1/5 The Taliban’s letter to Congress earlier this week misconstrued the facts re Afghanistan’s economic & humanitarian crisis. Afghanistan was unfortunately already suffering a terrible humanitarian crisis before mid-August, made worse by war, years of drought, & the pandemic. — U.S. Special Representative Thomas West (@US4AfghanPeace) November 19, 2021 Tolo News: In a series of
AP: More than 28,000 Afghans have applied for temporary admission into the U.S. for humanitarian reasons since shortly before the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan and sparked a chaotic U.S. withdrawal, but only about 100 of them have been approved, according to federal officials. Click here to read more (external link). Related Biden administration considering sending some
By RFE/RL Gandhara November 19, 2021 Germany has sent high-ranking diplomats to Kabul to meet with the Taliban for the first time since the militia group took power in Afghanistan. The German Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the country’s special representative for Afghanistan, Jasper Wieck, and ambassador-designate Markus Potzel met on November 18 with high-ranking officials
Dawn: US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Wednesday redesignated Pakistan as a country of particular concern (CPC) for violating religious freedom and also rebranded the Taliban as an entity of particular concern. Click here to read more (external link).
By Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 18, 2021 When the Taliban seized control of most of Afghanistan in mid-August, one of the inevitable ripple effects was going to be a crackdown on suspect Islamic groups in the Central Asian states north of Afghanistan. Uzbekistan has emerged as the Central Asian country most actively engaging with the
NPR: They haven’t closed the door yet, but they may not be able to keep it open much longer either. The Afghan republic, the government before the Taliban, used to fund the embassy in quarterly installments. Now that money has almost run out. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: US Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday the “tragic events of this past summer (in Afghanistan) were the culmination of poor decision-making by both Republican and Democratic administrations, going back to 2001”. Click here to read more (external link).
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS November 17, 2021 The Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) is active in every Afghan province because of the Taliban’s inability to stop them, the UN head of mission told the Security Council on Wednesday. “Another major negative development has been the Taliban’s inability to stem the expansion of the Islamic State Khorasan Province,”
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 17, 2021 Two explosions hit the Afghan capital, Kabul, on November 17, killing one person and wounding six others, Afghan media said. The casualties were reported in the first blast that occurred in the mainly Hazara neighborhood of Dasht-e Barchi in Kabul’s west, TOLOnews said, citing a Taliban official. Three
Ayaz Gul VOA New November 17, 2021 ISLAMABAD — The Taliban foreign minister Wednesday penned an “open letter” to the U.S. Congress, warning of a mass refugee exodus from Afghanistan unless the United States unblocks more than $9 billion in Afghan central bank assets and ends other financial sanctions against the country. Amir Khan Muttaqi wrote