The United Nations warned on Thursday that the freezing of billions of dollars in Afghan assets to keep them out of Taliban hands would inevitably spark "a severe economic downturn" and could push millions more Afghans into poverty and hunger.
UN special envoy on Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, said a way needed to be found to get money quickly flowing to the country "to prevent a total breakdown of the economy and social order" and with safeguards to ensure it is not misused by the Taliban, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, just over 100 passengers, including some Americans, left Kabul airport on Thursday on the first flight carrying foreigners out of the Afghan capital since a US-led evacuation ended on August 30.
The first international flight came as the Taliban continue their transition from insurgents to governing power, less than a month after they marched into Kabul and ousted president Ashraf Ghani, AFP reported.
Here are the LIVE updates on the Afghanistan Crisis:
Resistance Leader Ahmad Massoud Still In Afghanistan: ReportAhmad Massoud, the leader of the Afghan resistance forces, has not left Afghanistan, Iranian news agency FARS reported on Saturday citing a source." According to the source, rumours about Massoud leaving the Central Asian country for Turkey or any other place are false. Read here.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed Friday for an injection of cash into Afghanistan to avoid an economic meltdown that would spark a "catastrophic" situation for the Afghan people and be a "gift for terrorist groups", reported Reuters. His remarks come after his special envoy on Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, warned the Security Council on Thursday the freezing of billions of dollars in international Afghan assets to keep them out of Taliban hands would inevitably spark "a severe economic downturn." "At the present moment the UN is not even able to pay its salaries to its own workers," Guterres told reporters.
Flights of Afghanistan refugees into the US have been temporarily paused because of four cases of measles, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday, reported Reuters.
Many In Taliban's De Facto Admin On UN Sanctions List: Afghan Envoy Deborah LyonsMany members in the "de facto" Taliban administration in Afghanistan, including the prime minister and foreign minister, are designated by the UN, and the Security Council needs to decide steps on the sanctions list, a top UN official said.
.@OnReality_Check | "Taliban put us in prison for covering #Kabul women's protest, I was beaten with cables," says one of the journalists with Afghan paper Etilaatroz, who was among those beaten by the #Taliban. pic.twitter.com/nSMgTmvLaw
- NDTV (@ndtv) September 10, 2021
After evacuating Afghanistan, the first of about 3,500 people - mostly women and children - have left Australia's mandatory hotel quarantine. They are grateful for their escape but worry about those left behind, an aid worker said on Friday.
Woman Can't Be A Minister... They Should Give BirthWomen can't be ministers, they should give birth, a Taliban spokesperson has said in an interview, reinforcing the perception that the hardline group's claims of a new improved version since its brutal rule in Afghanistan in the 1990s are false.
Afghanistan Situation "Fragile", "Of Direct Concern To Us": India At UNTerming the situation in Afghanistan as "very fragile", India has said it is important that the Taliban adheres to its commitment to not allow the use of the Afghan soil for terrorism, including from terror groups designated under Security Council.
Opinion: With Taliban, Pak Settles Old Scores Against USAs Washington ponders how the U.S. lost its longest war in Afghanistan, it's worth considering another question: Who won the war?
BRICS Nations Supportive Of India Perspective On Afghanistan: OfficialRussia, China, South Africa and Brazil supported India's perspective on the ongoing developments in Afghanistan and the region at the 13th BRICS summit, said Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs.
"The situation in Afghanistan continues to be very fragile. As its immediate neighbour and a friend to its people, the current situation is of direct concern to us": India's Permanent Representative to UN TS Tirumurti at UNSC Debate on #Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/4kxdzijU22
- NDTV (@ndtv) September 10, 2021
#BRICS Leaders Call For Settling #Afghanistan Situation By Peaceful Means
- NDTV (@ndtv) September 10, 2021
Read more: https://t.co/yXZe5Kl1bQ pic.twitter.com/QOHNgFaoeT
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleads with the international community to maintain dialogue with the #Taliban in #Afghanistan, warning that an "economic collapse" with possibly millions dying must be avoided.
- NDTV (@ndtv) September 10, 2021
(AFP News Agency)
Taliban Takeover Sparks Fear For Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage SitesBamiyan's cultural centre should have been completed last month, showcasing the remarkable heritage of a site that Afghanistan's Taliban desecrated two decades ago by dynamiting ancient statues of Buddha.
Interim Taliban Government Doesn't Reflect What International Community Hoped To See: USThe interim Taliban government does not reflect what the international community and the United States hoped to see, the Biden Administration said on Thursday.
