LIVE: Afghanistan now emancipated, we seek no revenge, says Taliban

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: An IAF aircraft today left from Kabul to India carrying the Indian ambassador and other personnel as part of the emergency evacuation

1:59 AM

Today, the terrorist threat is metastasized, well beyond Afghanistan: US President Joe Biden

Today, the terrorist threat is metastasized, well beyond Afghanistan: US President Joe Biden

1:56 AM

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Afghanistan

1:14 AM

MEA sets up Afghanistan cell to coordinate repatriation

11:33 PM

Security increased outside Afghan embassy in Delhi

The Delhi Police on Monday beefed up security outside the Afghan embassy in central Delhi's Chanakyapuri, a day after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Several Afghan nationals visited the embassy. Some mediapersons too gathered outside it. "To manage them and keep the situation normal, security was increased outside the embassy. However, we have no threat inputs as of now, a senior police officer said.

 

Talking to reporters, Afghan national Farhan said, "I came here to renew my passport, but it could not happen... The situation in Afghanistan is very bad. My family and relatives are there and I am worried about them. The Taliban had killed my father.

 

Another Afghan national said his family lives in Kabul and that they all are worried after the Taliban takeover of the country. Afghanistan stared at an uncertain future with President Ashraf Ghani leaving the country just before Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban on Sunday.

10:46 PM

Afghan President Ghani fled Kabul in helicopter stuffed with cash: Russian media

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani allegedly fled the war-torn country aboard a helicopter stuffed with money but had to leave some cash on the airfield as it could not be squeezed into the chopper, according to Russian official media reports on Monday. Quoting Russian embassy in Kabul, Russian official news agency TASS reported that the 72-year-old President fled Afghanistan aboard a helicopter packed with money.

 

Heavily armed Taliban insurgents swept Kabul on Sunday after a sudden and unprecedented collapse of the US-backed Ghani government, prompting the president to join fellow citizens and foreigners to leave the country.

 

"As for the reasons for the collapse of the regime, they are characterised by how Ghani fled the country. Four cars were packed with money, and they tried to cram another bag of cash into the helicopter. Not all the cash managed to squeeze in, and some of the money was left lying on the airfield," a mission employee was quoted as saying by the report.

9:55 PM

Uzbekistan says it downed Afghan military plane

An Afghan military plane was downed by Uzbekistan's air defense system on Sunday over an attempt to illegally enter the country's air space, Uzbek authorities said Monday. The downing took place in southeastern Uzbekistan, in the Surkhandarya region on the border with Afghanistan, AP reported.

 

A plane crash was first reported by local media. Uzbekistan's Defense Ministry initially said it was studying videos and reports of the crash, then confirmed the plane crash took place without offering any details. Only later Monday did officials revealed that the plane was downed.

 

Ministry officials told Russia's state RIA Novosti news agency that the country's air defense system averted an attempt by an Afghan military plane to illegally cross Uzbekistan's air border. It wasn't immediately clear what type of plane it was or how many people were on board.

9:38 PM

'Not on the cards': UK Defence Secretary on whether British forces will return to Afghanistan

British Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace said on Monday that British forces will not be returning to Afghanistan after the Taliban seized the Afghan capital city of Kabul. Responding to a question by Sky News if Britain and NATO forces would return to Afghanistan, Wallace said, "That's not on the cards that we're going to go back," reported Xinhua.Wallace said Britain was doing everything it could to evacuate British nationals and Afghans with links to Britain.

 

"Our target is...about 1,200 to 1,500 exit a day in the capacity of our aeroplanes, and we'll keep that flow," he said.

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that the US decision to pull out of Afghanistan has "accelerated things," reported Xinhua. The British parliament will be recalled on Wednesday from their summer recess to debate the British government's response to the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan.

9:05 PM

ITBP to guard Indian diplomatic staff in Afghanistan till required

An armed contingent of paramilitary force Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is "actively" securing the diplomatic staff of the Indian embassy in Afghanistan's capital Kabul and will be there "till required", officials said on Monday as the Taliban took over the country.

 

The officials said the force personnel are among the last of the diplomatic staff of the embassy who are present in the country.

 

The security unit of the ITBP is actively securing the embassy staffers. They will carry out their duties till it is required, the officials said. They refused to divulge the strength of the people and the armed security personnel owing to the sensitivity of the fast-changing situation in Afghanistan. The ITBP was first deployed to secure the premises of the India embassy in Kabul, diplomats and staffers in November, 2002. It later sent additional detachments to guard the Indian consulates located in Jalalabad, Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat.

8:51 PM

Afghanistan's neighbours would feel safer if there is zero-tolerance for terrorism: India's Ambassador to UN

8:46 PM

US President Biden set to address the nation on Afghanistan tonight

8:40 PM

US soldiers kill two armed men at Kabul airport

8:39 PM

One evacuation flight returns to India from Kabul: report

8:26 PM

Taliban takeover 'setback' for India; priority should be to evacuate citizens: Ex-Indian diplomats

Former Indian diplomats on Monday termed the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan as a "setback" for India strategically, and asserted that the priority for New Delhi right now should be to evacuate its citizens from the war-torn nation, PTI reported.

Taliban insurgents swept Kabul after the US-backed Afghan government collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday, bringing an unprecedented end to efforts made by the US and its allies to transform the war-ravaged nation in the last two decades.

Concerned over the developments in India's neighbourhood, several former diplomats underlined the need to evacuate citizens to ensure their safety.

8:23 PM

Over 500 tonnes of aid sitting at border crossings taken over by Taliban: US Ambassador to UN

8:16 PM

Representative of Afghanistan speaks at emergency UNSC meeting