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Withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan could lead to civil war Pakistan Foreign Minister

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan was not “responsible or orderly”, warning that the “consequences of abandonment” could lead to a civil war in the war-ravaged country if the West failed to engage with the Taliban.

The last C-17 cargo aircraft carrying US forces took off from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in the early hours of Tuesday, ending America’s military campaign in Afghanistan.

The Taliban, ousted from power by the US shortly after the 9/11 attacks, now control nearly all of the country.

“Things could become chaotic, there could be anarchy, and that will give space to the organisations we all dread: the international terrorist organisation that we do not want their footprint to grow in Afghanistan,” he said.

The foreign minister said that the “consequences of abandonment” are dangerous and could “lead to a civil war.”

Qureshi said that the West should now test the new Taliban government to ensure it keeps its promises.

He said that if the West did not maintain dialogue with the Taliban, Afghanistan could fall victim to another civil war and a new wave of terrorism could spread in the region.

“They should have learned from their mistakes,” he said.

“And I think the attitude and the approach they are taking is reflective of a different approach,” the minister said.

“What I’m saying is test them (Taliban) before trusting them. They’re (making) big statements but let us see if they live up to them and if they do, then build on it because the other option is far worse,” he said.

Qureshi said the initial statements made by the Taliban leadership were positive and encouraging.

He hoped that the Taliban would work to establish an inclusive government in the multi-ethnic state.

“One option is engagement as opposed to isolation, you know we’ve withdrawn, let’s wash our hands, we’ve done our bit, we leave. That is a dangerous option. That is an option of abandonment of Afghan people,” he said.

He said that the same mistake was committed in the 1990s and urged the international community not to repeat the same mistake again.

Sonia Gandhi to take final call on induction of Prashant Kishor into Congress: Sources

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NEW DELHI: Congress President Sonia Gandhi will take a final call on the induction of poll strategist Prashant Kishor in the party and has held discussions with several senior leaders on the issue, sources said.

Some of these leaders have raised objections over his inclusion in the party, while others have favoured it as they feel he will bring a lot to the table for the party, they said.

The sources said a decision is pending at Gandhi’s end.

The group of 23 leaders, who had written to Gandhi last year seeking an overhaul of the organisation, are also learnt to have objected to his joining the Congress as the matter was discussed among them at a meeting, the sources said.

Kishor had recently met Rahul Gandhi amid talk of his joining the Congress party and assuming a key role of election management.

The matter is, however, pending as no final call has been taken.

Kishor had initially worked with the BJP in the run-up to 2014 Lok Sabha elections and thereafter joined the JD(U) and was the party’s vice president.

Kishore also worked with the Congress during the last assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

He also assisted the party in Punjab and was Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s adviser, a post he quit recently.

Mukhtar Ansari’s life is in danger in prison, claims plea filed by family in Prayagraj Court

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PRAYAGRAJ: BSP leader Mukhtar Ansari’s wife Afshan Ansari and son Umar Ansari have filed an application in the Special Court in Prayagraj stating that Mukhtar’s life is in danger inside the jail.

In the application, the wife and the son of Ansari requested the authorities to look into the matter.

Earlier, on June 30, Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force arrested the driver of BSP leader Mukhtar Ansari’s ambulance, Salim, from the Jankipuram area that will help in facilitating the investigation going on against Ansari’s ongoing cases. In the interrogation by the STF team, Salim revealed his closeness to Mukhtar and also admitted to being a part of his gang for a long time.

As of April 12, according to the police, around 52 cases are registered on various issues against Ansari in Uttar Pradesh and other states. He was transferred to a jail in Uttar Pradesh on April 7.

On April 27, gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who was recently shifted from a Punjab Jail to a highly-secured isolation barrack in the District Jail in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda, had tested positive for COVID-19.

COVID-19 India 47,092 new cases biggest spike in two months as active infections continue to increase

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NEW DELHI: With 47,092 people testing positive for COVID-19, India’s total tally of cases rose to 3,28,57,937, while active cases have increased to 3,89,583, according to Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.

The number of active cases has increased to 3,89,583 and comprise 1.19 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 97.48 per cent, ministry said.

It said that active cases increased by 11,402 in a span of 24 hours.

The weekly positivity rate has been recorded at 2.62 per cent.

It has been below three per cent for the last 69 days, it said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 3,20,28,825, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.

With 81.09 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses being administered on Wednesday, the cumulative doses given in the country under the vaccination drive has reached 66.30 crore, according to the ministry

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19 last year.

India crossed two crore cases on May 4 and three crore cases on June 23.

The 509 new fatalities include 173 from Kerala and 183 from Maharashtra, the ministry said.

It said that 4,39,529 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,37,496 from Maharashtra, 37,339 from Karnataka, 34,941 from Tamil Nadu, 25,082 from Delhi, 22,825 from Uttar Pradesh, 20,961 from Kerala and 18,459 from West Bengal.

The health ministry said that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

More than 69 lakh (69,42,335) vaccine doses have been administered on Wednesday as per the 7 pm provisional report.

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.

Cumulatively, 25,89,65,198 individuals in the age group of 18-44 years across states and Union Territories have received their first dose and 2,97,99,597 have received their second dose since the start of phase-three of the vaccination drive, according to the health ministry data.

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from Covid continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry underlined.

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