Bold action needed to monitor Afghanistan’s rights situation: UN human rights chief

Afghans walk along fences as they arrive in Pakistan through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

The UN human rights chief warned on Tuesday that she had received credible reports of severe abuses in areas under Taliban control in Afghanistan, including "summary executions" of civilians and security forces who had laid down their arms and restrictions on women.

Michelle Bachelet urged the Human Rights Council to take "bold and vigorous action" to monitor the rights situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban's stunning takeover raised fears that they will return the country to the brutal rule they imposed when they were last in power.

Taliban leaders have promised to restore security and tried to project an image of moderation, but many Afghans are skeptical and are racing to leave the country, leading to chaos at Kabul's international airport. Amid scattered reports, it has been difficult to determine how widespread abuses might be and whether they reflect that Taliban leaders are saying one thing and doing another, or if fighters on the ground are taking matters into their own hands.

Leaders from the Group of Seven nations plan to meet later on Tuesday to discuss the burgeoning refugee crisis and the collapse of the Afghan government amid wrangling over whether the full US withdrawal of troops could be extended beyond the end of the month to allow more time to evacuate those desperate to leave.

US administration officials have refused to be pinned down about whether an extension is likely or even possible given that a Taliban spokesman has warned that August 31 is a "red line" and that extending the American presence would "provoke a reaction."

1,600
No. of people Oz has evacuated from Afghanistan

Ukraine, Iran deny hijacking reports

Ukraine and Iran have denied reports of hijacking of a Ukrainian evacuation plane from Afghanistan, reported The Jerusalem Post. Tehran and Kiev denied hijacking of any Ukrainian evacuation plane in Afghanistan, The Jerusalem Post added. Earlier in the day, Ukraine's deputy foreign minister Yevgeny Yenin claimed a Ukrainian plane was hijacked in Afghanistan by unidentified people who flew it into Iran, TASS news agency reported.

US spy holds secret meet with Taliban leader

America's top spy held a secret meeting with the Taliban's de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the two sides since the militant group seized the Afghan capital, a media report said on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden's decision to dispatch his top spy, a veteran of the foreign service, comes amid a frantic effort to evacuate people from Kabul international airport in what the president has called "one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history," the paper said.

Karzai, Abdul Ghani in Taliban council

Taliban included ex-Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the High Council for National Reconciliation chief Abdullah Abdullah and Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar in its 12-member council which will govern the country, according to a source.

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