Afghanistan crisis live updates: Taliban should be given incentives, says Pak PM Imran Khan

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday vowed to boost humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as she pledged the 27-nation bloc stands "by the Afghan people".

Female footballers from Afghanistan along with their families crossed the Torkham border to reach Pakistan on Tuesday night after the government issued emergency humanitarian visas to evacuate them from their country following the Taliban takeover, Dawn reported. The footballers belonging to the national junior girls team were facing threats from the Taliban due to their involvement in sports. They had been originally due to travel to Qatar, where Afghan refugees have been housed at a facility for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but were left stranded after a bomb blast at the Kabul airport on August 26, Dawn reported. (IANS)

A total of 736 Afghans were recorded for new registration from August 1 to September 11, the UNHCR said here, adding that it is scaling up its capacity to meet increasing requests for registration and assistance of Afghans in India. The UN refugee agency said it is in constant dialogue with the government on matters pertaining to Afghan nationals, including issuance and extensions of visa, assistance, and solutions. (PTI)

Afghanistan's new acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi has called for sanctions to be lifted against the 'Islamic Emirate'. Muttaqi on Tuesday called on Afghan expats to return home to help develop the country, as per report. (ANI)

The role of Pakistan in enabling the Taliban is a victory for the hardliners in the country's government, a top American lawmaker has said, asserting that the unfolding developments in Afghanistan and the role being played by Islamabad in Kabul are not sending a good message to India.

An Afghan ambassador appointed by the Kabul government that collapsed last month called on Tuesday for the UN to immediately launch an investigation into alleged abuses by the new Taliban authorities. Speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Nasir Ahmad Andisha stressed the need for international scrutiny of alleged violations since the Taliban takeover on August 15, particularly those concerning the rights of women and girls. “Today, the world cannot and should not be silent as millions fear for their life and human rights, and humanitarian crises are unfolding in the country,” Andisha said. (ANI)

As tens of thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban arrive in the U.S., a handful of former Trump administration officials are working to turn Republicans against them. The former officials are writing position papers, appearing on conservative television outlets and meeting privately with GOP lawmakers _ all in an effort to turn the collapse of Afghanistan into another opportunity to push a hard-line immigration agenda. (AP)

The United Nations has appealed to countries that pledged USD 1.2 billion in relief for Afghanistan to quickly release the funds to turn money into food, health care and protection for victims. Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, said the pledges in humanitarian aid announced at a high-level conference in Geneva on Monday, include funding for the flash appeal for Afghanistan and regional response. (ANI)

The European Union has no other option but to engage with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan if it wants to influence events in the country, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday. However, Borrell underlined at a European Parliament plenary session debate in the French city of Strasbourg that engagement does not mean recognition, Xinhua reported. Describing the summer's events in Afghanistan as "a tragedy," he insisted that engagement is a priority for the EU to continue protecting as many people as possible. (ANI)

Four million Afghans are facing ``a food emergency'' and the majority live in rural areas where $36 million is urgently needed for the coming months to ensure the planting of winter wheat, feed for livestock, and cash assistance for vulnerable families, the elderly and disabled, a U.N. official said Tuesday. (AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday dodged questions on whether the Afghanistan drone strike targeted a worker for an American aid organisation and members of his family instead of an ISIS bomber. US lawmaker Sen. Rand Paul grilled Blinken on the matter during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Afghanistan withdrawal. "The guy the Biden administration droned, was he an aid worker or an ISIS-K operative?" Paul asked, referencing a New York Times report that found that the vehicle struck was driven by US aid group worker Zemari Ahmadi, one of 10 people the Times said died in the attack.

A Marine from Massachusetts who was killed last month in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan was given a hero's farewell Tuesday in a public wake and burial attended by hundreds. The flag-draped casket of Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo was carried by her fellow Marines into Veterans Memorial Stadium in her hometown of Lawrence while hundreds of people lined up to pay their respects.