TIMELINE

08:05, 19-Aug-2021

IMF blocks Afghanistan's access to SDR reserves over lack of clarity on government

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday it suspended Afghanistan's access to its resources, including around $440 million in new monetary reserves, due to a lack of clarity over the country's government after the Taliban seized control of Kabul.

"There is currently a lack of clarity within the international community regarding recognition of a government in Afghanistan, as a consequence of which the country cannot access SDRs or other IMF resources," an IMF spokesperson said in a statement.

21:52, 18-Aug-2021

Ghani and family are in UAE: foreign ministry

Afghanistan's Ashraf Ghani is in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf state's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

"The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds," it said in a statement.

21:07, 18-Aug-2021

EU, U.S. 'deeply worried' about Afghan women and girls

The EU, U.S. and 18 other countries issued a joint statement on Wednesday saying they were "deeply worried about Afghan women and girls." 

"We call on those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan to guarantee their protection," read the statement.

"We in the international community stand ready to assist them with humanitarian aid and support, to ensure that their voices can be heard," the bloc and countries said.  

19:23, 18-Aug-2021

Stampede at gate of airport in Afghan capital injures 17: report

Seventeen people were injured on Wednesday in a stampede at a gate to the airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Reuters reported, citing a NATO security official, as Western countries stepped up the evacuation of their diplomats and others.

18:41, 18-Aug-2021

Panicked Kabul residents gather around airport trying to flee

01:08

On August 16, Afghan residents gathered around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul after the Taliban took control of the capital. They were trying anxiously to enter the airport and flee Kabul. A local man followed his younger brother to the airport to encourage him to return home. However, he could not find his brother. "Those who came from foreign countries, they destroyed our country, and left us alone. They have left with all our property," he said.

18:38, 18-Aug-2021

Afghan central bank governor describes chaotic exit from Kabul

01:04

Ajmal Ahmady, governor of Afghanistan's central bank, on Tuesday described the chaos at Kabul's airport as he left the country following the takeover by the Taliban. Ahmady said he made it on board with no possessions and only one shoe. He termed the experience "very surreal."

17:42, 18-Aug-2021

Former Afghan president Karzai meets Taliban's political office member

A member of the Taliban's political office, Anas Haqqani, has met former Afghan president Hamid Karzai for talks, TOLOnews reported citing sources on Wednesday.

Karzai was accompanied by Abdullah Abdullah, head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, in the meeting, according to the report. 

07:45, 18-Aug-2021

U.S. freezes Afghan government reserves in its banks

The U.S. government on Sunday froze Afghan reserves held in its U.S. bank accounts to prevent the Taliban from accessing, the Washington Post reported citing sources. 

"Any Central Bank assets the Afghan government have in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban," an administration official told the newspaper in a statement.

The Afghan Central Bank had $9.4 billion in reserve assets by end of April, data from the International Monetary Fund showed.

07:26, 18-Aug-2021

Biden, Johnson agree to hold virtual G7 summit on Afghanistan

U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed Afghanistan on Tuesday and announced a virtual summit of the G7 leaders on the crisis, the White House said. "They agreed to hold a virtual G7 leaders' meeting next week to discuss a common strategy and approach," the White House said in a statement. 

This was the first phone call between Biden and a foreign leader since the startling weekend takeover by the Taliban of Kabul.

07:23, 18-Aug-2021

UK plans to welcome thousands of Afghans in new refugee plan

Britain on Tuesday announced plans to welcome up to 5,000 Afghans fleeing the Taliban during the first year of a new resettlement program that will prioritize women, girls and religious and other minorities. 

In the long term, the program aims to assist up to 20,000 people.

07:20, 18-Aug-2021

NATO says priority to evacuate as many people as possible from Afghanistan

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said on Tuesday that the priority at the moment is to evacuate as many people as possible from Afghanistan after the Taliban return to power, including NATO's own personnel, but also locals that have helped them, and people in vulnerable situations.

"What we have seen in the last few weeks was a military and political collapse at a speed which had not been anticipated ... It was a surprise, the speed of collapse, and how swiftly that happened," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference. 

Stoltenberg said NATO should make an honest assessment of what led to the "swift and sudden" collapse of the Afghan government and armed forces against the Taliban.

(With input from Xinhua)

07:06, 18-Aug-2021

'We will have to talk with Taliban,' says EU foreign policy chief

The European Union (EU) foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday that there are many lessons to be learned over Afghanistan and the Taliban's takeover, adding that the EU will have to talk with the Taliban as it has won the war. 

"The Taliban have won the war, so we will have to talk with them," Borrell said after an emergency video conference of EU foreign ministers Tuesday afternoon, adding that this does not mean moving quickly to officially recognize the Taliban's government.

06:55, 18-Aug-2021

Where does the Taliban get its money?

01:13

What do we know about the finances of the Islamic fundamentalist group of about 80,000 fighters?

Primary sources of Taliban funding according to a UN report are: Drug trafficking, extortion & ransom, mineral exploitation, tax collection and donations.

Estimates of annual income range from $300M to $1.6B.

