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Our forces will not enter Kabul city, awaiting peaceful transition: Taliban
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said fighters were remaining on the capital's outskirts as negotiations took place. "Our forces have not entered Kabul city, and we just issued a statement saying that our forces will not enter Kabul city," Shaheen told Al Jazeera from Doha where peace talks are taking place. "We are talking and awaiting a peaceful transfer – a transition of the capital city."
Afghans intrigued at 'being sold out' as cities handed over to Taliban
"They literally sold us out, there was no government resistance," one female resident of Kandahar told Al Jazeera. "I never imagined that Kandahar would be taken so easily," she said echoing a sentiment made by Afghans across the country when the Taliban was blazing through the districts since it stepped up an offensive in May after the United States began the final withdrawal of its forces from the country.
Taliban militants with flags seen on Kabul streets
VOA reported there is panic on the streets of Kabul as the news broke that the Taliban had entered the city. They are only on the outskirts, but government offices started getting evacuated. A VOA Afghan service reporter was in the passport office when everyone was told to leave immediately and go home.Traffic on the streets of Kabul became crazy as people scrambled to get home or to their families.
Taliban enters Kabul
The development comes as Taliban have captured Jalalabad, the last major city in the north of the country, without a struggle, the BBC reported. With reports of the Taliban closing in, the tension in Kabul is rising.
A BBC producer based there said he was suddenly evacuated from a government office a short time ago.
Afghan Prez Ashraf Ghani under growing pressure to resign
With Kabul the only major city left standing, the President appears to face a stark choice between surrendering to the Taliban or a fight to hold the capital, the BBC reported. Overnight, US President Joe Biden said the Washington was urging him to pursue a political settlement to avoid further bloodshed. There had been speculation he would announce his resignation.
Pakistan govt punished media for being critical of its policies
Titled "Silencing the media", the Dawn newspaper editorial said all major bodies representing the media have rightly rejected the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority and termed the intended law behind it a draconian one. The last few years have taken a heavy toll on the media industry both in terms of financial and editorial pressures. These have led to painful job cuts and the shrinking of space for quality journalism.
Three more key Afghan cities fall to Taliban
On Sunday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that the militants took control of most parts of Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, some 120 km east of Kabul, reports Xinhua news agency. He said the militants were also trying to seize control of the governor's office and the provincial police headquarters in Jalalabad.
Palestine slams Israel's claim of allowing construction of houses in W.Bank
Ahmed Majdalani, member of the executive committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a statement that "the Israeli government is misleading the public opinion of the world", Xinhua news agency reported. "Area C is an occupied territory, where Israel carried out mass demolitions of Palestinian homes, stole Palestinian lands," Majdalani said, adding that it violates international laws.
Talks underway for peaceful surrender of Kabul: Taliban
In a statement, the insurgent group acknowledged that the fighters have no intention to enter the Afghan capital Kabul and will enter the city peacefully. The statement reads that Kabul is the most populated city of Afghanistan and the fighters are not allowed to enter the city and are directed to stay out of Kabul's doors. The statement was published hours after fear and panic spread in the city and people are roaming on the streets.
Burqas pulled out of dusty storerooms, cupboards by Afghan women
After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, even though many continued to choose to wear the burqa in adherence to religious and traditional beliefs, its rejection by millions of others across the country became a symbol of a new dawn for the Afghan women, who were able to dictate what they wore for themselves again, Zainab Pirzad and Atefa Alizada from Rukhshana Media wrote for the Guardian.
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