Here are the top updates from Thursday

  1. The Afghans on Thursday defied the Taliban by holding protests in various cities, including Kabul and Asadabad, and also Kunar and Khost provinces. Citizens, including women, could be seen celebrating the country’s Independence Day by waving their national flag. In Asadabad, Talibani fighters opened fire on protestors, killing at least two people. The situation in Afghanistan has been tense for several months, but the crisis has worsened since the Taliban seized control on Sunday.
  2. The International Monetary Fund has said that the new Taliban government in Afghanistan will  not be allowed to access loans or other resources from the lending organisation, reported AP. The IMF said it would be guided by the views of the international community.
  3. Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the United Nations Security Council meeting that the situation in Afghanistan has enhanced global concerns on both international and regional security, reported India Today. Jaishankar said that the increased activities of the Haqqani Network justify this growing anxiety.  
  4. United States President Joe Biden said that the Taliban are going through an “existential crisis” about whether they want legitimacy on the world stage, reported AP. Biden added that he was not sure if the Taliban want to be “recognised by the international community as being a legitimate government”.
  5. The United States administration has suspended all arms sales to the Afghanistan government after the Taliban took over the country, reported ANI. Meanwhile, United States Army Major General William Taylor said they have so far evacuated 7,000 people from Afghanistan. He added that there are now over 5,200 American troops in Afghanistan.
  6. Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said that Beijing could contribute to the development of Afghanistan in the future, Reuters reported, citing Chinese state-run channel CGTN television.
  7. Afghan women were seen passing their babies over razor wire to British soldiers and asking the military personnel to take them, reported Sky News. However, United Kingdom Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said that no child will be taken out of Afghanistan on their own but will be helped along with their families.
  8. Amrullah Saleh, who was vice-president and now claims to be the acting president of Afghanistan, said that world countries must respect the rule of law, and not violence. He said that Afghanistan was “too big for Pakistan to swallow” or for the Taliban to govern.
  9. Afghanistan will not be a democracy under the Taliban rule and the country will be governed by the Sharia, or Islamic law, one of the senior leaders of the militant group, Waheedullah Hashimi, said. Hashimi’s comments came even as the Taliban has not made any official announcement on the structure of their government in Afghanistan.
  10. The Federation of Indian Export Organisation has said that the Taliban have stopped imports and exports through transit routes in Pakistan after they seized control of Afghanistan last week.