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Violent Extremism in South Asia

Islamic State in Khorasan Claims Attacks in Eastern Afghanistan

  • The group claimed responsibility for bombings that targeted Taliban vehicles in the city of Jalalabad, which killed at least eight people (Al Jazeera)

Russia-Led Bloc Says It Will Not Host Afghan Refugees

  • Russia-Led Bloc Says It Will Not Host Afghan Refugees Kazakhstan said members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which also includes Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and other former Soviet republics, will not accept foreign military bases or Afghan refugees on their territory (Reuters)
  • Separately, Taliban cofounder Abdul Ghani Baradar, recently named acting deputy prime minister of the Taliban government, appeared in a video to refute rumors of his death (Radio Azadi)

Pakistan, Russia Agree to Coordinate on Afghanistan

  • In a phone conversation, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced their desire for a coordinated response to the crisis in Afghanistan (Dawn)

Blinken Faces Congressional Questioning on Afghanistan Pullout

  • U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations today regarding the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan (Foreign Policy)

UN Appeals for $600 Million in Aid for Afghanistan

  • The United Nations called for $600 million to fund humanitarian programs in Afghanistan through December at a conference today (Deutsche Welle)
  • Separately, the Taliban announced that Afghan women will be allowed to attend university and postgraduate education in Islamic attire and gender-segregated settings (Washington Post)

Taliban Reopen Kabul Airport in Afghanistan

  • The Taliban announced they have reopened the Kabul airport, allowing U.S. citizens, other foreigners, and Afghan citizens with dual citizenship to leave Afghanistan. It remains unclear if Afghan citizens without dual citizenship will be able to leave the country (New York Times)
  • Meanwhile, several Afghan journalists said Taliban members arrested and beat them in custody while they were covering a protest in Kabul on Wednesday (New York Times)
  • Separately, the Chinese government pledged to give $31 million in aid to Afghanistan, which will include three million COVID-19 vaccine doses and food aid (BBC)

Taliban Announce Caretaker Government With Longtime Leaders in Top Positions

  • The Taliban announced a caretaker cabinet that includes many hard-line figures who held authority when the group last ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s (New York Times)
  • The cabinet did not appear to include women, many members of minority communities, or former Afghan government officials (TOLOnews)
  • Meanwhile, hundreds of Afghans—including a significant number of women—protested for women’s rights and against the Pakistani government, before the Taliban violently dispersed the crowd (Al Jazeera)

Taliban Captures Last Provincial Capital in Afghanistan

  • The Taliban announced they captured the last provincial capital not under their control in Panjshir after several days of heavy fighting. The leader of the opposition forces vowed to continue fighting the Taliban (TOLOnews)

New Afghan Government Set to Be Announced

  • The Taliban said they will soon announce the formation of a new government in Afghanistan. A member of the group said that Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme commander, will lead the government (TOLOnews)
  • Separately, Afghanistan’s neighbors have closed their borders to people attempting to flee the Taliban, preventing tens of thousands of people eligible to relocate to other countries from evacuating via land (Wall Street Journal)

Biden Calls Afghanistan Evacuation a Success

  • In a speech about the end to the U.S. war in Afghanistan, Biden called the evacuation of Kabul an “extraordinary success” and said it marked the end of an era in which the United States used military force “to remake other countries.” He portrayed the United States’ options in Afghanistan as either escalation or withdrawal (New York Times)
  • Separately, the United Nations announced that its humanitarian operations in Afghanistan will continue. Some eighteen million people, almost half of the country’s population, need humanitarian assistance, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, and he called on UN member states to support ongoing humanitarian work in the country (UN News)
  • Meanwhile, the Indian government announced that it met with a Taliban leader in Qatar to discuss travel between Afghanistan and India and concerns that Afghanistan could become a launchpad for terrorist attacks against India. It was New Delhi’s first public acknowledgement of a meeting with the Taliban (Hindu)

U.S. Completes Military Pullout From Afghanistan, Ending Twenty-Year War

  • The final U.S. military forces departed Afghanistan yesterday, finalizing a drawdown process that brought a twenty-year war to a close and left Afghanistan under the Taliban’s control (TOLOnews)
  • With Kabul’s airport closed after the U.S. departure, intense diplomatic engagement is underway to facilitate its reopening. The Taliban have made public assurances that Afghans who wish to leave the country can do so, and the UN Security Council passed a resolution yesterday urging the group to facilitate safe passages (UN News)
  • Surging prices and packed lines at banks underscored the potential for the country’s economic collapse as countries and international organizations weigh how to approach financial ties with a Taliban-led Afghanistan (Financial Times)

