Afghanistan: Taliban warns of ‘consequences’ if Aug 31 deadline crossed; 1 killed at Kabul airport gunfight; and extra

Ahead of an emergency G7 assembly on Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesperson on Monday warned there can be “consequences” if an extension is sought to the August 31 deadline for the US-led troop withdrawal from the war-torn nation.
Taliban spokesperson Dr Suhail Shaheen, whereas talking to Sky News, stated that the month-end deadline was a “red line”, as any extension would suggest an prolonged occupation of the nation.

“It’s a red line. President Biden announced that on 31 August they would withdraw all their military forces. So if they extend it that means they are extending occupation while there is no need for that,” Shaheen was quoted as saying by PTI.
The  Taliban have been responding to Joe Biden’s Sunday message that stated the evacuation was going to be “hard and painful” and that “a lot could still go wrong”.
Biden had stated that US troops may keep past their August 31 deadline to supervise the evacuation. Britain has additionally urged the United States to increase its evacuation effort in Kabul previous the August 31 deadline.
A Taliban fighter stands guard at a checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP)
Meanwhile, one other Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, whereas addressing a press convention of Muslim clerics, urged the US to push again in opposition to “western propaganda about the Taliban” and stated the US was undermining their rule by sending planes and providing Afghans asylum.
Gunfire at Kabul airport kills one
A firefight simply outdoors Kabul’s worldwide airport, the place chaos to evacuate these fleeing the Taliban continues, killed a minimum of one Afghan soldier early Monday.
Members of the UK Armed Forces relaxation as they proceed to participate within the evacuation of entitled personnel from Kabul airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Reuters)
According to the Associated Press, gunfire broke out close to an entrance to the airport, the place a minimum of seven Afghans died a day earlier in a panicked stampede of 1000’s of individuals. The circumstances of the capturing, which occurred round daybreak, remained unclear.
However, the German army tweeted saying that one member of the Afghan military was killed and three others have been wounded by “unknown attackers”. An Italian humanitarian organisation that operates hospitals in Afghanistan stated it had handled six sufferers with bullet wounds from the airport.
Crowds of individuals close to the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 23, 2021. (Reuters)

The Taliban forces have recaptured three districts in northern Afghanistan that fell to native militia teams final week, a Taliban spokesman on Monday.
The districts of Bano, Deh Saleh, Pul e-Hesar in Baghlan province have been taken by native militia teams in one of many first indicators of armed resistance to the Taliban since their seizure of the capital Kabul on August 15, information company Reuters reported.
Men put together for defence in opposition to the Taliban in Panjshir, Afghanistan August 22, 2021. (Reuters)
Taliban forces had cleared the districts and have been established in Badakhshan, Takhar and Andarab close to the Panjshir valley, in line with the Twitter account of spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

Forces loyal to Ahmad Massoud, son of the anti-Soviet mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, have established themselves within the Panjshir valley, a mountainous space northwest of Kabul which resisted the Taliban earlier than 2001.
Anti-Soviet and anti-Taliban commanders collect in Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan August 23, 2021. (Reuters)
Massoud, whose forces embrace remnants of standard military and particular forces items, has referred to as for negotiations to type an inclusive authorities for Afghanistan however has promised to withstand if Taliban forces attempt to enter the valley.
Earlier, the Taliban had stated that lots of of fighters have been heading in the direction of Panjshir however there was no quick affirmation of any combating.
Japan to ship army planes to Kabul to evacuate Japanese
Japan will ship three army plane to Afghanistan beginning Monday to evacuate Japanese residents and native employees as safety deteriorates following the Taliban takeover, the Associated Press reported citing officers.
Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi stated the planes will choose up Japanese nationals and Afghans who labored for the Japanese Embassy and growth businesses.
Taliban members in Kabul, Afghanistan. (The New York Times)
“The local situation is rapidly becoming fluid … and we are doing everything we can to get them out of the country,” Kishi stated.
Japan had closed its Kabul embassy on August 15 and arrange a brief workplace in neighboring Turkey two days later. However, native staff on the embassy and different Japan-related organisations stay in Afghanistan.
Pakistan FM urges Afghan political settlement
Pakistan has urged the Taliban and different leaders in Afghanistan to attempt to attain an “inclusive political settlement” as quickly as doable. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi issued the enchantment at a information convention forward of his upcoming go to to a number of regional international locations.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi addresses the present scenario in Afghanistan throughout a press convention, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. (AP)
According to AP, Qureshi will depart for Uzbekistan on Tuesday on a visit that can even embrace stops in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran to debate the scenario in Afghanistan. He stated he had already spoken with officers in China by cellphone.
Qureshi stated it was a superb signal that the Taliban have been already speaking to another Afghan leaders, together with former president Hamid Karzai. Qureshi stated Pakistan will proceed to play its position for a peaceable and politically negotiated resolution of the Afghan situation.
(Inputs from businesses)