Taliban seize Jalalabad, cut off Afghan capital from east
Kabul, Aug 15 (AP): The Taliban on Sunday seized the last major city outside of Kabul held by the country's increasingly isolated central government, cutting off the capital to the east and tightening their grip on the nation as tens of thousands fled their rapid advance.
The collapse of Jalalabad, near a major border crossing with Pakistan, leaves Afghanistan's central government in control of just Kabul and seven other provincial capitals out of the country's 34. In a nationwide offensive that has taken just over a week, the Taliban has defeated, co-opted or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swathes of the country, even with some air support by the US military.
President Ashraf Ghani, who spoke to the nation Saturday for the first time since the offensive began, appears increasingly isolated as well. Warlords he negotiated with just days earlier have surrendered to the Taliban or fled, leaving Ghani without a military option. Ongoing negotiations in Qatar, the site of a Taliban office, also have failed to stop the insurgents' advance.
As the US speeds troops into the country to protect its embassy, thousands of civilians now live in parks and open spaces in Kabul itself, fearing the future. While Kabul appeared calm Sunday, some ATMs stopped distributing cash as hundreds gathered in front of private banks, trying to withdraw their life savings.
Militants posted photos online early Sunday showing them in the governor's office in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.
Abrarullah Murad, a lawmaker from the province told The Associated Press that the insurgents seized Jalalabad after elders negotiated the fall of the government there. Murad said there was no fighting as the city surrendered.
The fall Saturday of Mazar-e-Sharif, the country's fourth largest city, which Afghan forces and two powerful former warlords had pledged to defend, handed the insurgents control over all of northern Afghanistan.
Atta Mohammad Noor and Abdul Rashid Dostum, two of the warlords Ghani tried to rally to his side days earlier, fled over the border into Uzbekistan on Saturday, said officials close to Dostum. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorised to publicly speak about his movements.
Writing on Twitter, Noor alleged a conspiracy aided the fall of the north to the Taliban, without elaborating.
Despite our firm resistance, sadly, all the government and the Afghan security forces equipment were handed over to the Taliban as a result of a big organized and cowardly plot, Noor wrote. They had orchestrated the plot to trap Marshal Dostum and myself too, but they didn't succeed.
In his speech Saturday, Ghani vowed not to give up the achievements of the 20 years since the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban after the 9/11 attacks.
The US has continued holding peace talks between the government and the Taliban in Qatar this week, and the international community has warned that a Taliban government brought about by force would be shunned. But the insurgents appear to have little interest in making concessions as they rack up victories on the battlefield.
We have started consultations, inside the government with elders and political leaders, representatives of different levels of the community as well as our international allies, Ghani said. Soon the results will be shared with you, he added, without elaborating further.
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Man booked for duping 7 persons of Rs 91 lakh on promise of awarding govt works
Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai police have registered a case against a man for allegedly duping seven persons of Rs 91 lakhs on the promise of awarding them works of different government departments, an official said on Tuesday.
The accused was identified as Satish Kadam, a resident of Nanded in Marathwada region, an official said.
A complaint was filed by Hanumant Vadje, who alleged that the accused cheated him and six others of around Rs 91 lakh by promising to give them various works of Urban Development and Social Justice Department, he said.
The fraud occurred between 2024 and 2026, with Kadam collecting money in cash and into his accounts, police said, adding he had returned some amount to them partially.
Multiple cheques issued by the accused bounced, prompting the victim to lodge a complaint at the Marine Drive police station. Based on the complaint, a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust was registered against him.
The case is under further investigation, the official said.
