WASHINGTON, 16 August 2021, (TON): In an Independence Day message, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed the hope to continue to work with Pakistan to advance the Afghan peace process.

The top US diplomat also underlined 70 years of partnership between the two countries, hoping that this relationship will continue in years to come.

Secretary Blinken wrote “we continue to collaborate to advance the Afghan peace process, boost economic ties, and address the climate crisis.”

He added “I look forward to strengthening our relationship in years to come as we look for opportunities to advance our shared goals of security, stability, and prosperity in South Asia.”

Blinken underlines 70 years of partnership with Islamabad.

Prime Minister Imran Khan complained earlier this week that the United States saw his country as useful only for clearing the “mess” it was leaving behind in Afghanistan.

The prime minister told foreign journalists at a briefing in Islamabad said “Pakistan is just considered only to be useful in the context of somehow settling this mess which has been left behind after 20 years of trying to find a military solution when there was not one.”

In recent statements, US officials and lawmakers have pressed Pakistan to use its influence over the Taliban to broker a peace deal between Taliban insurgents and the Afghan government.

They want Pakistan to prevent a Taliban takeover of Kabul.

Secretary Blinken wrote “for more than seven decades, the United States and Pakistan have worked together in partnership. Over the past year, we have expanded our cooperation in key areas such as health.”

 “On behalf of the government of the United States of America, I offer best wishes to the people of Pakistan as they celebrate their Independence Day.”

ISLAMABAD, 16 August 2021, (TON): Pakistan's civil and military leaders will meet today in a hurriedly called session of the high-powered National Security Committee (NSC) to discuss the latest Afghan situation as Taliban are on the cusp of returning to power after being ousted by the US 20 years ago.

The speed and the scale of the Taliban capture of Afghanistan in a matter of a week not just stunned many countries but also Pakistan.

The high-level huddle, according to official sources, will debate the tricky question: should Pakistan recognise Taliban rule if they come to power through a peaceful transition.

Before the formal meeting of the NSC, informal consultations were held on Sunday by the policymakers in view of the fast-paced developments in Afghanistan.

Late night images showed Afghan Taliban entering the presidential palace, hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

Reports quoting Taliban said “the group would soon announce the establishment of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

It is believed that Pakistan had been pushing the Afghan Taliban not to use the word “Emirate” for the possible new government to avoid legitimacy problems. However, the Afghan Taliban seem unwilling to pay heed to Pakistan’s suggestion in a first indication that contrary to the perception, they might be taking independent decisions.

Like the US assessment, Pakistan, as per the sources, was not expecting Kabul to fall too quickly.

ISLAMABAD, 16 August 2021, (TON): Pakistan says it has no plans to shut down its embassy in Kabul as the Taliban forces started entering the Afghanistan capital after taking all the major cities, including Jalalabad and Mazar-i-Sharif, across the country.

In a statement on Sunday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that Islamabad was monitoring the situation in Kabul as the situation deteriorated rapidly in the country.

The spokesperson said “the Pakistani nationals in the war-torn country were being assisted and there were no plans to close the embassy as of yet.”

He said “Pakistan has always stood for peace in Afghanistan. Islamabad wanted the security situation not to deteriorate further.”

Earlier in the day, Afghanistan Minister of Interior General Abdul Satar Mirzakwal announced that there would be a 'peaceful transfer of power' to a 'transitional government' hours after the Taliban began entering Kabul.

Soon after an Afghanistan interior ministry official confirmed reports of Taliban entering Kabul from all sides earlier in the day, a spokesperson for the Taliban stated that the fighters have been ordered to remain at the city’s gates, and not enter it.

It may be noted here that on Saturday, Pakistan and the Taliban agreed to open the Chaman border crossing after successful negotiations between the two sides.

The decision regarding opening of the border had been taken by the concerned authorities three days ago in a meeting between Pakistani and Taliban officials who were responsible for running the daily affairs of the Spin Boldak district which was captured by the Taliban last month.

ISLAMABAD, 16 August 2021, (TON): Pakistan says it has no plans to shut down its embassy in Kabul as the Taliban forces started entering the Afghanistan capital after taking all the major cities, including Jalalabad and Mazar-i-Sharif, across the country.

In a statement on Sunday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that Islamabad was monitoring the situation in Kabul as the situation deteriorated rapidly in the country.

The spokesperson said “the Pakistani nationals in the war-torn country were being assisted and there were no plans to close the embassy as of yet.”

He said “Pakistan has always stood for peace in Afghanistan. Islamabad wanted the security situation not to deteriorate further.”

Earlier in the day, Afghanistan Minister of Interior General Abdul Satar Mirzakwal announced that there would be a 'peaceful transfer of power' to a 'transitional government' hours after the Taliban began entering Kabul.

Soon after an Afghanistan interior ministry official confirmed reports of Taliban entering Kabul from all sides earlier in the day, a spokesperson for the Taliban stated that the fighters have been ordered to remain at the city’s gates, and not enter it.

It may be noted here that on Saturday, Pakistan and the Taliban agreed to open the Chaman border crossing after successful negotiations between the two sides.

