted opium gum that is refined into morphine and heroin. In recent years, many have installed Chinese-made solar panels to power deep water wells.

Three of the last four years have seen some of Afghanistan's highest levels of opium production, according to the UNODC. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, poppy cultivation soared 37 per cent last year, it reported in May.

Illicit narcotics are "the country's largest industry except for war," said Barnett Rubin, a former State Department adviser on Afghanistan.

The estimated all-time high for opium production was set in 2017 at 9,900 tons worth some $1.4 billion in sales by farmers or roughly 7 per cent&nbsp;of Afghanistan's GDP, the UNODC reported.

When the value of drugs for export and local consumption are taken into account, along with imported precursor chemicals, the UNODC estimated the country’s overall illicit opiate economy that year at as much as $6.6 billion.

The Taliban and public officials have long been involved in the narcotics trade, experts said, although some dispute the extent of the insurgents' role and profits.

Narco-Terrorism in Afghanistan

The United Nations and Washington contend the Taliban are involved in all facets, from poppy planting, opium extraction, and trafficking to exacting "taxes" from cultivators and drug labs to charging smugglers fees for shipments bound for Africa, Europe, Canada, Russia, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia.

Some of those shipments are hurled across the heavily patrolled border to traffickers in Iran with rudimentary catapults, reported David Mansfield, a leading researcher into Afghanistan's illicit drug trade.

UN officials reported that the Taliban likely earned more than $400 million between 2018 and 2019 from the drug trade. A May 2021 US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) report quoted a US official as estimating they derive up to 60 per cent of their annual revenue from illicit narcotics.

Some experts dispute that data.

Mansfield says his field studies show the most the Taliban can earn from illicit opiates is about $40 million annually, predominantly from levies on opium production, heroin labs, and drug shipments.

The insurgents, he said, make more money exacting fees on legal imports and exports at roadside checkpoints.

Washington spent an estimated $8.6 billion between 2002 and 2017 to throttle Afghanistan's drug trade in order to deny the Taliban funds, according to a 2018 SIGAR report. Apart from poppy eradication, the United States and allies backed interdiction raids and alternative crop programs, airstrikes on suspected heroin labs, and other measures.

Those efforts "didn't really have much success," said retired US&nbsp;Army General Joseph Votel, who commanded Central Command from 2016-2019.

Instead, experts said, they stoked anger against the government in Kabul and its foreign backers – and sympathy for the Taliban - among farmers and laborers who depend on opium production to feed their families.

The Taliban learned that lesson from their ban on poppy growing in 2000, said Brookings Institution scholar Vanda Felbab-Brown.

Despite a steep decline in production, the ban ignited "a huge political storm against the Taliban and it was one reason why there were such dramatic defections after the US invasion," she said.

Therefore, experts said, it is unlikely the Taliban will prohibit poppy cultivation should they gain power.

"A future government," said Mansfield, "will need to tread carefully to avoid alienating its rural constituency and provoking resistance and violent rebellion."

'Too tied up'

The narcotics policy of the new government will affect global heroin prices, with repercussions for Western countries and their addicts, as well as Russia, Iran, Pakistan and China, all major smuggling routes but also huge markets for Afghan drugs.

In recent years, traffickers have also discovered that a plant commonly found in Afghanistan called ephedra can be used to create a key component of methamphetamine, better known as "crystal meth".

Still, spokesman Mujahid vowed Afghanistan would be a "narcotics-free country" moving forward.

It's not the first time the fundamentalist group has vowed to outlaw the trade. Production was banned in 2000, just before the group was overthrown by US-led forces.

Gretchen Peters, the American author of the book "Seeds of Terror: How Heroin Is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al-Qaeda", said the Taliban's previous ban on poppy cultivation was tactical.

"They were under immense international pressure," she said. "It was a ploy because they had so much stored up. They made a huge amount of money once the price shot up by 10 times."

"They are not going to get rid of the drug trade because they are too tied up with it."

"Afghanistan cannot survive without opium. It is simultaneously killing Afghanistan while also keeping a huge number of people alive," she said, referring to the income the industry provides to poor farmers.

Being in control of the country will offer the Taliban access to airlines, the state bureaucracy, and banks which could be used to facilitate drug smuggling and money laundering, she explained.

"I have no doubt they will exploit it."

(With inputs from agencies)

The vast majority of the world's opium and heroin comes from Afghanistan, with production and exports centred in areas controlled by the Taliban, who have taxed the drugs heavily during their 20-year insurgency.

The vast majority of the world's opium and heroin comes from Afghanistan, with production and exports centred in areas controlled by the Taliban, who have taxed the drugs heavily during their 20-year insurgency. Speaking at a first press conference since taking power, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid promised that the new government would not turn the world's leading producer of opium into a fully-fledged narco-state. "We are assuring our countrymen and women and the international community that we will not have any narcotics produced," Mujahid told reporters in Kabul. "From now on, nobody's going to get involved (in the heroin trade), nobody can be involved in drug smuggling." But the anti-heroin rhetoric, like similar pledges to respect human rights and media freedom, is seen by analysts as part of efforts by the new Taliban leaders to show a more moderate face in order to secure international backing. In picture: Afghanistan's opium economy Near-monopoly In his premier press conference, Mujahid pleaded for "international assistance" to provide farmers with alternative crops to poppies, the source of sap that is refined into morphine and heroin. The appeal for international aid might prompt hollow laughs from people who worked in the coalition of NATO forces, NGOs, and UN workers over the last 10 years that tried in vain to break Afghanistan's reliance on poppy farming. The United States spent around $8.6 billion (7.4 billion euros) from 2002 to 2017 in its doomed effort to combat the drugs trade, according to a 2018 report from the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR). Those efforts included paying farmers to grow wheat or saffron, investing in transport links, as well as spraying defoliants on crops and bombing refining facilities. At each step, they found themselves thwarted by Taliban fighters who controlled the main poppy-growing regions and derived hundreds of millions of dollars from the industry, according to US and Afghan government estimates. Farmers in Taliban-controlled areas would often come under pressure to plant poppies from local warlords and fighters, investigations have found. As a result, the country has a near-monopoly on opium and heroin, accounting for 80 to 90 percent of global output, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The amount of land planted with poppies hit a record high in 2017 and has averaged around 250,000 hectares in the last four years, roughly four times the level of the mid-1990s, UN figures show. In picture: The opium seized and its farm-gate value in Afghanistan Narcotics trade for survival Widespread destruction during the war, millions uprooted from their homes, foreign aid cuts, and losses of local spending by departed US-led foreign troops are fueling an economic and humanitarian crisis that is likely to leave many destitute Afghans dependent on the narcotics trade for survival. That dependence threatens to bring more instability as the Taliban, other armed groups, ethnic warlords, and corrupt public officials vie for drug profits and power. Heroin production has boomed in Afghanistan in recent years, helping fund the Taliban, and experts say they will struggle to wean themselves off the profitable trade despite their promise to do so. Some UN and US officials worry Afghanistan's slide into chaos is creating conditions for even higher illicit opiate production, a potential boon to the Taliban. "The Taliban have counted on the Afghan opium trade as one of their main sources of income," said Cesar Gudes, the head of the Kabul office of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC). "More production brings drugs with a cheaper and more attractive price, and therefore a wider accessibility." With the insurgents entering Kabul on Sunday, "these are the best moments in which these illicit groups tend to position themselves" to expand their business, Gudes said. The Taliban banned poppy growing in 2000 as they sought international legitimacy, but faced a popular backlash and later mostly changed their stance, according to experts. Despite the threats posed by Afghanistan's illicit drug business, experts noted, the United States and other nations rarely mention in public the need to address the trade - estimated by the UNODC at more than 80 per cent of global opium and heroin supplies. Poppy cultivation soars Afghan farmers weigh myriad factors in deciding how much poppy to plant. These range from annual precipitation and the price of wheat, the main alternative crop to poppy, to world opium and heroin prices. Yet even during droughts and wheat shortages, when wheat prices rocket, Afghan farmers have grown poppy and extracted opium gum that is refined into morphine and heroin. In recent years, many have installed Chinese-made solar panels to power deep water wells. Three of the last four years have seen some of Afghanistan's highest levels of opium production, according to the UNODC. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, poppy cultivation soared 37 per cent last year, it reported in May. Illicit narcotics are "the country's largest industry except for war," said Barnett Rubin, a former State Department adviser on Afghanistan. The estimated all-time high for opium production was set in 2017 at 9,900 tons worth some $1.4 billion in sales by farmers or roughly 7 per cent of Afghanistan's GDP, the UNODC reported. When the value of drugs for export and local consumption are taken into account, along with imported precursor chemicals, the UNODC estimated the country’s overall illicit opiate economy that year at as much as $6.6 billion. The Taliban and public officials have long been involved in the narcotics trade, experts said, although some dispute the extent of the insurgents' role and profits. Narco-Terrorism in Afghanistan The United Nations and Washington contend the Taliban are involved in all facets, from poppy planting, opium extraction, and trafficking to exacting "taxes" from cultivators and drug labs to charging smugglers fees for shipments bound for Africa, Europe, Canada, Russia, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia. Some of those shipments are hurled across the heavily patrolled border to traffickers in Iran with rudimentary catapults, reported David Mansfield, a leading researcher into Afghanistan's illicit drug trade. UN officials reported that the Taliban likely earned more than $400 million between 2018 and 2019 from the drug trade. A May 2021 US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) report quoted a US official as estimating they derive up to 60 per cent of their annual revenue from illicit narcotics. Some experts dispute that data. Mansfield says his field studies show the most the Taliban can earn from illicit opiates is about $40 million annually, predominantly from levies on opium production, heroin labs, and drug shipments. The insurgents, he said, make more money exacting fees on legal imports and exports at roadside checkpoints. Washington spent an estimated $8.6 billion between 2002 and 2017 to throttle Afghanistan's drug trade in order to deny the Taliban funds, according to a 2018 SIGAR report. Apart from poppy eradication, the United States and allies backed interdiction raids and alternative crop programs, airstrikes on suspected heroin labs, and other measures. Those efforts "didn't really have much success," said retired US Army General Joseph Votel, who commanded Central Command from 2016-2019. Instead, experts said, they stoked anger against the government in Kabul and its foreign backers – and sympathy for the Taliban - among farmers and laborers who depend on opium production to feed their families. The Taliban learned that lesson from their ban on poppy growing in 2000, said Brookings Institution scholar Vanda Felbab-Brown. Despite a steep decline in production, the ban ignited "a huge political storm against the Taliban and it was one reason why there were such dramatic defections after the US invasion," she said. Therefore, experts said, it is unlikely the Taliban will prohibit poppy cultivation should they gain power. "A future government," said Mansfield, "will need to tread carefully to avoid alienating its rural constituency and provoking resistance and violent rebellion." 'Too tied up' The narcotics policy of the new government will affect global heroin prices, with repercussions for Western countries and their addicts, as well as Russia, Iran, Pakistan and China, all major smuggling routes but also huge markets for Afghan drugs. In recent years, traffickers have also discovered that a plant commonly found in Afghanistan called ephedra can be used to create a key component of methamphetamine, better known as "crystal meth". Still, spokesman Mujahid vowed Afghanistan would be a "narcotics-free country" moving forward. It's not the first time the fundamentalist group has vowed to outlaw the trade. Production was banned in 2000, just before the group was overthrown by US-led forces. Gretchen Peters, the American author of the book "Seeds of Terror: How Heroin Is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al-Qaeda", said the Taliban's previous ban on poppy cultivation was tactical. "They were under immense international pressure," she said. "It was a ploy because they had so much stored up. They made a huge amount of money once the price shot up by 10 times." "They are not going to get rid of the drug trade because they are too tied up with it." "Afghanistan cannot survive without opium. It is simultaneously killing Afghanistan while also keeping a huge number of people alive," she said, referring to the income the industry provides to poor farmers. Being in control of the country will offer the Taliban access to airlines, the state bureaucracy, and banks which could be used to facilitate drug smuggling and money laundering, she explained. "I have no doubt they will exploit it." (With inputs from agencies)

From narco-terrorism to informal economy: The state-crime nexus of Afghanistan’s opium dilemma

Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan was spotted with the country's flag painted on his face during a match of the inaugural edition of The Hundred. The spinner, who is currently in England, recently expressed his concerns over the safety of his family back home amid political chaos in Afghanistan.&nbsp;

Rashid Khan featured for Trent Rockets during the eliminator against Southern Brave as he showed his support for Afghanistan by painting the country's flag on his face and images of the same have gone viral.&nbsp;

Recently, England skipper Kevin Pietersen revealed that Rashid Khan was worried about the situation of the country and is unable to get his family out.&nbsp;

"There's a lot of things that are happening at home. We had a long chat here on the boundary talking about it and he's worried: he can't get his family out of Afghanistan and there's a lot of things happening for him," Pietersen said on Sky Sports.