U.S. Intercepts Rockets at Kabul Airport as Withdrawal Deadline Nears

  • Ahead of tomorrow’s deadline for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States has stepped up efforts to prevent attacks on the Kabul airport. A U.S. official said antimissile defense systems intercepted rockets that were fired at the airport early today (Reuters)
  • In response to a bombing at the airport on Thursday that was claimed by the Islamic State in Khorasan, U.S. forces said they killed two Islamic State militants in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar Province and carried out a drone strike in Kabul that reportedly killed ten civilians (New York Times, Washington Post)
  • The U.S. State Department said yesterday that some 250 Americans remain in the country. The United States joined dozens of countries in announcing that they had received assurances from the Taliban that Afghans who wish to depart Afghanistan after August 31 can do so (State Department)
  • Separately, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call that all countries should “positively guide” the Taliban and called on the United States to continue providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and supporting its economy (Reuters)

U.S. Vows to Continue Evacuations From Afghanistan After Deadly Attack

  • President Joe Biden vowed to hunt down the attackers responsible for killing nearly two hundred people, including thirteen U.S. service members, near the Kabul airport (White House)
  • Evacuations continue following the deadliest day for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since 2011, despite the risk of more attacks, according to the head of U.S. Central Command (Washington Post)
  • Nearly 175 Afghans were killed in the attack, which the Islamic State in Khorasan claimed responsibility for (Associated Press)
  • Biden said the United States was coordinating with the Taliban on securing areas around the airport. Some U.S. lawmakers and defense officials have criticized this collaboration, saying it endangers Afghan allies (Politico)

Warnings of Terrorist Threat at Kabul Airport Halts Evacuations

  • The United States and United Kingdom warned citizens in Kabul yesterday to stay away from the airport due to a security threat, which an unnamed U.S. official said was a potential attack by the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan. Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands said today they were halting evacuations (New York Times)

U.S. to Stick to August 31 Deadline for Afghanistan Withdrawal

  • U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States will stick to an August 31 deadline for completing its withdrawal from Afghanistan, despite calls from France and the United Kingdom to extend it. He asked military leaders to make contingency plans in case the timeline still needs to be adjusted (NPR)
  • A U.S. military official reported that 19,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul in the 24 hours, bringing the total number of people evacuated since the Taliban seized the country to 88,000 (Reuters)
  • Meanwhile, a Doha air base where Afghan evacuees are being housed is in “dire conditions,” according to reports. An email obtained from an official at U.S. Central Command reported open sewage and a rat infestation. U.S. officials said they are working to improve conditions (Axios)
  • Separately, the World Bank is stopping its financial support to Afghanistan over concerns about the Taliban’s treatment of women. An official said the World Bank is exploring ways to continue supporting Afghans (CNN)

CIA Director Meets With Taliban Leader Ahead of G7 Gathering

  • CIA Director William Burns reportedly met with the Taliban’s top political leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Kabul yesterday, as Washington tries to gauge whether to extend the August 31 deadline to complete evacuations from Afghanistan (Washington Post)
  • France and the United Kingdom have called for more time for evacuations, which will be debated during a virtual Group of Seven (G7) meeting today (Financial Times)
  • The United States has evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of around forty-eight thousand people from Afghanistan since August 14, the White House said. Many of the evacuees will be temporarily housed on U.S. bases in Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Qatar, and Spain, among other countries (CNBC)
  • Separately, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said at an emergency session of the Human Rights Council today that she had received credible reports of summary executions by the Taliban. She called for a mechanism to monitor the group’s actions (Reuters)

Medical Aid to Afghanistan Delayed Amid Tense Airport Evacuations

  • Five hundred tons of medical supplies due to be delivered to Afghanistan this week have been held up by the Kabul airport’s closure to commercial flights, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. The WHO appealed for empty evacuation planes to bring supplies to Kabul, saying Afghanistan’s current emergency stocks are only expected to last a week and a half (Washington Post)
  • Twenty people have been killed in the chaos at the Kabul airport, an official from NATO said. These include seven Afghans who died in a stampede at the airport’s gate on Saturday and one Afghan guard killed in a firefight with unidentified gunmen today (Washington Post)
  • U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States could push back its August 31 deadline to complete evacuations and withdraw all U.S. troops. A Taliban spokesperson said an extension of the deadline would “provoke a reaction.” Washington has enlisted U.S. commercial airlines to help with evacuations from locations outside Afghanistan (Washington Post)
  • Meanwhile, Taliban fighters retook three districts captured by opposition forces in the northern Baghlan Province (Reuters)

Airlifts From Kabul Continue as Taliban Tightens Grip

  • More than eighteen thousand people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban took over Kabul, according to a NATO official (Reuters)
  • Throughout the country, the Taliban has tightened its grip, cracking down on protests and killing the family member of a Deutsche Welle journalist who left Afghanistan (New York Times, Politico)
  • A new report by Amnesty International found that Taliban fighters killed nine ethnic Hazara men in July; the rights group described the killings as a “horrifying indicator” of Taliban rule (BBC)