The decision regarding opening of the border had been taken by the concerned authorities three days ago in a meeting between Pakistani and Taliban officials who were responsible for running the daily affairs of the Spin Boldak district which was captured by the Taliban last month.

KABUL, 16 August 2021, (TON): President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan on Sunday, a top official said, effectively ceding power to the Taliban, who have entered the capital Kabul and reportedly captured the presidential palace to seal a nationwide military victory in just 10 days.

Ghani flew out of the country, two officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorised to brief journalists. Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, later confirmed Ghani had left in an online video.

Abdullah said “he left Afghanistan in a hard time, God hold him accountable.”

Afghanistan’s acting defence minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, didn’t hold back his criticism of the fleeing president.

Ghani's countrymen and foreigners alike also raced for the exit, signalling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan.

Two senior Taliban commanders present in Kabul told media the insurgents had taken control of the presidential palace.

Some Taliban leaders, surrounded by dozens of armed fighters, addressed the media from the country’s seat of power.

ISLAMABAD, 16 August 2021, (TON): the Turkish president said “Pakistan has a vital duty to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, where conflicts have intensified recently.”

“As Turkey, we are facing a wave of Afghan migrants through Iran," said Erdogan speaking alongside his Pakistani counterpart Arif Alvi at a ship launching ceremony of the Pakistan MILGEM Corvette Project in Istanbul on Sunday.

Erdogan added that his country would continue to put every effort to help bring stability in Afghanistan and in the region.

"To achieve this, we need to boost cooperation with Pakistan."

Erdogan said “Turkey will work with Pakistan to help stabilise Afghanistan and prevent a new flood of refugees.”

Erdogan said "we will continue efforts to enable the return of stability in the region, beginning with Afghanistan."

"To do that, we have to pursue and strengthen our cooperation with Pakistan."

"We are determined to mobilise all the means at our disposal to succeed," the Turkish leader said.

KABUL, 16 August 2021, (TON): President Ashraf Ghani, along with his close aides, flew out of Afghanistan on Sunday, paving way for Taliban to regain power 20 years after a US-led military invasion ousted them.

A senior Afghan Interior Ministry official confirmed that the development to Reuters. Asked for comment, the president's office said it "cannot say anything about Ashraf Ghani's movement for security reasons".

Shortly after President Ghani flew out of the country, Taliban commanders claimed that they "took control" of the presidential palace in Kabul.

The report quoted the group as saying that it expected a total handover of power.

Ghani, in his first comments since leaving the country, said that he left the country in order to avoid bloodshed.

Afghan president said that he left in order to avoid clashes with the Taliban that would endanger millions of Kabul residents.

He did not disclose details on his current location.

Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar, assured all embassies, diplomatic missions and residences of foreign nationals in Kabul that there is no danger to them.

PARIS, 15 August 2021, (TON): The presidency said that French President Emmanuel Macron will boycott a United Nations conference on the fight against racism next month over concerns about “anti-Semitic statements” at previous editions.

The follow-up meeting of the Durban Conference, named after the South African city where the first edition was held in 2001, is scheduled to bring together world leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

But the format has been controversial since its inception, with critics led by Israel charging that the first edition in Durban was tarnished by virulent and undisguised anti-Semitism.

Several countries, including France, also boycotted follow-up meetings in 2009 and 2011.

Canada, Israel, the UK, the United States and numerous European countries have already announced they are boycotting this year’s meeting.

The French presidency said in a statement that Macron “has decided that France will not take part in the follow-up conference due to take place this year as he is concerned by anti-Semitic statements made within the Durban Conference”.

BEIRUT, 15 August 2021, (TON): The Red Cross said “at least 20 people were killed when a fuel truck exploded in Lebanon’s northern region of Akkar.”

The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Videos shared on social media showed a large fire at the blast site. AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage.

The Lebanese Red Cross said on Twitter “our teams have transported 20 dead bodies and more than 7 injured from the fuel tanker explosion in #Akkar to hospitals in the area.”

Lebanon, hit by a financial crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet’s worst since the 1850s, has been grappling with dire fuel shortages for months.

The Lebanese army on Saturday said it seized thousands of liters of gasoline and diesel that distributors were stockpiling at stations across the country.

Fuel shortages have left many with just two hours of electricity a day, while several hospitals have recently warned they may have to close due to power outages.

Lebanon is facing soaring poverty, a plummeting currency and shortages of basic items like medicine.

RIYADH, 15 August 2021, (TON): A Saudi-Indian naval exercise that took place in the Arabian Gulf came to an end.

The Commander of the Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral Majid bin Hazaa Al-Qahtani, explained that several manoeuvres were carried out as part of exercise “Indian Ocean.”

The manoeuvres trained participants in protecting oil fields and islands, electronic warfare, attacking boats of all kinds, refueling, carrying out inspections and conducting search and rescue training.

Al-Qahtani indicated that the exercise achieved all of its goals including unifying concepts, exchanging experiences, refining and developing the skills of participants, and strengthening joint military cooperation.