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/watch-ms-dhoni-announces-return-of-ipl-2021-in-a-never-before-seen-avatar-407355">MS Dhoni announces return of IPL 2021 in a never-before-seen avatar - &nbsp;watch</a>

See some of the viral pictures here:&nbsp;

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په نن لوبه کې د <a href="https://twitter.com/rashidkhan_19?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rashidkhan_19</a> پر مخ تور، سور او زرغون بیرغ، اتل او هیوادنۍ مینه 🇦🇫 <a href="https://t.co/8ZHpQHooKj">pic.twitter.com/8ZHpQHooKj</a>
— Afghan Cricket Association - ACA (@Afghan_cricketA) <a href="https://twitter.com/Afghan_cricketA/status/1428799381499785224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Rashid Khan has the Afghanistan flag painted on his cheeks tonight. Goes without saying, but it's remarkable that he's out there competing considering the situation back home. 🇦🇫💛<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheHundred?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheHundred</a> <a href="https://t.co/z6YNlEhFaK">pic.twitter.com/z6YNlEhFaK</a>
— Louis Sealey (@LouisSealey) <a href="https://twitter.com/LouisSealey/status/1428802872712499200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Rashid Khan with the Afghanistan flag on his cheek - good way to support the country. <a href="https://t.co/tW2zPfQsl7">pic.twitter.com/tW2zPfQsl7</a>
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) <a href="https://twitter.com/CricCrazyJohns/status/1428797928563376134?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Rashid Khan painted colours of Afghanistan Flag onto his face in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheHundred?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheHundred</a> Game <a href="https://t.co/BRJdiLIV1s">pic.twitter.com/BRJdiLIV1s</a>
— ȺղցҽӀ Ƒìɾժօʂ ❥ PrayforAFG🇦🇫 (@Srk_Rooshi) <a href="https://twitter.com/Srk_Rooshi/status/1428970090729406468?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Speculations over the future of sports in Afghanistan have been made since the Taliban took over Kabul after routing government forces. Amid the political turmoil, several athletes have opened up about the ordeals, advocating for&nbsp;a stable political environment in the country.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/sachin-tendulkar-had-a-small-weakness-against-off-spin-reveals-muttiah-muralitharan-407282">Sachin Tendulkar had a 'small weakness' against off-spin, reveals Muttiah Muralitharan</a>

Recently, the Afghanistan Cricket Board head of media operations Hikmat Hassan addressed the issue and said that the Taliban "don't have any issue or problem with cricket".&nbsp;

"The Taliban don't have any issue or problem with cricket, and they have told us that we can continue our work as planned," said Hassan as quoted by Reuters.&nbsp;

The official also said that the team should be able to play in the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October-November.&nbsp;

"We are confident we will be able to take part and will be preparing for it over the coming weeks. I don't think there will be a problem," Hassan said.&nbsp;

Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan was spotted with the country's flag painted on his face during a match of the inaugural edition of The Hundred. The spinner, who is currently in England, recently expressed his concerns over the safety of his family back home amid political chaos in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan was spotted with the country's flag painted on his face during a match of the inaugural edition of The Hundred. The spinner, who is currently in England, recently expressed his concerns over the safety of his family back home amid political chaos in Afghanistan. Rashid Khan featured for Trent Rockets during the eliminator against Southern Brave as he showed his support for Afghanistan by painting the country's flag on his face and images of the same have gone viral. Recently, England skipper Kevin Pietersen revealed that Rashid Khan was worried about the situation of the country and is unable to get his family out. "There's a lot of things that are happening at home. We had a long chat here on the boundary talking about it and he's worried: he can't get his family out of Afghanistan and there's a lot of things happening for him," Pietersen said on Sky Sports. ALSO READ | MS Dhoni announces return of IPL 2021 in a never-before-seen avatar - watch See some of the viral pictures here: په نن لوبه کې د @rashidkhan_19 پر مخ تور، سور او زرغون بیرغ، اتل او هیوادنۍ مینه 🇦🇫 pic.twitter.com/8ZHpQHooKj — Afghan Cricket Association - ACA (@Afghan_cricketA) August 20, 2021 × Rashid Khan has the Afghanistan flag painted on his cheeks tonight. Goes without saying, but it's remarkable that he's out there competing considering the situation back home. 🇦🇫💛#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/z6YNlEhFaK — Louis Sealey (@LouisSealey) August 20, 2021 × Rashid Khan with the Afghanistan flag on his cheek - good way to support the country. pic.twitter.com/tW2zPfQsl7 — Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 20, 2021 × Rashid Khan painted colours of Afghanistan Flag onto his face in #TheHundred Game pic.twitter.com/BRJdiLIV1s — ȺղցҽӀ Ƒìɾժօʂ ❥ PrayforAFG🇦🇫 (@Srk_Rooshi) August 21, 2021 × Speculations over the future of sports in Afghanistan have been made since the Taliban took over Kabul after routing government forces. Amid the political turmoil, several athletes have opened up about the ordeals, advocating for a stable political environment in the country. ALSO READ | Sachin Tendulkar had a 'small weakness' against off-spin, reveals Muttiah Muralitharan Recently, the Afghanistan Cricket Board head of media operations Hikmat Hassan addressed the issue and said that the Taliban "don't have any issue or problem with cricket". "The Taliban don't have any issue or problem with cricket, and they have told us that we can continue our work as planned," said Hassan as quoted by Reuters. The official also said that the team should be able to play in the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October-November. "We are confident we will be able to take part and will be preparing for it over the coming weeks. I don't think there will be a problem," Hassan said.

The Hundred: Rashid Khan's pictures with Afghanistan's flag painted on his face go viral

The special Afghan cell of the ministry of external affairs has been working on a war footing as it receives a number of requests from Indian nationals and Afghans keen to come to India.

The MEA had set up a special Afghanistan Cell to coordinate repatriation and other requests from Afghanistan 16, a day after Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban.

The cell works 24*7 in shifts, with each shift having 7-8 young Indian foreign service officers. More than 20 officers have been deployed in the cell. Indians and Afghans can reach out to the cell on Whatsapp, call or email. The WhatsApp number is &nbsp;+91 8010611290, +91 9599321199, +91 7042049944, the email address is SituationRoom@mea.gov.in and phone number is +91-11-49016783, +91-11-49016784, +91-11-49016785.

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Additional Numbers Added to MEA’s 24x7 Special Afghanistan Cell 
UPDATED details: 
Phone numbers: +91-11-49016783, +91-11-49016784, +91-11-49016785 
WhatsApp numbers: +91 8010611290, +91 9599321199, +91 7042049944 
Email: SituationRoom@mea.gov.in <a href="https://t.co/8anZgUysAb">https://t.co/8anZgUysAb</a>
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/1428356272697462785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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This is the 2nd such special cell formed by MEA to deal with a crisis in the last one and a half years, after a special cell on repatriation of Indians amid Covid crisis, operation Vande Bharat. The Afghan cells which work in coordination with various divisions of the ministry aim at streamlining the entire process smoothly.

So far, it is estimated that around 400-300 Indians could be there, many of them in the process of evacuation. A database has been created of the Indians who want to come back by MEA.

Indian mission in Kabul had issued four&nbsp;advisories earlier, asking Indians to leave the country as soon as possible. India is looking to get services from foreign commercial airlines, including the likes of Qatar for evacuation of its nationals.

For Afghan nationals, India has opened an e Visa system. Visa will be given after scrutiny for a period of six&nbsp;months. This is the first time, India has opened e visa for Afghans.

The special Afghan cell of the ministry of external affairs has been working on a war footing as it receives a number of requests from Indian nationals and Afghans keen to come to India.

The special Afghan cell of the ministry of external affairs has been working on a war footing as it receives a number of requests from Indian nationals and Afghans keen to come to India. The MEA had set up a special Afghanistan Cell to coordinate repatriation and other requests from Afghanistan 16, a day after Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban. The cell works 24*7 in shifts, with each shift having 7-8 young Indian foreign service officers. More than 20 officers have been deployed in the cell. Indians and Afghans can reach out to the cell on Whatsapp, call or email. The WhatsApp number is +91 8010611290, +91 9599321199, +91 7042049944, the email address is SituationRoom@mea.gov.in and phone number is +91-11-49016783, +91-11-49016784, +91-11-49016785. Additional Numbers Added to MEA’s 24x7 Special Afghanistan Cell UPDATED details: Phone numbers: +91-11-49016783, +91-11-49016784, +91-11-49016785 WhatsApp numbers: +91 8010611290, +91 9599321199, +91 7042049944 Email: SituationRoom@mea.gov.in https://t.co/8anZgUysAb — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) August 19, 2021 × This is the 2nd such special cell formed by MEA to deal with a crisis in the last one and a half years, after a special cell on repatriation of Indians amid Covid crisis, operation Vande Bharat. The Afghan cells which work in coordination with various divisions of the ministry aim at streamlining the entire process smoothly. So far, it is estimated that around 400-300 Indians could be there, many of them in the process of evacuation. A database has been created of the Indians who want to come back by MEA. Indian mission in Kabul had issued four advisories earlier, asking Indians to leave the country as soon as possible. India is looking to get services from foreign commercial airlines, including the likes of Qatar for evacuation of its nationals. For Afghan nationals, India has opened an e Visa system. Visa will be given after scrutiny for a period of six months. This is the first time, India has opened e visa for Afghans.

MEA's special Afghan cell works on a war footing to evacuate Indians

Afghan karate champion Meena Asadi pounds the heavy bag as part of her training routine, but she fears female athletes still in her homeland may have already lost their fight to compete now that the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/live-afghanistan-crisis-nato-pledges-to-speed-evacuations-as-criticism-mounts-407020">Taliban</a> are back in power.

Meena left Afghanistan when she was 12 and went to Pakistan, where she started karate training and later represented Afghanistan in the 2010 South Asian Games.

She returned to Kabul the next year and opened a fight club, but was forced to flee a second time due to violence and ended up in Indonesia with her husband and then 1-year-old daughter.

"I feel miserable. I lost my hope and the people of my country lost their hope, too," Meena told Reuters in a studio in Cisarua, a town south of Jakarta where she teaches karate to refugees who, like her, hope to resettle in a third country.&nbsp;

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/after-talibans-takeover-former-afghan-womens-football-captain-urges-players-to-burn-kits-406926">After Taliban's takeover, former Afghan women's football captain urges players to burn kits</a>

When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, their strict interpretation of Islamic law - sometimes brutally enforced - dictated that women could not work and girls could not go to school. Women had to cover their faces and be accompanied by a male relative to venture out of their homes.