Afghans Protest Against the Taliban as Evacuation in Kabul Continues

  • Multiple protests against the Taliban occurred across Afghanistan today, including in Kabul; several protesters were reportedly killed in eastern Kunar Province (Reuters)
  • Separately, the United States and other Western allies have evacuated approximately eight thousand people from Kabul since Sunday (Reuters)
  • Additionally, with U.S. support, the International Monetary Fund will block a transfer of $450 million in funds to Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover (Politico)
  • Elsewhere, speaking from the United Arab Emirates, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani denied reports that he took large sums of money with him when he fled Afghanistan on Sunday. He also said he is in talks to return to the country (Al Jazeera)

Taliban Political Leader Arrives in Afghanistan as Group Makes Public Assurances

  • Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s top political leader, arrived in Afghanistan from Qatar yesterday (Washington Post)
  • Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesperson said in a news conference that the group aims for regular relations with other countries and will allow women to participate in society within the bounds of Islamic law (Al Jazeera)
  • Taliban fighters reportedly beat protesters in Jalalabad today and blew up a statue of a Hazara political enemy killed by the group in the 1990s (Associated Press)

Taliban Consolidates Control of Afghanistan as Biden Defends U.S. Withdrawal

  • In the first signals of what Taliban rule in Afghanistan could look like in the twenty-first century, a member of the group’s cultural commission promised amnesty for those who opposed the Taliban and said women will still be allowed to work and study. But many Afghans doubted those assurances and continued to try to leave the country as evacuation flights recommenced at Kabul’s airport today (Associated Press)
  • President Joe Biden defended the United States’ military drawdown in an address at the White House, acknowledging that the withdrawal was “messy” but saying that he stood by the decision to end U.S. involvement in the war. Biden also said Afghan troops had shown a lack of willingness to fight despite years of U.S. support (New York Times)
  • A Pentagon official said the United States is making plans to evacuate some twenty-two thousand applicants for special visas for Afghans who aided the U.S. war effort (CQ Roll Call)
  • Meanwhile, checkpoints set up by the Taliban have blocked many people trying to reach Kabul’s airport (Wall Street Journal)
  • Separately, India introduced an emergency e-visa for Afghans who wish to enter the country, an Indian federal official announced. Those who apply will be subject to a security screening (Indian Express)

Afghan Government Collapses Amid Taliban Takeover, Chaotic U.S. Evacuation

  • President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan yesterday as Taliban leaders broadcast a victory message from the presidential palace in Kabul (Economist)
  • Ghani’s departure solidified the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country, which stunned Washington and triggered chaotic evacuation efforts at the Kabul airport. As panicked crowds swarmed planes on the tarmac, Western countries pledged to support the exit of Afghans who aided the nearly twenty-year NATO mission in Afghanistan (New York Times)
  • Ghani released a message yesterday acknowledging the Taliban’s military victory, while the interior minister said an agreement had been made for a peaceful transfer of power (New York Times)
  • Still, many Afghans said they remain fearful of reprisals under a Taliban government. The speed of the Taliban’s sweep across the country over the past two weeks surprised top U.S. officials, as many Afghan fighters apparently surrendered without resisting (Washington Post)
  • The United States has deployed thousands of troops to assist with securing the Kabul airport as evacuations continue over the coming days (ABC)

As Taliban Gains Ground, Western Countries Scramble to Assist Withdrawal

  • The Taliban gained control of Afghanistan’s second- and third-largest cities by early Friday, as fears mounted of a total takeover and humanitarian catastrophe. The group’s rapid advance prompted the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada to deploy extra troops to aid the evacuation of foreign nationals (Reuters)
  • Envoys from countries that met in Doha this week, including China, European Union member states, Pakistan, and the United States, announced that they will not recognize any government in Afghanistan that is imposed through the use of military force (Twitter)

Taliban Capture Tenth Provincial Capital

  • The capital of Ghazni province, roughly eighty miles southwest of Kabul, fell to the Taliban today, the tenth provincial capital taken by the militant group in less than a week. Elsewhere, in northern Afghanistan, hundreds of Afghan security forces at a base in Kunduz surrendered and handed over military equipment to the Taliban (Washington Post)

Taliban Seizes Three More Provincial Capitals

  • The Taliban seized the capitals of Badakhshan, Baghlan, and Farah Provinces yesterday, bringing the total number of capitals seized to nine in less than a week. The group has ramped up its offensive in Afghanistan as talks on the country’s security take place in Qatar this week (New York Times)
  • Separately, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan completed joint military exercises near Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan. Russia has pledged to defend the former Soviet countries against security threats emanating from Afghanistan (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
  • Additionally, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands called on the European Union to press Afghanistan to accept deported asylum seekers after Kabul said it would stop accepting deportees for three months. Finland, Norway, and Sweden, however, said they would halt deportations to Afghanistan given its security crisis (Al Jazeera)