Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the US military intervention in Afghanistan had achieved nothing but tragedy and loss of life on all sides and showed it was impossible to foist foreign values on other nations.
Meanwhile, the UK government is in discussions with the Taliban to secure safe passage for remaining British nationals and eligible Afghan evacuees and has launched “Operation Warm Welcome” for refugees from Afghanistan, Downing Street said on Wednesday.
In other news, around the time the last US soldier was exiting Kabul, the United Nations Security Council, under India’s presidency, adopted a resolution that gave de facto recognition to the Taliban as a state actor in Afghanistan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the US military intervention in Afghanistan had achieved nothing but tragedy and loss of life on all sides and showed it was impossible to foist foreign values on other nations.
“US forces were present on this territory for 20 years and for 20 years tried … to civilise the people who live there, to instil their own norms and standards of life in the widest possible sense of this word, including when it comes to the political organisationof society,” Putin was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“The result is only tragedies and losses of life for those who did it, the United States, and even more so for those people who live on the territory of Afghanistan. The result is zero, if not a negative one all round.”
Afghanistan central bank board member urges Biden, IMF to release funds
A senior board member of Afghanistan’s central bank is urging the US Treasury and the International Monetary Fund to take steps to provide the Taliban-led government limited access to the country’s reserves or risk economic disaster, news agency Reuters reported.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan with astonishing speed, but it appears unlikely that the militants will get quick access to most of the roughly $10 billion in assets held by Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), which are mostly outside of the country.
UK in talks with Taliban for evacuations as it launches Operation Warm Welcome
The UK government is in discussions with the Taliban to secure safe passage for remaining British nationals and eligible Afghan evacuees and has launched “Operation Warm Welcome” for refugees from Afghanistan, Downing Street said on Wednesday.
The talks, involving UK officials and “senior” Taliban members, are said to be taking place in Doha, Qatar, and additionally, Britain is also sending 15 “crisis response specialists” to neighbouring Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to assist British diplomats in their work to allow people to reach the UK via third countries.
The focus is on helping UK nationals, interpreters and other Afghans who were employed by the UK. (PTI)
Pope Francis criticises imposition of democracy
Pope Francis has criticised the West’s recent involvement in Afghanistan as an outsider’s attempt to impose democracy — although he’s done so by citing Russia’s Vladimir Putin while thinking he was quoting Germany’s Angela Merkel.
In a radio interview aired Wednesday, Pope Francis was asked about the new political map taking shape in Afghanistan after the United States and its allies withdrew from the Taliban-controlled country after 20 years of war. The pope said he would answer using a quote that he attributed to the German chancellor, who he described as “one of the world’s greatest political figures.”
“It’s necessary to stop the irresponsible policy of enforcing its own values on others and attempts to build democracy in other countries based on outside models without taking into account historic, ethnic and religious issues and fully ignoring other people’s traditions,” the pope said, using his own translation into Spanish. But the quote was pronounced last month by the Russian president in the presence of Merkel, during her visit of the German to Moscow. (AP)
Islamabad fears rise in militant attacks along Afghan-Pakistan border
There is growing concern among Pakistani officials about security in neighbouring Afghanistan, as the Taliban tries to form a government and stabilise the country following the departure of US and other foreign forces. Islamabad is particularly worried about militant fighters from a separate, Pakistani Taliban group crossing from Afghanistan and launching lethal attacks on its territory.
“The next two to three months are critical,” a senior Pakistani official said, adding that Islamabad feared a rise in militant attacks along the Afghan-Pakistan border, as the Taliban tried to fill a vacuum left by the collapse of Afghan forces and the Western-backed administration.
India’s month-long Presidency of powerful UNSC ends with ‘substantive’ outcomes on key global issues
India’s month-long Presidency of the powerful UN Security Council has ended with ‘substantive’ outcomes on key global issues including a strong resolution on the situation in Afghanistan that reflected India’s views and concerns, and demanded that the Afghan territory not be used to threaten any country or shelter terrorists.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield congratulated India for a successful presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of August. ‘Your leadership and resilience saw us through many challenging issues — especially the situation in Afghanistan,’ she said.
Shahid Afridi’s remarks about Taliban’s love for cricket cause uproar
As thousands of Afghans are desperately fleeing the country after Taliban took over, Pakistan’s former cricket captain ShahidAfridi is drawing flak online after finding “positivity” in the militant’s attitude. The cricketer said that compared to the past, Taliban seem to be “positive” this time as they are “allowing women to work, including politics”. As the world seemed concerned with Taliban seizing control, Afridi shared his opinion about the future of cricket in Afghanistan, adding “Taliban support and love cricket.”