With the Taliban back in Kabul, Meena is fearful of what that means for the progress made by her compatriots.

Watch: Afghan women lead anti-Taliban protests

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"All the achievement and values are destroyed, and this would be a dark moment for the people, especially for women and girls," said the 28-year-old, who is also a member of the Hazara minority.

This week, taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi had her dreams shattered of becoming Afghanistan's first female competitor at the Paralympic Games due to the turmoil in Kabul.

"Everything is finished for women athletes," said Meena, who was the sole female athlete representing Afghanistan at the 2012 South Asian Karate Championship, where she won two silver medals.

Taliban leaders have tried to reassure Afghans and the international community that girls and women would have the right to an education and to work, but Meena and others are sceptical.

"They are the extremist party, and they don't believe in human rights or rights of women," said Meena.

Already there have been reports that some women were ordered from their jobs as the Taliban advanced across Afghanistan.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

"They will never change ... they are the same Taliban."

The majority of Afghan refugees in Indonesia are Hazara, who have been targeted for decades by Sunni militants, including the Taliban and Islamic State, for their ethnicity and mostly Shi'ite religious beliefs.

Afghan karate champion Meena Asadi pounds the heavy bag as part of her training routine, but she fears female athletes still in her homeland may have already lost their fight to compete now that the Taliban are back in power.

Afghan karate champion Meena Asadi pounds the heavy bag as part of her training routine, but she fears female athletes still in her homeland may have already lost their fight to compete now that the Taliban are back in power. Meena left Afghanistan when she was 12 and went to Pakistan, where she started karate training and later represented Afghanistan in the 2010 South Asian Games. She returned to Kabul the next year and opened a fight club, but was forced to flee a second time due to violence and ended up in Indonesia with her husband and then 1-year-old daughter. "I feel miserable. I lost my hope and the people of my country lost their hope, too," Meena told Reuters in a studio in Cisarua, a town south of Jakarta where she teaches karate to refugees who, like her, hope to resettle in a third country. ALSO READ | After Taliban's takeover, former Afghan women's football captain urges players to burn kits When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, their strict interpretation of Islamic law - sometimes brutally enforced - dictated that women could not work and girls could not go to school. Women had to cover their faces and be accompanied by a male relative to venture out of their homes. With the Taliban back in Kabul, Meena is fearful of what that means for the progress made by her compatriots. Watch: Afghan women lead anti-Taliban protests × "All the achievement and values are destroyed, and this would be a dark moment for the people, especially for women and girls," said the 28-year-old, who is also a member of the Hazara minority. This week, taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi had her dreams shattered of becoming Afghanistan's first female competitor at the Paralympic Games due to the turmoil in Kabul. "Everything is finished for women athletes," said Meena, who was the sole female athlete representing Afghanistan at the 2012 South Asian Karate Championship, where she won two silver medals. Taliban leaders have tried to reassure Afghans and the international community that girls and women would have the right to an education and to work, but Meena and others are sceptical. "They are the extremist party, and they don't believe in human rights or rights of women," said Meena. Already there have been reports that some women were ordered from their jobs as the Taliban advanced across Afghanistan. "They will never change ... they are the same Taliban." The majority of Afghan refugees in Indonesia are Hazara, who have been targeted for decades by Sunni militants, including the Taliban and Islamic State, for their ethnicity and mostly Shi'ite religious beliefs.

'I feel miserable': Afghan karate champion fears it's game over for female athletes

The Taliban is intensifying a search for people who worked with the US and NATO forces, a confidential United Nations document says, despite the militants vowing no revenge against opponents.

The report, provided by the UN's threat-assessment consultants and seen by AFP - says the group has "priority lists" of individuals it wants to arrest.

<h2><a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/live-afghanistan-crisis-facebook-twitter-and-linkedin-secure-users-accounts-amid-taliban-takeover-407020">Live: Afghanistan crisis-Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn secure users' accounts amid Taliban takeover</a></h2>

Most at risk are people who had central roles in the Afghan military, police and intelligence units, according to the document.

The Taliban have been conducting "targeted&nbsp;door-to-door&nbsp;visits" of individuals they want to apprehend and their family members, the report says.

It adds that militants are also screening individuals on the way to Kabul airport and have set up checkpoints in major cities, including the capital and Jalalabad.

The document, dated Wednesday, was written by the Norwegian Center for Global Analyses, an organisation that provides intelligence to UN agencies.

"They are targeting the families of those who refuse to give themselves up, and prosecuting and punishing their families 'according to Sharia law,'" Christian Nellemann, the group's executive director, told AFP.

"We expect both individuals previously working with NATO/US forces and their allies, alongside with their family members to be exposed to torture and executions.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/heartbreaking-desperate-afghan-mothers-throw-children-over-kabul-airport-fence-in-bid-to-escape-taliban-407089">Heartbreaking: Desperate Afghan mothers throw children over Kabul airport fence in bid to escape Taliban</a>

"This will further jeopardize western intelligence services, their networks, methods and ability to counter both the Taliban, ISIS and other terrorist threats ahead," he added.

'Recruiting' informers&nbsp;

The report says the militants are "rapidly recruiting" new informers to collaborate with the Taliban regime and are expanding their lists of targets by contacting mosques and money brokers.

It reprints a letter, dated August 16, from the Taliban to an individual who worked in counterterrorism in the Afghan government.

The letter asks the person to report to Taliban officials to "provide information about the nature of your work and relationship with the British and Americans."

"If you do not report to the commission, your family members will be arrested instead, and you are responsible for this. You and your family members will be treated based on Sharia law," it says.

The Norwegian Center for Global Analyses also warned the Taliban may target or arrest remaining Westerners or other foreign personnel, including medical workers if they criticise the militants.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-call-on-afghanistans-imams-to-urge-unity-as-protests-spread-to-kabul-407074" hreflang="en">Taliban call on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity as protests spread to Kabul</a>

A UN spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the document.

The Taliban have launched a public relations blitz since sweeping back into power on Sunday, completing a stunning rout of government forces as the United States and other foreign troops withdrew following a 20-year occupation.

Among promises such as rights for women and an inclusive government, the militants have also pledged full amnesty for all who worked with the Western-backed elected Afghan government.

But Afghans have not forgotten the Taliban's ultra-conservative Islamic regime of 1996-2001, when brutal punishments, such as stoning to death for adultery, were imposed.

Tens of thousands of people have tried to flee the country since the Taliban takeover, sparking chaos at Kabul airport.

The Taliban is intensifying a search for people who worked with the US and NATO forces, a confidential United Nations document says, despite the militants vowing no revenge against opponents.

The Taliban is intensifying a search for people who worked with the US and NATO forces, a confidential United Nations document says, despite the militants vowing no revenge against opponents. The report, provided by the UN's threat-assessment consultants and seen by AFP - says the group has "priority lists" of individuals it wants to arrest. Live: Afghanistan crisis-Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn secure users' accounts amid Taliban takeover Most at risk are people who had central roles in the Afghan military, police and intelligence units, according to the document. The Taliban have been conducting "targeted door-to-door visits" of individuals they want to apprehend and their family members, the report says. It adds that militants are also screening individuals on the way to Kabul airport and have set up checkpoints in major cities, including the capital and Jalalabad. The document, dated Wednesday, was written by the Norwegian Center for Global Analyses, an organisation that provides intelligence to UN agencies. "They are targeting the families of those who refuse to give themselves up, and prosecuting and punishing their families 'according to Sharia law,'" Christian Nellemann, the group's executive director, told AFP. "We expect both individuals previously working with NATO/US forces and their allies, alongside with their family members to be exposed to torture and executions. Also read | Heartbreaking: Desperate Afghan mothers throw children over Kabul airport fence in bid to escape Taliban "This will further jeopardize western intelligence services, their networks, methods and ability to counter both the Taliban, ISIS and other terrorist threats ahead," he added. 'Recruiting' informers The report says the militants are "rapidly recruiting" new informers to collaborate with the Taliban regime and are expanding their lists of targets by contacting mosques and money brokers. It reprints a letter, dated August 16, from the Taliban to an individual who worked in counterterrorism in the Afghan government. The letter asks the person to report to Taliban officials to "provide information about the nature of your work and relationship with the British and Americans." "If you do not report to the commission, your family members will be arrested instead, and you are responsible for this. You and your family members will be treated based on Sharia law," it says. The Norwegian Center for Global Analyses also warned the Taliban may target or arrest remaining Westerners or other foreign personnel, including medical workers if they criticise the militants. Also read | Taliban call on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity as protests spread to Kabul A UN spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the document. The Taliban have launched a public relations blitz since sweeping back into power on Sunday, completing a stunning rout of government forces as the United States and other foreign troops withdrew following a 20-year occupation. Among promises such as rights for women and an inclusive government, the militants have also pledged full amnesty for all who worked with the Western-backed elected Afghan government. But Afghans have not forgotten the Taliban's ultra-conservative Islamic regime of 1996-2001, when brutal punishments, such as stoning to death for adultery, were imposed. Tens of thousands of people have tried to flee the country since the Taliban takeover, sparking chaos at Kabul airport.

Taliban 'intensifying' door-to-door search for Afghans who helped US, claims UN document

The Taliban reportedly raided the shuttered Indian Consulates in Kandahar and Herat two days ago, seizing documents from both missions.

The militants allegedly stormed into the Consulate premises and took away parked vehicles, according to reports.

After the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, four Indian consulates in Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Jalalabad were shuttered.

The Indian Embassy staffs were evacuated by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft on Tuesday, carrying back 120 Indians, including ITBP personnel, from the Kabul airport, despite the dangerous situation in Afghanistan.&nbsp;

The evacuation of surviving Indian employees was also reviewed during a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed that all necessary efforts be taken to return them.&nbsp;

The Taliban leadership claimed earlier this week that the fighters have been instructed not to enter vacant diplomatic buildings of foreign countries or to manhandle their vehicles.

The newest allegations of raids against Indian missions, on the other hand, contradict the Taliban commanders' statements.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

The Taliban reportedly raided the shuttered Indian Consulates in Kandahar and Herat two days ago, seizing documents from both missions. The militants allegedly stormed into the Consulate premises and took away parked vehicles, according to reports.

The Taliban reportedly raided the shuttered Indian Consulates in Kandahar and Herat two days ago, seizing documents from both missions. The militants allegedly stormed into the Consulate premises and took away parked vehicles, according to reports. After the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, four Indian consulates in Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Jalalabad were shuttered. The Indian Embassy staffs were evacuated by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft on Tuesday, carrying back 120 Indians, including ITBP personnel, from the Kabul airport, despite the dangerous situation in Afghanistan. The evacuation of surviving Indian employees was also reviewed during a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed that all necessary efforts be taken to return them. The Taliban leadership claimed earlier this week that the fighters have been instructed not to enter vacant diplomatic buildings of foreign countries or to manhandle their vehicles. The newest allegations of raids against Indian missions, on the other hand, contradict the Taliban commanders' statements. (With inputs from agencies)

Taliban broke into Indian consulates, took away documents and parked vehicles

The&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;called on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul.

Several people were killed when&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;militants fired on a crowd in the eastern city of Asadabad, a witness said. Another witness reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but they appeared to be&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;firing into the air.

On the day Afghanistan celebrates its independence from British control in 1919, a social media video showed a crowd of men and women in Kabul waving black, red and green national flags.

"Our flag, our identity," they shouted.

At some protests elsewhere, media reported people tearing down the&nbsp;Taliban's white flag.

A&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Some demonstrations were small, but combined with the desperate scramble of thousands of people seeking to flee the country they underline the challenge the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;face in governing.

Kabul has been largely calm, but 12 people have been killed in and around the airport, NATO and&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;officials said.

