CIA director held secret assembly with Taliban chief Abdul Baradar in Kabul: report

The director of the CIA met with the Taliban’s high political chief in Kabul amid the continued effort to evacuate folks fleeing their takeover of Afghanistan, a US official mentioned Tuesday.
William Burns’ go to Monday got here forward of a deliberate assembly amongst leaders from the Group of Seven nations in regards to the disaster in Afghanistan and a warning from UN human rights chief of credible studies of “summary executions” and restrictions on ladies in areas underneath Taliban management. That’s fueling fears of what their rule may maintain every week earlier than US forces are set to withdraw.

Michelle Bachelet urged the Human Rights Council to take “bold and vigorous action” to watch the rights scenario in Afghanistan within the wake of the Taliban’s beautiful takeover, as she sought to make sure that worldwide consideration on the nation doesn’t wane.
Taliban leaders have promised to revive safety and tried to undertaking a picture of moderation, however many Afghans are skeptical and are racing to the depart the nation, resulting in chaos at Kabul’s worldwide airport. Amid scattered studies, it has been troublesome to find out how widespread abuses is perhaps and whether or not they mirror that Taliban leaders are saying one factor and doing one other, or if fighters on the bottom are taking issues into their very own palms.
Taliban fighters patrol in Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood within the metropolis of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. (AP)
Burns traveled to Kabul on Monday to satisfy Abdul Ghani Baradar. The particulars of their discussions weren’t instantly identified.
The Washington Post first reported Burns’ assembly with Baradar. The US official confirmed the report on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to talk publicly.

G-7 leaders plan to satisfy later Tuesday to debate the burgeoning refugee disaster and the collapse of the Afghan authorities amid wrangling over whether or not the total US withdrawal of troops could possibly be prolonged past the top of the month to permit extra time to evacuate these determined to depart.
US administration officers have refused to be pinned down about whether or not an extension is probably going and even potential given {that a} Taliban spokesman has warned that Aug. 31 is a “red line” and that extending the American presence would “provoke a reaction.”
Taliban fighters stand guard inside town of Ghazni, southwest of Kabul (AP picture)
In the meantime, tragic scenes on the airport have transfixed the world. Afghans poured onto the tarmac final week and a few clung to a US army transport airplane because it took off, later plunging to their deaths. At least seven folks died that day, and one other seven died Sunday in a panicked stampede. An Afghan solider was killed Monday in a gunfight.
On Tuesday, Bachelet known as for sturdy motion to analyze studies of rights abuses.
“At this critical moment, the people of Afghanistan look to the Human Rights Council to defend and protect their rights,” she mentioned. “I urge this council to take bold and vigorous action, commensurate with the gravity of this crisis, by establishing a dedicated mechanism to closely monitor the evolving human rights situation in Afghanistan.”
By “mechanism,” Bachelet was referring to the likelihood that the council may appoint a fee of inquiry, particular rapporteur or fact-finding mission on the scenario in Afghanistan.
A US Marine on the Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, August 21, 2021. (Reuters)
While advocacy teams like Human Rights Watch echoed such calls, a draft decision on the council stopped far in need of intensified scrutiny — and appeared to push again any deeper have a look at the rights scenario till subsequent yr.
Bachelet cited studies of “summary executions” of civilians and former safety forces who had been now not preventing, the recruitment of kid troopers, and restrictions on the rights of girls to maneuver round freely and of women to go to high school. She cited repression of peaceable protests and expressions of dissent.
Bachelet didn’t specify what time timeframe she was referring to or the supply of her studies.
Days earlier, a Norway-based non-public intelligence group mentioned it obtained proof that the Taliban have rounded up Afghans on a blacklist of individuals they imagine labored in key roles with the earlier Afghan administration or with US-led forces. Several Afghans are in hiding, saying they concern such reprisals.
When the Taliban final dominated Afghanistan within the late Nineteen Nineties, the group largely confined ladies to their properties, banned tv and music, chopped off the palms of suspected thieves and held public executions.
Bachelet famous that Taliban leaders have not too long ago pledged to respect the rights of girls, women and ethnic minorities and chorus from reprisals.
“The onus is now fully on the Taliban to translate these commitments into reality,” she instructed the 47-member-state council, which is the U.N.’s high human rights physique.