TALIBAN Facing Mounting Problems In AFG

AS Taliban is sending more fighters to Panjshir Valley where Ahmad Massoud is leading an anti-Taliban group, the  Group of  7 nations is meeting on  August 24 to adopt a common strategy on the mountainous country. Massoud said on Sunday he hoped to hold peaceful talks with the Islamist movement but that his forces were ready to fight. Massoud camp claimed killing 300  armed Talibans and has sought the help of those who cherish democracy as many Afghan civilians have joined the anti-Taliban campaign. He is the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, one of the key leaders of Afghanistan’s Anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s. Australia is willing to assist with evacuations from Afghanistan after August  31, if the United States decides to delay its withdrawal. Britain, meanwhile, is planning to push world leaders to consider new sanctions on the Taliban at the G7 meet  President Joe Biden indicated he would support Britain’s push for sanctions if the Taliban committed abuses, says Reuters. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has, meanwhile, postponed a visit to Kabul following evidence coming on the public domain between the Pak-Taliban nexus.  The 7G nations are expected to finalise their strategy as to how to tackle the Ultra fundamentalist Taliban flexing muscle in Afghanistan.   British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter it is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years. The UK holds this year’s presidency of the G-7 nations comprising   Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US are other members of the grouping. POTUS Joe Biden  says the White House is considering sanctions against the Taliban regime. We know that terrorists may seek to exploit the situation & target innocent Afghans or American troops. We’re maintaining constant vigilance to monitor & disrupt threats from any source, including ISIS & the Afghan affiliate known as ISIS-K. Discussions are going on among us & the military about extending (Aug 31 evacuation deadline), our hope is, we don’t have to extend. But there going to be a discussion, I suspect on how far along we’re in the process’’, Biden said during an address from White House There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain & loss and the heart-breaking images you see, it’s just a fact. My heart aches for those people you see. At the end of the day, if we didn’t leave Afghanistan now, when would we? Some people said responding to his tweets on AFG: If this was their (US) strategy then they should have started evacuating people much before leaving Afghanistan? Why did they take this step all of a sudden! People’s lives don’t matter to them, they alleged as AFG experts say  Taliban retakes power, but it faces mounting challenges ahead. Aljazeera writes Talibans are facing the armed group as it prepares to rule the country of 38 million for the second time since 2001. “Advisers to the previous government headed by President Ghani, who has since fled the country, say the former government’s decision to withdraw government troops from remote areas backfired, as it allowed the Taliban to build momentum and strike fear among the remaining troops”. Edited by PK Chakravarty with agency inputs.