The US&nbsp;military said&nbsp;more than 5,200 American troops were guarding Kabul airport, where multiple gates to the facility are now open, while US&nbsp;fighter jets were flying over the city to ensure security for the evacuation operation for diplomats and civilians including some Afghan citizens.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said 6,000 "fully processed" people were currently at the Kabul airport and would soon be boarding planes. A source told Reuters that White House officials told a congressional briefing that the United States already had evacuated 6,741 people, including 1,792 American citizens and legal permanent residents.

The&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;swiftly conquered Afghanistan as the US&nbsp;and other foreign troops withdrew, surprising even their own leaders and leaving power vacuums in many places.

The&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;urged unity ahead of Friday prayers, calling on imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan.

Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;have presented a more moderate face, saying they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women&nbsp;within the framework of Islamic law.

When in power from 1996-2001, they severely restricted women's rights, staged public executions and blew up ancient Buddhist statues. They were ousted in a 2001 US-led invasion.

BLACKLIST

A report by a Norwegian intelligence group said the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;had begun rounding up Afghans on a blacklist&nbsp;of people linked to Afghanistan's previous administration or US-led forces that supported it. Complaints by some Afghan journalists&nbsp;have cast doubt on assurances that independent media would be allowed.

A US&nbsp;lawmaker said the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;were using files from Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, to identify Afghans who worked for the United States.

"They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up," said Representative Jason Crow, who has been leading efforts in the US&nbsp;Congress to accelerate the evacuation of American-affiliated Afghans. "I've had people send me pictures of&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;outside their apartment complexes, searching for them."

Crow voiced concern that the U.S. government may end the evacuation operation on Aug. 31, leaving more than 100,000 at-risk Afghans and family members in danger of&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;reprisals.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them from being targeted amid the&nbsp;Taliban's takeover.

It was unclear if the Asadabad casualties resulted from&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;firing or from a stampede.

"Hundreds of people came out on the streets," witness Mohammed Salim said. "At first I was scared and didn't want to go, but when I saw one of my neighbours joined in, I took out the flag I have at home. Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the&nbsp;Taliban."

Protests flared in the city of Jalalabad and in Paktia province, also in the east.

First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who said on Tuesday he was the "legitimate caretaker president" after President Ashraf Ghani fled, wrote on Twitter: "Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation."

Ahmad Massoud, son of guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by suspected al Qaeda militants in 2001, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that he is "ready to follow in my father's footsteps, with mujahideen fighters who are prepared to once again take on the&nbsp;Taliban."

LIMITED LEVERAGE

US&nbsp;President Joe Biden said the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;must decide if they want international recognition.

"Do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government? I'm not sure they do," Biden said in a TV interview.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the United States is "laser-focused" on "the potential for a terrorist attack" by a group like Islamic State amid the evacuation.

"We will get any American who wants to get to the airport and who we get in contact with who says: 'I want to get out and get on a plane,' we will make that happen," Sullivan said.

About two dozen US&nbsp;diplomats in Afghanistan sent an internal cable last month warning Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the potential fall of Kabul to the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;as US&nbsp;troops withdrew from the country, The Wall Street Journal reported.

G7 foreign ministers called for a united&nbsp;international response to prevent the crisis from worsening, in comments echoed by countries including Russia.&nbsp;China said the world should support, not pressure, Afghanistan.

A&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;official said they could not be blamed for the chaos at Kabul airport. In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was hoisted over the airport's perimeter wall and handed to a US&nbsp;soldier.

Under a pact negotiated by former President Donald Trump's administration, the United States agreed to withdraw its forces in exchange for a&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;guarantee not to attack departing foreign forces or let Afghanistan be used for terrorist attacks.

The Taliban called on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul.

The Taliban called on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul. Several people were killed when Taliban militants fired on a crowd in the eastern city of Asadabad, a witness said. Another witness reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but they appeared to be Taliban firing into the air. On the day Afghanistan celebrates its independence from British control in 1919, a social media video showed a crowd of men and women in Kabul waving black, red and green national flags. "Our flag, our identity," they shouted. At some protests elsewhere, media reported people tearing down the Taliban's white flag. A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Some demonstrations were small, but combined with the desperate scramble of thousands of people seeking to flee the country they underline the challenge the Taliban face in governing. Kabul has been largely calm, but 12 people have been killed in and around the airport, NATO and Taliban officials said. The US military said more than 5,200 American troops were guarding Kabul airport, where multiple gates to the facility are now open, while US fighter jets were flying over the city to ensure security for the evacuation operation for diplomats and civilians including some Afghan citizens. State Department spokesman Ned Price said 6,000 "fully processed" people were currently at the Kabul airport and would soon be boarding planes. A source told Reuters that White House officials told a congressional briefing that the United States already had evacuated 6,741 people, including 1,792 American citizens and legal permanent residents. The Taliban swiftly conquered Afghanistan as the US and other foreign troops withdrew, surprising even their own leaders and leaving power vacuums in many places. The Taliban urged unity ahead of Friday prayers, calling on imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan. Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban have presented a more moderate face, saying they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law. When in power from 1996-2001, they severely restricted women's rights, staged public executions and blew up ancient Buddhist statues. They were ousted in a 2001 US-led invasion. BLACKLIST A report by a Norwegian intelligence group said the Taliban had begun rounding up Afghans on a blacklist of people linked to Afghanistan's previous administration or US-led forces that supported it. Complaints by some Afghan journalists have cast doubt on assurances that independent media would be allowed. A US lawmaker said the Taliban were using files from Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, to identify Afghans who worked for the United States. "They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up," said Representative Jason Crow, who has been leading efforts in the US Congress to accelerate the evacuation of American-affiliated Afghans. "I've had people send me pictures of Taliban outside their apartment complexes, searching for them." Crow voiced concern that the U.S. government may end the evacuation operation on Aug. 31, leaving more than 100,000 at-risk Afghans and family members in danger of Taliban reprisals. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them from being targeted amid the Taliban's takeover. It was unclear if the Asadabad casualties resulted from Taliban firing or from a stampede. "Hundreds of people came out on the streets," witness Mohammed Salim said. "At first I was scared and didn't want to go, but when I saw one of my neighbours joined in, I took out the flag I have at home. Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the Taliban." Protests flared in the city of Jalalabad and in Paktia province, also in the east. First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who said on Tuesday he was the "legitimate caretaker president" after President Ashraf Ghani fled, wrote on Twitter: "Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation." Ahmad Massoud, son of guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by suspected al Qaeda militants in 2001, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that he is "ready to follow in my father's footsteps, with mujahideen fighters who are prepared to once again take on the Taliban." LIMITED LEVERAGE US President Joe Biden said the Taliban must decide if they want international recognition. "Do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government? I'm not sure they do," Biden said in a TV interview. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the United States is "laser-focused" on "the potential for a terrorist attack" by a group like Islamic State amid the evacuation. "We will get any American who wants to get to the airport and who we get in contact with who says: 'I want to get out and get on a plane,' we will make that happen," Sullivan said. About two dozen US diplomats in Afghanistan sent an internal cable last month warning Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the potential fall of Kabul to the Taliban as US troops withdrew from the country, The Wall Street Journal reported. G7 foreign ministers called for a united international response to prevent the crisis from worsening, in comments echoed by countries including Russia. China said the world should support, not pressure, Afghanistan. A Taliban official said they could not be blamed for the chaos at Kabul airport. In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was hoisted over the airport's perimeter wall and handed to a US soldier. Under a pact negotiated by former President Donald Trump's administration, the United States agreed to withdraw its forces in exchange for a Taliban guarantee not to attack departing foreign forces or let Afghanistan be used for terrorist attacks.

Taliban call on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity as protests spread to Kabul

The terrorist group Islamic State has claimed that the Taliban in Afghanistan are fake jihadists and that the group is collaborating with the US. 
 
IS has mocked the Taliban's success in Afghanistan in its official weekly publication Al-Naba, alleging that the country was simply handed over to the Islamist rival by the withdrawal of American soldiers.&nbsp; 
 
Watch | Will India recognise the Taliban in Afghanistan?

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/will-india-recognise-the-taliban-in-afghanistan-407269/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

 
The article shows a long-standing and bitter rivalry between the Islamic State and the Taliban. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/muscles-sliced-off-strangled-with-scarf-nine-men-of-the-hazara-minority-killed-by-taliban-407237">Also read | Muscles sliced off, strangled with scarf: Nine men of the Hazara minority killed by Taliban</a>

In its first statement since the Taliban took control of Kabul, the terrorist group claimed that the Afghan movement had not engaged in genuine "jihad" — or holy war — and raised doubts about its ability to impose true sharia rule in the country. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/watch-taliban-burn-down-amusement-park-in-afghanistan-406897">Watch: Taliban burn down amusement park in Afghanistan</a>

Due to ideological differences, IS has a foothold in Afghanistan's Khorasan province and is a sworn adversary of the Taliban.&nbsp;

According to one extract of the editorial, "during the Taliban's march into Kabul, we saw how the American troops and the Taliban coordinated directly, and how the evacuation procedures for thousands of Crusaders and spies continued amid strong trust between the two sides."

IS supporters are likely to begin a coordinated hashtag campaign online to promote the latest IS statement, as they have been doing for days. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/live-afghanistan-crisis-facebook-twitter-and-linkedin-secure-users-accounts-amid-taliban-takeover-407020">Live: Afghanistan crisis</a>:

IS has described the Taliban as a "Mullah Bradley" project, a reference to jihadists recruited by the US to destabilise the movement from inside.&nbsp;

It also mocked the new Taliban as a tool in the guise of Islam, which would be used by the US to mislead Muslims and combat the Islamic State's foothold in the region.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

The terrorist group Islamic State has claimed that the Taliban in Afghanistan are fake jihadists and that the group is collaborating with the US. IS has mocked the Taliban's success in Afghanistan in its official weekly publication Al-Naba, alleging that the country was simply handed over to the Islamist rival by the withdrawal of American soldiers.

The terrorist group Islamic State has claimed that the Taliban in Afghanistan are fake jihadists and that the group is collaborating with the US. IS has mocked the Taliban's success in Afghanistan in its official weekly publication Al-Naba, alleging that the country was simply handed over to the Islamist rival by the withdrawal of American soldiers. Watch | Will India recognise the Taliban in Afghanistan? The article shows a long-standing and bitter rivalry between the Islamic State and the Taliban. Also read | Muscles sliced off, strangled with scarf: Nine men of the Hazara minority killed by Taliban In its first statement since the Taliban took control of Kabul, the terrorist group claimed that the Afghan movement had not engaged in genuine "jihad" — or holy war — and raised doubts about its ability to impose true sharia rule in the country. Watch: Taliban burn down amusement park in Afghanistan Due to ideological differences, IS has a foothold in Afghanistan's Khorasan province and is a sworn adversary of the Taliban. According to one extract of the editorial, "during the Taliban's march into Kabul, we saw how the American troops and the Taliban coordinated directly, and how the evacuation procedures for thousands of Crusaders and spies continued amid strong trust between the two sides." IS supporters are likely to begin a coordinated hashtag campaign online to promote the latest IS statement, as they have been doing for days. Live: Afghanistan crisis: IS has described the Taliban as a "Mullah Bradley" project, a reference to jihadists recruited by the US to destabilise the movement from inside. It also mocked the new Taliban as a tool in the guise of Islam, which would be used by the US to mislead Muslims and combat the Islamic State's foothold in the region. (With inputs from agencies)

Taliban takeover of Afghanistan a 'US-backed conspiracy': Islamic State

The Taliban called on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul.

Several people were killed when Taliban terrorists fired on a crowd in the eastern city of Asadabad, a witness said. Another witness reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but they appeared to be Taliban firing into the air.

On the day Afghanistan celebrates its independence from British control in 1919, a social media video showed a crowd of men and women in Kabul waving black, red and green national flags.