06:42, 18-Aug-2021

What will happen to women under Taliban rule?

03:18

What will happen to the women in Afghanistan?

Many inside the country and around the world are questioning what life will be like a second time under Taliban rule. 

The Taliban says they will keep women’s rights within "the limits of Islam," but what does that mean?

Under Taliban authority in the 1990s women couldn't work, go to school, be seen in public without a male escort, had to cover themselves completely, and follow other strict rules. 

If they disobeyed, women faced severe punishments, including public beatings and executions. 

After the recent Taliban takeover, one shop in Kabul saw a rise in burqa sales, reports CNN.

People in Afghanistan are scared and some women are choosing to stay home.

The Taliban has not given specifics on what respecting women's rights within the framework of Islam will entail.

08:11, 17-Aug-2021

Afghanistan's Islamic Party leader, former president head to Doha to meet with Taliban leadership

Islamic Party leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said he is heading to Doha on Tuesday to meet with the Taliban delegation, accompanied by former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and head of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah, the Al Jazeera news channel reported on Monday.

With Ghani having fled the country, Karzai announced on social media that he had joined a "coordination council" with Abdullah Abdullah and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to negotiate with the Taliban.

"We are trying to solve the issue of Afghanistan with the Taliban leadership peacefully," Karzai said.

(With input from Reuters)

08:00, 17-Aug-2021

Merkel: Germany must focus on rescue mission in Afghanistan

Germany must urgently evacuate up to 10,000 people from Afghanistan for whom its has responsibility, Chancellor Angela Merkel told party colleagues, warning that the fallout from the conflict will last for a very long time.

"We are witnessing difficult times," Merkel told a closed-door meeting of her Christian Democrat party on Monday. "Now we must focus on the rescue mission."

The German leader said those needing evacuation included 2,500 Afghan support staff as well as human rights activists, lawyers and others whom the government sees as being at risk if they remained in the country, up to 10,000 altogether.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Germany was seeking to evacuate as many people at risk as it could, adding that NATO allies had misjudged the situation when they thought Afghan government forces could hold back the Taliban unaided.

"We want to get as many people out of the country as quickly as possible," Maas told reporters outside the foreign ministry.

(With input from Reuters)

07:37, 17-Aug-2021

Taliban takeover is world's failure, says UK defense minister

The Taliban takeover in Kabul is a "failure of the international community," Britain's Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Monday, as London called for a G7 leaders' meeting on Afghanistan. 

The UK defense minister said the West's job in Afghanistan was only half-done. "If it's a failure, it's a failure of the international community to not realize that you don't fix things overnight," he said. 

"All of us know that Afghanistan is not finished. It's an unfinished problem for the world and the world needs to help it," he told BBC television. 

In wake of Taliban's regain of power, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also urged G7 leaders to discuss the situation in the South Asian nation and to prevent humanitarian fallout.

Downing Street said on Monday that Johnson "outlined his intention to host a virtual meeting... in the coming days," during a call to French President Emmanuel Macron, when he stressed the need for a "unified approach." 

07:25, 17-Aug-2021

Macron says Afghanistan must not again be 'sanctuary of terrorism'

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said that Afghanistan should not become again the "sanctuary of terrorism" that it was until the U.S.-led invasion two decades ago, after the Taliban regained control of the country.  

"It is a challenge for peace and international stability, against a common enemy. We will do everything we can so that Russia, the United States and Europe can cooperate efficiently, because our interests are the same," Macron said in a televised address from his summer residence. 

He also said the European Union would set up an initiative to thwart the large migrant flows now expected from the country, cracking down on illegal people smuggling rings that risk emerging.

(With input from AFP and Reuters)

07:24, 17-Aug-2021

Iran urges int'l community to help displaced Afghans

Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday called the international community to help the displaced Afghans as a result of the current situation in Afghanistan. It also welcomed the establishment of a coordination council to ensure a "peaceful transfer of power."

"We hope the international community and the responsible bodies will pay serious attention to this issue, and especially in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, will hasten to their inherent duties to help these displaced persons without delay," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted by the ministry's website as saying in response to questions from reporters.

07:17, 17-Aug-2021

Biden defends U.S. pullout from Afghanistan despite panic in Kabul

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday defended the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, saying U.S. troops could not defend a nation whose leaders "gave up and fled."

"We gave them every chance to determine their own future. We could not provide them with the will to fight for that future," Biden said, adding he could no longer ask U.S. soldiers to risk their lives in the country, 20 years on. "Our mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to have been nation-building." 

In his address at the White House - his first public appearance since Taliban took control of the country in astonishing fashion during the weekend - he admitted the Taliban advance had unfolded more quickly than expected. 

(With input from agencies)

06:46, 17-Aug-2021

Afghanistan after a new Taliban takeover

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As the Taliban take charge over Afghanistan and U.S. troops and missions hastily pulling out, crowds of Afghans are fleeing across the nation’s borders and attempting to catch flights out of the country. 

U.S. President Biden promised to send another 5,000 troops to Afghanistan, but few have arrived. Taliban forces have taken over Kabul and the presidential palace, as well as other key cities around the country.