"Our flag, our identity," they shouted.

At some protests elsewhere, the media reported people tearing down the Taliban's white flag.

A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Some demonstrations were small, but combined with the desperate scramble of thousands of people seeking to flee the country, they underline the challenge the Taliban face in governing.

Kabul has been largely calm, but 12 people have been killed in and around the airport, NATO and Taliban officials said.

The US military said more than 5,200 American troops were guarding Kabul airport, where multiple gates to the facility are now open, while US fighter jets were flying over the city to ensure security for the evacuation operation for diplomats and civilians, including some Afghan citizens.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said 6,000 "fully processed" people were currently at the Kabul airport and would soon be boarding planes. A source told Reuters that White House officials told a congressional briefing that the United States had already evacuated 6,741 people, including 1,792 American citizens and legal permanent residents.

The Taliban swiftly conquered Afghanistan as US and other foreign troops withdrew, surprising even their own leaders and leaving power vacuums in many places.

The Taliban urged unity ahead of Friday prayers, calling on imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan.

Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban have presented a more moderate face, saying they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.

When in power from 1996-2001, they severely restricted women's rights, staged public executions and blew up ancient Buddhist statues. They were ousted in a 2001 US-led invasion.

BLACKLIST

A report by a Norwegian intelligence group said the Taliban had begun rounding up Afghans on a blacklist of people linked to Afghanistan's previous administration or US-led forces that supported it. Complaints by some Afghan journalists have cast doubt on assurances that independent media would be allowed.

A US lawmaker said the Taliban were using files from Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, to identify Afghans who worked for the United States.

"They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up," said Representative Jason Crow, who has been leading efforts in the US Congress to accelerate the evacuation of American-affiliated Afghans. "I've had people send me pictures of Taliban outside their apartment complexes, searching for them."

Crow voiced concern that the US government may end the evacuation operation on Aug. 31, leaving more than 100,000 at-risk Afghans and family members in danger of Taliban reprisals.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them from being targeted amid the Taliban's takeover.

It was unclear if the Asadabad casualties resulted from Taliban firing or from a stampede.

"Hundreds of people came out on the streets," witness Mohammed Salim said. "At first I was scared and didn't want to go, but when I saw one of my neighbours joined in, I took out the flag I have at home. Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the Taliban."

Protests flared in the city of Jalalabad and in Paktia province, also in the east.

First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who said on Tuesday he was the "legitimate caretaker president" after President Ashraf Ghani fled, wrote on Twitter: "Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation."

Ahmad Massoud, son of guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by suspected al Qaeda terrorists in 2001, wrote in a Washington Post that he is "ready to follow in my father's footsteps, with mujahideen fighters who are prepared to once again take on the Taliban."

LIMITED LEVERAGE

US President Joe Biden said the Taliban must decide if they want international recognition.

"Do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government? I'm not sure they do," Biden said in TV interview.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the United States is "laser-focused" on "the potential for a terrorist attack" by a group like Islamic State amid the evacuation.

"We will get any American who wants to get to the airport and who we get in contact with who says: 'I want to get out and get on a plane,' we will make that happen," Sullivan said.

About two dozen US diplomats in Afghanistan sent an internal cable last month warning Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the potential fall of Kabul to the Taliban as US troops withdrew from the country, The Wall Street Journal reported.

G7 foreign ministers called for a united international response to prevent the crisis from worsening, in comments echoed by countries including Russia, China said the world should support, not pressure, Afghanistan.

A Taliban official said they could not be blamed for the chaos at Kabul airport. In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was hoisted over the airport's perimeter wall and handed to a US soldier.

Under a pact negotiated by former President Donald Trump's administration, the United States agreed to withdraw its forces in exchange for a Taliban guarantee not to attack departing foreign forces or let Afghanistan be used for terrorist attacks.

The Taliban called on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul. Several people were killed when Taliban terrorists fired on a crowd in the eastern city of Asadabad, a witness said. Another witness reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but they appeared to be Taliban firing into the air. On the day Afghanistan celebrates its independence from British control in 1919, a social media video showed a crowd of men and women in Kabul waving black, red and green national flags. "Our flag, our identity," they shouted. At some protests elsewhere, the media reported people tearing down the Taliban's white flag. A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Some demonstrations were small, but combined with the desperate scramble of thousands of people seeking to flee the country, they underline the challenge the Taliban face in governing. Kabul has been largely calm, but 12 people have been killed in and around the airport, NATO and Taliban officials said. The US military said more than 5,200 American troops were guarding Kabul airport, where multiple gates to the facility are now open, while US fighter jets were flying over the city to ensure security for the evacuation operation for diplomats and civilians, including some Afghan citizens. State Department spokesman Ned Price said 6,000 "fully processed" people were currently at the Kabul airport and would soon be boarding planes. A source told Reuters that White House officials told a congressional briefing that the United States had already evacuated 6,741 people, including 1,792 American citizens and legal permanent residents. The Taliban swiftly conquered Afghanistan as US and other foreign troops withdrew, surprising even their own leaders and leaving power vacuums in many places. The Taliban urged unity ahead of Friday prayers, calling on imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan. Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban have presented a more moderate face, saying they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law. When in power from 1996-2001, they severely restricted women's rights, staged public executions and blew up ancient Buddhist statues. They were ousted in a 2001 US-led invasion. BLACKLIST A report by a Norwegian intelligence group said the Taliban had begun rounding up Afghans on a blacklist of people linked to Afghanistan's previous administration or US-led forces that supported it. Complaints by some Afghan journalists have cast doubt on assurances that independent media would be allowed. A US lawmaker said the Taliban were using files from Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, to identify Afghans who worked for the United States. "They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up," said Representative Jason Crow, who has been leading efforts in the US Congress to accelerate the evacuation of American-affiliated Afghans. "I've had people send me pictures of Taliban outside their apartment complexes, searching for them." Crow voiced concern that the US government may end the evacuation operation on Aug. 31, leaving more than 100,000 at-risk Afghans and family members in danger of Taliban reprisals. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them from being targeted amid the Taliban's takeover. It was unclear if the Asadabad casualties resulted from Taliban firing or from a stampede. "Hundreds of people came out on the streets," witness Mohammed Salim said. "At first I was scared and didn't want to go, but when I saw one of my neighbours joined in, I took out the flag I have at home. Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the Taliban." Protests flared in the city of Jalalabad and in Paktia province, also in the east. First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who said on Tuesday he was the "legitimate caretaker president" after President Ashraf Ghani fled, wrote on Twitter: "Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation." Ahmad Massoud, son of guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by suspected al Qaeda terrorists in 2001, wrote in a Washington Post that he is "ready to follow in my father's footsteps, with mujahideen fighters who are prepared to once again take on the Taliban." LIMITED LEVERAGE US President Joe Biden said the Taliban must decide if they want international recognition. "Do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government? I'm not sure they do," Biden said in TV interview. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the United States is "laser-focused" on "the potential for a terrorist attack" by a group like Islamic State amid the evacuation. "We will get any American who wants to get to the airport and who we get in contact with who says: 'I want to get out and get on a plane,' we will make that happen," Sullivan said. About two dozen US diplomats in Afghanistan sent an internal cable last month warning Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the potential fall of Kabul to the Taliban as US troops withdrew from the country, The Wall Street Journal reported. G7 foreign ministers called for a united international response to prevent the crisis from worsening, in comments echoed by countries including Russia, China said the world should support, not pressure, Afghanistan. A Taliban official said they could not be blamed for the chaos at Kabul airport. In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was hoisted over the airport's perimeter wall and handed to a US soldier. Under a pact negotiated by former President Donald Trump's administration, the United States agreed to withdraw its forces in exchange for a Taliban guarantee not to attack departing foreign forces or let Afghanistan be used for terrorist attacks.

Taliban call on Afghan imams to urge unity at Friday prayers

President Joe Biden's complete pullout of US troops in Afghanistan can&nbsp;undermine Asia shift, contrary to his intent.

Biden had said it had been impossible to leave Afghanistan without chaos, as the United States pleaded with the victorious Taliban to allow safe passage for people to flee.

Amid desperate scenes at the Kabul airport where American forces are racing against the clock to evacuate tens of thousands of people,&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;stood by his decision to end the 20-year US war in Afghanistan.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-afghanistan-exit-soviets-vs-america-407005/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Kurt Campbell, the White House's top Asia adviser, declared last month that a historic change in US&nbsp;foreign policy was afoot, one that would shift US&nbsp;focus away from the Middle East to Asia, where China's growing might has cast shadows over Washington's allies.

"It will be painful, in all likelihood. We'll see some real challenges in places like&nbsp;Afghanistan," Campbell told an Asia Society webinar, a blunt assessment of what since has come to pass as the Taliban's swift takeover of the country has sparked a humanitarian crisis.

Officials argued that withdrawing from&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;would free up time and attention of senior US&nbsp;political and military leaders, as well as some military assets, to focus on the Indo-Pacific.

But experts and former officials say President Joe Biden's poorly executed troop withdrawal from&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;appears, in the near term and possibly for much longer,&nbsp;to be undermining the very goal of freeing the United States to concentrate on China, something successive presidents have sought, only to be pulled back to the Middle East.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Update on the Status of Hamid Karzai International Airport: 
 
-In the last 24 hours: 2,000 people evacuated 
-Since August 14th: 7,000 people evacuated 
-Since the end of July: 12,000 evacuated 
 
There are currently 5,200 troops on the ground and the airport is secure and open.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1428378620502872065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Contrary to the planned quick pullout, Biden has been forced to send in thousands of troops to protect the evacuation of US&nbsp;personnel and Afghans potentially subject to Taliban retribution, while the chaos has unleashed a political storm at home.

Biden has said the original August&nbsp;31 deadline for troop withdrawal now may be extended to finish the job.

Moreover, the United States was forced to move its lone aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific, the Ronald Reagan, to the Middle East in June to help with the withdrawal. As the situation in Kabul has deteriorated, jets from the carrier have been flying over the city to provide extra security.

While the redeployment may only be short-term, the need to divert the carrier from the Asia-Pacific has raised questions about the US&nbsp;ability to project power there.

US&nbsp;operations in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;are also likely to continue to consume the attention of senior officials who might otherwise have their eyes on Beijing.

"As Assistant Secretary for the Indo-Pacific, Ely Ratner has&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;in his portfolio. Where do you think his primary focus is for the next three months or longer?" said Eric Sayers, a defense policy expert at the American Enterprise Institute.

Others warn that terrorist groups will likely reestablish themselves in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;under the Taliban, raising the prospect that the United States will need to return in some fashion, much like it returned to Iraq to combat the rise of the Islamic State.&nbsp;

David Sedney, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for&nbsp;Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia, dismissed claims by US&nbsp;officials that counterterrorism operations could be conducted from outside the country as a mirage.

"No one who is serious about counterterrorism believes it," he said. "The United States is going to pay a terrible price for this at some point in the future. Another 9/11."

'Protection of others'

For Campbell, architect of former President Barack Obama's halting pivot to Asia, building US&nbsp;bona fides in the Indo-Pacific has meant making good on unfinished business and&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;was an enduring distraction.

Yet the chaotic evacuations from Kabul have evoked images of the 1975 US&nbsp;withdrawal from Vietnam, a country Vice President Kamala Harris will visit next week to push back on China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

That trip, which includes a stop in Singapore, will make her the latest in a string of senior officials to travel to Asia as part of Biden's effort to step up engagement there.

"Our strategic competitors around the world would have liked nothing more than to see us in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;for another 5, 10, 20 years dedicating even more resources to&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;while it remained in the midst of a civil war," a senior US&nbsp;official said.

But the hasty pullout following a failed 20-year project in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;appears to have shaken some of the very allies Washington hoped to bolster with its Indo-Pacific push.

In Chinese-claimed Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday responded to the chaos in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;by saying the self-ruled island had no choice but to boost its own defense.

"It is not an option for us to do nothing ourselves and rely only on the protection of others," she said.

China's state-controlled media have seized on Afghan developments, portraying US&nbsp;support for allies as fickle.

And while experts are quick to dismiss most geopolitical comparisons of&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;and Taiwan, there is a general concern that this latest blow to American prestige undermines Biden's pledge that US&nbsp;leadership was back following the isolationist tendencies of the Trump administration.

"As bin Laden said back around 2001, this is an issue of demonstrating who was the stronger horse. The US&nbsp;appears to be producing nags and mules, rather than racehorses," said Dean Cheng of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, referring to Osama bin Laden, whose orchestration of the 9/11 attacks led the United States to invade&nbsp;Afghanistan.

"Taiwan and other East Asian states will be thinking about this."

(With inputs from agencies)

President Joe Biden's complete pullout of US troops in Afghanistan can undermine Asia shift, contrary to his intent. Biden had said it had been impossible to leave Afghanistan without chaos, as the United States pleaded with the victorious Taliban to allow safe passage for people to flee.

President Joe Biden's complete pullout of US troops in Afghanistan can undermine Asia shift, contrary to his intent. Biden had said it had been impossible to leave Afghanistan without chaos, as the United States pleaded with the victorious Taliban to allow safe passage for people to flee. Amid desperate scenes at the Kabul airport where American forces are racing against the clock to evacuate tens of thousands of people, Biden stood by his decision to end the 20-year US war in Afghanistan. Kurt Campbell, the White House's top Asia adviser, declared last month that a historic change in US foreign policy was afoot, one that would shift US focus away from the Middle East to Asia, where China's growing might has cast shadows over Washington's allies. "It will be painful, in all likelihood. We'll see some real challenges in places like Afghanistan," Campbell told an Asia Society webinar, a blunt assessment of what since has come to pass as the Taliban's swift takeover of the country has sparked a humanitarian crisis. Officials argued that withdrawing from Afghanistan would free up time and attention of senior US political and military leaders, as well as some military assets, to focus on the Indo-Pacific. But experts and former officials say President Joe Biden's poorly executed troop withdrawal from Afghanistan appears, in the near term and possibly for much longer, to be undermining the very goal of freeing the United States to concentrate on China, something successive presidents have sought, only to be pulled back to the Middle East. Update on the Status of Hamid Karzai International Airport: -In the last 24 hours: 2,000 people evacuated -Since August 14th: 7,000 people evacuated -Since the end of July: 12,000 evacuated There are currently 5,200 troops on the ground and the airport is secure and open. — The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 19, 2021 × Contrary to the planned quick pullout, Biden has been forced to send in thousands of troops to protect the evacuation of US personnel and Afghans potentially subject to Taliban retribution, while the chaos has unleashed a political storm at home. Biden has said the original August 31 deadline for troop withdrawal now may be extended to finish the job. Moreover, the United States was forced to move its lone aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific, the Ronald Reagan, to the Middle East in June to help with the withdrawal. As the situation in Kabul has deteriorated, jets from the carrier have been flying over the city to provide extra security. While the redeployment may only be short-term, the need to divert the carrier from the Asia-Pacific has raised questions about the US ability to project power there. US operations in Afghanistan are also likely to continue to consume the attention of senior officials who might otherwise have their eyes on Beijing. "As Assistant Secretary for the Indo-Pacific, Ely Ratner has Afghanistan in his portfolio. Where do you think his primary focus is for the next three months or longer?" said Eric Sayers, a defense policy expert at the American Enterprise Institute. Others warn that terrorist groups will likely reestablish themselves in Afghanistan under the Taliban, raising the prospect that the United States will need to return in some fashion, much like it returned to Iraq to combat the rise of the Islamic State. David Sedney, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia, dismissed claims by US officials that counterterrorism operations could be conducted from outside the country as a mirage. "No one who is serious about counterterrorism believes it," he said. "The United States is going to pay a terrible price for this at some point in the future. Another 9/11." 'Protection of others' For Campbell, architect of former President Barack Obama's halting pivot to Asia, building US bona fides in the Indo-Pacific has meant making good on unfinished business and Afghanistan was an enduring distraction. Yet the chaotic evacuations from Kabul have evoked images of the 1975 US withdrawal from Vietnam, a country Vice President Kamala Harris will visit next week to push back on China's territorial claims in the South China Sea. That trip, which includes a stop in Singapore, will make her the latest in a string of senior officials to travel to Asia as part of Biden's effort to step up engagement there. "Our strategic competitors around the world would have liked nothing more than to see us in Afghanistan for another 5, 10, 20 years dedicating even more resources to Afghanistan while it remained in the midst of a civil war," a senior US official said. But the hasty pullout following a failed 20-year project in Afghanistan appears to have shaken some of the very allies Washington hoped to bolster with its Indo-Pacific push. In Chinese-claimed Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday responded to the chaos in Afghanistan by saying the self-ruled island had no choice but to boost its own defense. "It is not an option for us to do nothing ourselves and rely only on the protection of others," she said. China's state-controlled media have seized on Afghan developments, portraying US support for allies as fickle. And while experts are quick to dismiss most geopolitical comparisons of Afghanistan and Taiwan, there is a general concern that this latest blow to American prestige undermines Biden's pledge that US leadership was back following the isolationist tendencies of the Trump administration. "As bin Laden said back around 2001, this is an issue of demonstrating who was the stronger horse. The US appears to be producing nags and mules, rather than racehorses," said Dean Cheng of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, referring to Osama bin Laden, whose orchestration of the 9/11 attacks led the United States to invade Afghanistan. "Taiwan and other East Asian states will be thinking about this." (With inputs from agencies)

Can US President Joe Biden's Afghan pullout undermine Asia shift?

Netizens are slamming sickening new T-shirts being sold online that mock Afghans who plummeted to their deaths from departing US jets in Kabul.

Tens of thousands of people have tried to flee Afghanistan since the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;swept into the capital Kabul on Sunday, completing a stunning rout of government forces in a matter of days.

The tasteless T-shirts being sold online for&nbsp;£12 feature the slogan 'Kabul Skydiving Club, Est 2021' next to silhouettes of a C-17 plane and the falling stowaways.

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The company behind the clothing says it aims to produce clothing which 'catch the latest trend.'

Social media users drew attention to the offensive T-shirts and sales listings on Twitter.

While several were hosted by niche e-commerce sites, one was being sold via a link on Etsy, which serves as a platform for independent sellers to run their own shops. The listing was taken down after people expressed their disapproval and anger.

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Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/Etsy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Etsy</a> why do you allow sellers to sell inhumane products like this making fun of people dying? How do I report this seller? <a href="https://t.co/FBHa1yBeIm">pic.twitter.com/FBHa1yBeIm</a>
— Who wants to know #SaveSilwan #SaveSheikhJarrah (@moreyahyaplease) <a href="https://twitter.com/moreyahyaplease/status/1428125425490808835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/Etsy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Etsy</a> what are you doing about this? This is disgusting.
— Mαrωα 🥀 (@MarwaBalkar) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarwaBalkar/status/1428200567130660871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/Etsy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Etsy</a> is this acceptable merch?
— Z (@zohrasool) <a href="https://twitter.com/zohrasool/status/1428207794747023365?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Fully agree…disgusting way of making money…really despicable however, who in 2021 can ever think it’s a good idea to hang on a plane…seriously….humanity has a loooong way to go.
— Ciro (@dimman76) <a href="https://twitter.com/dimman76/status/1428430950623551495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Thousands of people desperate to flee Afghanistan thronged Kabul's airport after the Taliban seized the capital, prompting the United States to pause evacuations, as President Joe Biden confronted mounting criticism over the US&nbsp;withdrawal.

Chaotic scenes at the airport included a group clinging to a US&nbsp;military transport plane as it taxied on the single runway. One person appeared to fall from the plane during takeoff, according to television footage.

US&nbsp;troops fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way onto a military flight evacuating US diplomats and embassy staff, a US&nbsp;official said.

At least five people were reported killed, although a witness said it was unclear if they had been shot or killed in a stampede.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;are edging towards establishing a government, with co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar returning from exile and other senior figures meeting ex-president Hamid Karzai and other former government officials.

Memories of the&nbsp;Taliban's brutal regime of the 1990s,&nbsp;which saw music and television banned, people stoned to death, and women confined to their homes,&nbsp;have caused panic about what lies ahead for Afghans.

The Taliban's rapid conquest of Kabul followed Biden's decision to withdraw US&nbsp;forces after 20 years of war,&nbsp;the nation's longest,&nbsp;that he described as costing more than $1 trillion.

Netizens are slamming sickening new T-shirts being sold online that mock Afghans who plummeted to their deaths from departing US jets in Kabul. Tens of thousands of people have tried to flee Afghanistan since the Taliban swept into the capital Kabul on Sunday, completing a stunning rout of government forces in a matter of days.

Netizens are slamming sickening new T-shirts being sold online that mock Afghans who plummeted to their deaths from departing US jets in Kabul. Tens of thousands of people have tried to flee Afghanistan since the Taliban swept into the capital Kabul on Sunday, completing a stunning rout of government forces in a matter of days. The tasteless T-shirts being sold online for £12 feature the slogan 'Kabul Skydiving Club, Est 2021' next to silhouettes of a C-17 plane and the falling stowaways. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WION (@wionews) The company behind the clothing says it aims to produce clothing which 'catch the latest trend.' Social media users drew attention to the offensive T-shirts and sales listings on Twitter. While several were hosted by niche e-commerce sites, one was being sold via a link on Etsy, which serves as a platform for independent sellers to run their own shops. The listing was taken down after people expressed their disapproval and anger. Hey @Etsy why do you allow sellers to sell inhumane products like this making fun of people dying? How do I report this seller? pic.twitter.com/FBHa1yBeIm — Who wants to know #SaveSilwan #SaveSheikhJarrah (@moreyahyaplease) August 18, 2021 × @Etsy what are you doing about this? This is disgusting. — Mαrωα 🥀 (@MarwaBalkar) August 19, 2021 × @Etsy is this acceptable merch? — Z (@zohrasool) August 19, 2021 × Fully agree…disgusting way of making money…really despicable however, who in 2021 can ever think it’s a good idea to hang on a plane…seriously….humanity has a loooong way to go. — Ciro (@dimman76) August 19, 2021 × Thousands of people desperate to flee Afghanistan thronged Kabul's airport after the Taliban seized the capital, prompting the United States to pause evacuations, as President Joe Biden confronted mounting criticism over the US withdrawal. Chaotic scenes at the airport included a group clinging to a US military transport plane as it taxied on the single runway. One person appeared to fall from the plane during takeoff, according to television footage. US troops fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way onto a military flight evacuating US diplomats and embassy staff, a US official said. At least five people were reported killed, although a witness said it was unclear if they had been shot or killed in a stampede. The Taliban are edging towards establishing a government, with co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar returning from exile and other senior figures meeting ex-president Hamid Karzai and other former government officials. Memories of the Taliban's brutal regime of the 1990s, which saw music and television banned, people stoned to death, and women confined to their homes, have caused panic about what lies ahead for Afghans. The Taliban's rapid conquest of Kabul followed Biden's decision to withdraw US forces after 20 years of war, the nation's longest, that he described as costing more than $1 trillion.

Truly sickening: 'Kabul skydiving club' t-shirts mock Afghans who fell to their deaths from US plane

The future of sports in Afghanistan remains uncertain — especially the participation of women since the Taliban took over Kabul after routing government forces in order to end two decades of war.&nbsp;

From Paralympics to football, female athletes have opened up on the current situation in Afghanistan and how it might impact their future.&nbsp;

Recently, the Afghanistan Cricket Board head of media operations Hikmat Hassan also weighed in on the same and said that the Taliban "don't have any issue or problem with cricket" but the fate of women's cricket programmes, however, remains unclear.&nbsp;

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/i-feel-miserable-afghan-karate-champion-fears-its-game-over-for-female-athletes-407109">'I feel miserable': Afghan karate champion fears it's game over for female athletes</a>

<img alt="Hikmat Hassan" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d7212676-d34a-49e5-9447-668f9f35e27b" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/ffff.PNG" />

"The Taliban don't have any issue or problem with cricket, and they have told us that we can continue our work as planned," said Hassan as quoted by Reuters. He added that the team was ready for three one day matches against Pakistan next month.&nbsp;

"We have completed our two training camps in Kabul and we have sponsors, a production team, and even the kit ready."

Amid the ongoing political crisis, the board has confirmed a one-day series against Pakistan will go ahead in Sri Lanka next month and said it was expanding the "Shpageeza" Twenty20 league competition.

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Hindukush Stars and Pamir Zalmiyan franchises inducted into the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Shpageeza?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Shpageeza</a> Cricket League as, for the first time in its history, the League will have 8 teams instead of six. The ownership rights were sold today amid a ceremony held at ACB. 
 
More: <a href="https://t.co/tQPZzxNqmq">https://t.co/tQPZzxNqmq</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCL2021?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SCL2021</a> <a href="https://t.co/VizqhxJXdc">pic.twitter.com/VizqhxJXdc</a>
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) <a href="https://twitter.com/ACBofficials/status/1428324420658114568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL) 2021 signing ceremony. Eight franchises have been sold. We will launch it next month, In ShaaAllah <a href="https://t.co/rh5Ty7RCeg">pic.twitter.com/rh5Ty7RCeg</a>
— Hamid Shinwari (@hamidshinwari03) <a href="https://twitter.com/hamidshinwari03/status/1428377642282143751?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/after-talibans-takeover-former-afghan-womens-football-captain-urges-players-to-burn-kits-406926">After Taliban's takeover, former Afghan women's football captain urges players to burn kits</a>

The official also said that the team should be able to play in the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October-November.

"We are confident we will be able to take part and will be preparing for it over the coming weeks. I don't think there will be a problem," Hassan said.

However, when it comes to women in sports, there isn't any update yet and the future of the women's cricket programmes run by the ACB, which currently has 25 contracted female cricketers and several programmes for girls, remains uncertain.

Watch: Hundreds of Afghans fleeing Afghanistan face tough situations

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It is worth noting that women have also been assured their rights will be respected and that the Taliban will be "positively different" from their brutal 1996-2001 rule.&nbsp;

Under the militants' hardline 1996-2001 rule, girls' schools were closed, women were prevented from travelling and working and were forced to wear an all-covering burqa in public.&nbsp;

(with inputs from agencies)

The future of sports in Afghanistan remains uncertain — especially the participation of women since the Taliban took over Kabul after routing government forces in order to end two decades of war.

The future of sports in Afghanistan remains uncertain — especially the participation of women since the Taliban took over Kabul after routing government forces in order to end two decades of war. From Paralympics to football, female athletes have opened up on the current situation in Afghanistan and how it might impact their future. Recently, the Afghanistan Cricket Board head of media operations Hikmat Hassan also weighed in on the same and said that the Taliban "don't have any issue or problem with cricket" but the fate of women's cricket programmes, however, remains unclear. ALSO READ | 'I feel miserable': Afghan karate champion fears it's game over for female athletes "The Taliban don't have any issue or problem with cricket, and they have told us that we can continue our work as planned," said Hassan as quoted by Reuters. He added that the team was ready for three one day matches against Pakistan next month. "We have completed our two training camps in Kabul and we have sponsors, a production team, and even the kit ready." Amid the ongoing political crisis, the board has confirmed a one-day series against Pakistan will go ahead in Sri Lanka next month and said it was expanding the "Shpageeza" Twenty20 league competition. Hindukush Stars and Pamir Zalmiyan franchises inducted into the #Shpageeza Cricket League as, for the first time in its history, the League will have 8 teams instead of six. The ownership rights were sold today amid a ceremony held at ACB. More: https://t.co/tQPZzxNqmq#SCL2021 pic.twitter.com/VizqhxJXdc — Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 19, 2021 × Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL) 2021 signing ceremony. Eight franchises have been sold. We will launch it next month, In ShaaAllah pic.twitter.com/rh5Ty7RCeg — Hamid Shinwari (@hamidshinwari03) August 19, 2021 × ALSO READ | After Taliban's takeover, former Afghan women's football captain urges players to burn kits The official also said that the team should be able to play in the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October-November. "We are confident we will be able to take part and will be preparing for it over the coming weeks. I don't think there will be a problem," Hassan said. However, when it comes to women in sports, there isn't any update yet and the future of the women's cricket programmes run by the ACB, which currently has 25 contracted female cricketers and several programmes for girls, remains uncertain. Watch: Hundreds of Afghans fleeing Afghanistan face tough situations × It is worth noting that women have also been assured their rights will be respected and that the Taliban will be "positively different" from their brutal 1996-2001 rule. Under the militants' hardline 1996-2001 rule, girls' schools were closed, women were prevented from travelling and working and were forced to wear an all-covering burqa in public. (with inputs from agencies)

Taliban 'don't have any issue' with cricket; but status of smaller women's programmes unclear

Heroin production has boomed in Afghanistan in recent years, helping fund the Taliban, and experts say they will struggle to wean themselves off the profitable trade despite their promise to do so.

Speaking Tuesday at a first press conference since taking power, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid promised that the new government would not turn the world's leading producer of opium into a fully-fledged narco-state.

"We are assuring our countrymen and women and the international community that we will not have any narcotics produced," Mujahid told reporters in Kabul.

"From now on, nobody's going to get involved (in the heroin trade), nobody can be involved in drug smuggling."

But the anti-heroin rhetoric -- like similar pledges to respect human rights and media freedom — is seen by analysts as part of efforts by the new Taliban leaders to show a more moderate face in order to secure international backing.

The vast majority of the world's opium and heroin comes from Afghanistan, with production and exports centred in areas controlled by the Taliban, who have taxed the drugs heavily during their 20-year insurgency.

It has become a key resource for the group and they could struggle to ban it, said Jonathan Goodhand, an expert in the international drug trade at SOAS University of London.

"Drugs will bring out a set of tensions in the movement," he predicted.

On one hand, "they want to create this image of themselves as more moderate and more open to engagement with the West and they realise drugs is one of way of doing this," he said.

But on the other, any repression would hit farmers in the Taliban political heartlands of Helmand and Kandahar provinces in particular.

"It's going to struggle to take a very aggressive approach to drugs," he added.

Near-monopoly

In his premier press conference, Mujahid pleaded for "international assistance" to provide farmers with alternative crops to poppies, the source of sap that is refined into morphine and heroin.

The appeal for international aid might prompt hollow laughs from people who worked in the coalition of NATO forces, NGOs and UN workers over the last 10 years that tried in vain to break Afghanistan's reliance on poppy farming.

The United States spent around $8.6 billion (7.4 billion euros) from 2002 to 2017 in its doomed effort to combat the drugs trade, according to a 2018 report from the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR).

Those efforts included paying farmers to grow wheat or saffron, investing in transport links, as well as spraying defoliants on crops and bombing refining facilities.

At each step, they found themselves thwarted by Taliban fighters who controlled the main poppy-growing regions and derived hundreds of millions of dollars from the industry, according to US and Afghan government estimates.

Farmers in Taliban-controlled areas would often come under pressure to plant poppies from local warlords and fighters, investigations have found.

As a result, the country has a near-monopoly on opium and heroin, accounting for 80 to 90 percent of global output, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The amount of land planted with poppies hit a record high in 2017 and has averaged around 250,000 hectares in the last four years, roughly four times the level of the mid-1990s, UN figures show.

'Too tied up'

The narcotics policy of the new government will affect global heroin prices, with repercussions for Western countries and their addicts, as well as Russia, Iran, Pakistan and China -- all major smuggling routes but also huge markets for Afghan drugs.

In recent years, traffickers have also discovered that a plant commonly found in Afghanistan called ephedra can be used to create a key component of methamphetamine, better known as "crystal meth".

Still, spokesman Mujahid vowed Afghanistan would be a "narcotics-free country" moving forward.

It's not the first time the fundamentalist group has vowed to outlaw the trade. Production was banned in 2000, just before the group was overthrown by US-led forces.

Gretchen Peters, the American author of the book "Seeds of Terror: How Heroin Is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al-Qaeda", said the Taliban's previous ban on poppy cultivation was tactical.

"They were under immense international pressure," she said. "It was a ploy because they had so much stored up. They made a huge amount of money once the price shot up by 10 times."

"They are not going to get rid of the drug trade because they are too tied up with it."

"Afghanistan cannot survive without opium. It is simultaneously killing Afghanistan while also keeping a huge number of people alive," she said, referring to the income the industry provides to poor farmers.

Being in control of the country will offer the Taliban access to airlines, the state bureaucracy and banks which could be used to facilitate drug smuggling and money laundering, she explained.

"I have no doubt they will exploit it."

Heroin production has boomed in Afghanistan in recent years, helping fund the Taliban, and experts say they will struggle to wean themselves off the profitable trade despite their promise to do so.

Heroin production has boomed in Afghanistan in recent years, helping fund the Taliban, and experts say they will struggle to wean themselves off the profitable trade despite their promise to do so. Speaking Tuesday at a first press conference since taking power, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid promised that the new government would not turn the world's leading producer of opium into a fully-fledged narco-state. "We are assuring our countrymen and women and the international community that we will not have any narcotics produced," Mujahid told reporters in Kabul. "From now on, nobody's going to get involved (in the heroin trade), nobody can be involved in drug smuggling." But the anti-heroin rhetoric -- like similar pledges to respect human rights and media freedom — is seen by analysts as part of efforts by the new Taliban leaders to show a more moderate face in order to secure international backing. The vast majority of the world's opium and heroin comes from Afghanistan, with production and exports centred in areas controlled by the Taliban, who have taxed the drugs heavily during their 20-year insurgency. It has become a key resource for the group and they could struggle to ban it, said Jonathan Goodhand, an expert in the international drug trade at SOAS University of London. "Drugs will bring out a set of tensions in the movement," he predicted. On one hand, "they want to create this image of themselves as more moderate and more open to engagement with the West and they realise drugs is one of way of doing this," he said. But on the other, any repression would hit farmers in the Taliban political heartlands of Helmand and Kandahar provinces in particular. "It's going to struggle to take a very aggressive approach to drugs," he added. Near-monopoly In his premier press conference, Mujahid pleaded for "international assistance" to provide farmers with alternative crops to poppies, the source of sap that is refined into morphine and heroin. The appeal for international aid might prompt hollow laughs from people who worked in the coalition of NATO forces, NGOs and UN workers over the last 10 years that tried in vain to break Afghanistan's reliance on poppy farming. The United States spent around $8.6 billion (7.4 billion euros) from 2002 to 2017 in its doomed effort to combat the drugs trade, according to a 2018 report from the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR). Those efforts included paying farmers to grow wheat or saffron, investing in transport links, as well as spraying defoliants on crops and bombing refining facilities. At each step, they found themselves thwarted by Taliban fighters who controlled the main poppy-growing regions and derived hundreds of millions of dollars from the industry, according to US and Afghan government estimates. Farmers in Taliban-controlled areas would often come under pressure to plant poppies from local warlords and fighters, investigations have found. As a result, the country has a near-monopoly on opium and heroin, accounting for 80 to 90 percent of global output, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The amount of land planted with poppies hit a record high in 2017 and has averaged around 250,000 hectares in the last four years, roughly four times the level of the mid-1990s, UN figures show. 'Too tied up' The narcotics policy of the new government will affect global heroin prices, with repercussions for Western countries and their addicts, as well as Russia, Iran, Pakistan and China -- all major smuggling routes but also huge markets for Afghan drugs. In recent years, traffickers have also discovered that a plant commonly found in Afghanistan called ephedra can be used to create a key component of methamphetamine, better known as "crystal meth". Still, spokesman Mujahid vowed Afghanistan would be a "narcotics-free country" moving forward. It's not the first time the fundamentalist group has vowed to outlaw the trade. Production was banned in 2000, just before the group was overthrown by US-led forces. Gretchen Peters, the American author of the book "Seeds of Terror: How Heroin Is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al-Qaeda", said the Taliban's previous ban on poppy cultivation was tactical. "They were under immense international pressure," she said. "It was a ploy because they had so much stored up. They made a huge amount of money once the price shot up by 10 times." "They are not going to get rid of the drug trade because they are too tied up with it." "Afghanistan cannot survive without opium. It is simultaneously killing Afghanistan while also keeping a huge number of people alive," she said, referring to the income the industry provides to poor farmers. Being in control of the country will offer the Taliban access to airlines, the state bureaucracy and banks which could be used to facilitate drug smuggling and money laundering, she explained. "I have no doubt they will exploit it."

Taliban vow to ban heroin, but can they survive without it?

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said this week they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them against being targeted amid the Taliban's swift takeover of the country.

Facebook&nbsp;has temporarily removed the ability for people to view or search the friends lists of accounts in Afghanistan, its security policy head Nathaniel Gleicher tweeted on Thursday.

Gleicher also said the company had launched a "one-click tool" for users in Afghanistan to lock down their accounts, so people who are not their&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;friends would be unable to see their timeline posts or share their profile photos.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/facebook-twitter-linkedin-move-to-secure-accounts-of-afghans-amid-taliban-takeover-407210/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Human rights groups have voiced concerns that the Taliban could use online platforms to track Afghans' digital histories or social connections.

Amnesty International said this week that thousands of Afghans, including academics, journalists and human rights defenders, were at serious risk of Taliban reprisals.

The former captain of the Afghan women's soccer team has also urged players to delete social media and erase their public identities.

Twitter Inc said it was in touch with civil society partners to provide support to groups in the country and was working with the Internet Archive to expedite direct requests to remove archived tweets.

It said if individuals were unable to access accounts containing information that could put them at risk, such as direct messages or followers, the company could temporarily suspend the accounts until users regain access and are able to delete their content.

Twitter also said it was proactively monitoring accounts affiliated with government organizations and might temporarily suspend accounts pending additional information to confirm their identity. A LinkedIn spokesman said the Microsoft-owned professional networking site had temporarily hidden the connections of its users in Afghanistan so other users would not be able to see them.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said this week they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them against being targeted amid the Taliban's swift takeover of the country.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said this week they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them against being targeted amid the Taliban's swift takeover of the country. Facebook has temporarily removed the ability for people to view or search the friends lists of accounts in Afghanistan, its security policy head Nathaniel Gleicher tweeted on Thursday. Gleicher also said the company had launched a "one-click tool" for users in Afghanistan to lock down their accounts, so people who are not their Facebook friends would be unable to see their timeline posts or share their profile photos. Human rights groups have voiced concerns that the Taliban could use online platforms to track Afghans' digital histories or social connections. Amnesty International said this week that thousands of Afghans, including academics, journalists and human rights defenders, were at serious risk of Taliban reprisals. The former captain of the Afghan women's soccer team has also urged players to delete social media and erase their public identities. Twitter Inc said it was in touch with civil society partners to provide support to groups in the country and was working with the Internet Archive to expedite direct requests to remove archived tweets. It said if individuals were unable to access accounts containing information that could put them at risk, such as direct messages or followers, the company could temporarily suspend the accounts until users regain access and are able to delete their content. Twitter also said it was proactively monitoring accounts affiliated with government organizations and might temporarily suspend accounts pending additional information to confirm their identity. A LinkedIn spokesman said the Microsoft-owned professional networking site had temporarily hidden the connections of its users in Afghanistan so other users would not be able to see them.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn secure Afghan users' accounts amid Taliban takeover

Taliban now controls Afghanistan, this is no secret to the world. Despite the longest war the United States has ever waged, the group seized control of the country with ease.&nbsp;

In the wake of the panic and fear affecting the streets of the Afghan capital, some heart-breaking videos have emerged on social media.&nbsp;

<h2><a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/live-afghanistan-crisis-facebook-twitter-and-linkedin-secure-users-accounts-amid-taliban-takeover-407020">Live: Afghanistan crisis-Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn secure users' accounts amid Taliban takeover</a></h2>

The videos show helpless Afghan women trying to ensure the safety of their children, some even throwing their children over wired fencing to the departing soldiers.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It's been five days since the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Taliban?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Taliban</a> took over <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kabul?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kabul</a>. NATO forces have said that over 18,000 people have been evacuated so far. But, what is the future of 38 million Afghans, who now live under the Taliban? 
 
Mohammed Saleh tells you more <a href="https://t.co/fZmXuu8PhE">pic.twitter.com/fZmXuu8PhE</a>
— WION (@WIONews) <a href="https://twitter.com/WIONews/status/1428640644138864643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

In one such video, a small girl is seen being lifted over the perimeter fence of the Kabul airport to be handed over to an American soldier.

Other videos have emerged, purportedly showing mothers throwing their children over the razor wires in hopes that the soldiers would help.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
FEAR of Taliban is so much that Desperate women threw Babies &amp; Little Girls OVER RAZOR WIRE at airport compound asking British soldiers to take them 😭💔 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afghanistan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Afghanistan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Talibans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Talibans</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Taliban?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Taliban</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveAfghanWomen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SaveAfghanWomen</a> <a href="https://t.co/Wmpkl7Bnj1">pic.twitter.com/Wmpkl7Bnj1</a>
— JAI SHRI PAWAN (@cool_flute) <a href="https://twitter.com/cool_flute/status/1428298535644983298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

These videos, seen this week on social media, highlight Afghans' sense of desperation and fear of what the Taliban's sudden return to power will mean.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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Today, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/US?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#US</a> Army troops guarding the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kabul?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kabul</a> airport started taking children of Afghans who are not on the list. They can now live any where there is No rule of terror &amp; horror. These children, especially the girls, will have No future in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afghanistan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Afghanistan</a> under rule of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Taliban?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Taliban</a>. <a href="https://t.co/Y51ZaE29jt">pic.twitter.com/Y51ZaE29jt</a>
— Babak Taghvaee - Μπάπακ Τακβαίε - بابک تقوایی (@BabakTaghvaee) <a href="https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/1428496327072260097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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A chaotic scene has seen thousands of people trying to get into Kabul's airport attempting to reach flights to the west. As a result of the ensuing chaos, several people have been killed or wounded.

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

When asked about the video, UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace said Britain could not evacuate unaccompanied children from Afghanistan. Wallace further stated that the child was passed down the wall while her family was being escorted out.

"We can't just take a minor on their own,"&nbsp;Wallace&nbsp;told Sky News.

In the days since the Taliban took over Kabul, officials have assured Afghans and foreign powers that they will not seek revenge on former enemies or violate the rights of women and girls.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/watch-child-lifted-over-kabul-airport-wall-by-us-soldiers-406985">Watch: Child lifted over Kabul airport wall by US soldiers</a>

They’ve stated that they would respect the rights of women, according to Islamic law.

However, Afghanistan's people are sceptical. Kabul's roads have largely remained empty, with very few people venturing out of their homes. Women remain missing from the scene.

Between 1996 and 2001, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan; girls could not attend school, women could not work, and if they wanted to go out, they had to be accompanied by a male relative.

If someone broke the rules, they were subject to humiliation and public beatings by the Taliban's religious police.

Following recent events at Kabul airport, questions have been raised about foreign nations' responsibility to Afghan refugees fleeing persecution.

Hundreds of migrants have arrived at airports across Europe and beyond, however many more are still waiting, stuck and afraid.

&nbsp;

Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of these videos

Courtesy: @cool_flute,&nbsp;@SourceBeijing,&nbsp;@BabakTaghvaee

(With inputs from agencies)

Taliban now controls Afghanistan, this is no secret to the world. Despite the longest war the United States has ever waged, the group seized control of the country with ease.

Taliban now controls Afghanistan, this is no secret to the world. Despite the longest war the United States has ever waged, the group seized control of the country with ease. In the wake of the panic and fear affecting the streets of the Afghan capital, some heart-breaking videos have emerged on social media. Live: Afghanistan crisis-Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn secure users' accounts amid Taliban takeover The videos show helpless Afghan women trying to ensure the safety of their children, some even throwing their children over wired fencing to the departing soldiers. It's been five days since the #Taliban took over #Kabul. NATO forces have said that over 18,000 people have been evacuated so far. But, what is the future of 38 million Afghans, who now live under the Taliban? Mohammed Saleh tells you more pic.twitter.com/fZmXuu8PhE — WION (@WIONews) August 20, 2021 × In one such video, a small girl is seen being lifted over the perimeter fence of the Kabul airport to be handed over to an American soldier. Other videos have emerged, purportedly showing mothers throwing their children over the razor wires in hopes that the soldiers would help. FEAR of Taliban is so much that Desperate women threw Babies & Little Girls OVER RAZOR WIRE at airport compound asking British soldiers to take them 😭💔 #Afghanistan #Talibans #Taliban #SaveAfghanWomen pic.twitter.com/Wmpkl7Bnj1 — JAI SHRI PAWAN (@cool_flute) August 19, 2021 × These videos, seen this week on social media, highlight Afghans' sense of desperation and fear of what the Taliban's sudden return to power will mean. Today, #US Army troops guarding the #Kabul airport started taking children of Afghans who are not on the list. They can now live any where there is No rule of terror & horror. These children, especially the girls, will have No future in #Afghanistan under rule of #Taliban. pic.twitter.com/Y51ZaE29jt — Babak Taghvaee - Μπάπακ Τακβαίε - بابک تقوایی (@BabakTaghvaee) August 19, 2021 × A chaotic scene has seen thousands of people trying to get into Kabul's airport attempting to reach flights to the west. As a result of the ensuing chaos, several people have been killed or wounded. When asked about the video, UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace said Britain could not evacuate unaccompanied children from Afghanistan. Wallace further stated that the child was passed down the wall while her family was being escorted out. "We can't just take a minor on their own," Wallace told Sky News. In the days since the Taliban took over Kabul, officials have assured Afghans and foreign powers that they will not seek revenge on former enemies or violate the rights of women and girls. Also read | Watch: Child lifted over Kabul airport wall by US soldiers They’ve stated that they would respect the rights of women, according to Islamic law. However, Afghanistan's people are sceptical. Kabul's roads have largely remained empty, with very few people venturing out of their homes. Women remain missing from the scene. Between 1996 and 2001, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan; girls could not attend school, women could not work, and if they wanted to go out, they had to be accompanied by a male relative. If someone broke the rules, they were subject to humiliation and public beatings by the Taliban's religious police. Following recent events at Kabul airport, questions have been raised about foreign nations' responsibility to Afghan refugees fleeing persecution. Hundreds of migrants have arrived at airports across Europe and beyond, however many more are still waiting, stuck and afraid. Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of these videos Courtesy: @cool_flute, @SourceBeijing, @BabakTaghvaee (With inputs from agencies)

Heartbreaking: Desperate Afghan mothers throw children over Kabul airport fence in bid to escape Taliban