CIA director held secret meeting with Taliban leader Baradar in Kabul: Report
Washington, Aug 24: 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.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. This forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country to the UAE.
CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting in Kabul on Monday with Baradar in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the Taliban and the Biden administration since the militants seized the Afghan capital, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity,
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.
The CIA declined to comment on the Taliban meeting but the discussions likely involved the impending August 31 deadline for the US military to conclude its airlift of US citizens and Afghan allies, it added.
The Biden administration is under pressure from some allies to keep US forces in the country beyond August 31 deadline in order to assist the evacuation of tens of thousands of citizens of the US and Western countries as well as Afghan allies desperate to escape Taliban rule.
However, a Taliban spokesman on Monday warned that there will be "consequences" if the US and UK sought an extension to the August 31 deadline for the US-led troop withdrawal from the war-torn country.
Baradar, who spent eight years in Pakistani prison before his release in 2018, has served as the Taliban's chief negotiator in peace talks with the US in Qatar that resulted in an agreement with the Trump administration on the withdrawal of US forces.
In November 2020, he posed for a photo in front of gold-rimmed chairs with then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
A close friend of the Taliban's founding supreme leader Muhammad Omar, Baradar is believed to hold significant influence over the Taliban rank-and-file, the paper said.
He fought Soviet forces during their occupation of Afghanistan and was the governor of several provinces in the 1990s when the Taliban last ruled the country.
Since the Taliban's takeover of the country, he has struck a conciliatory tone, saying the militant group is seeking "an Islamic system in which all people of the nation can participate without discrimination and live harmoniously with each other in an atmosphere of brotherhood."
In his meeting with Burns on Monday, Baradar faced one of America's most seasoned diplomats, a former deputy secretary of state who has also served as US ambassador to Russia, the Post said.
In April, Burns made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan as concerns mounted about the Afghan government's ability to fend off the Taliban after the US withdrawal, the paper said.
As director, Burns oversees a spy agency that trained elite Afghan special forces units who had been viewed as a potent force in the country, but were also implicated in extrajudicial killings and human rights violations.
On Monday, before details of the secret meeting emerged, State Department spokesman Ned Price was asked about why senior US officials hadn't engaged with Baradar given the stakes in Afghanistan.
Price said "our discussions with the Taliban have been operational, tactical, they have been focused largely on our near-term operations and near-term goals what is going on at the airport compound that is what we're focused on at the moment."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Grew up in a family where women were bosses': Rahul tells students
New Delhi (PTI): "I grew up in a family where the women were the bosses," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told students during an interaction in Kerala recently, while asserting that women are generally more intelligent than men.
On International Women's Day, Gandhi posted a video of his interaction with the students on his YouTube channel on Sunday and said that a few days ago, he met some young women students in Kerala during a lunch interaction and had a very interesting conversation with them.
"I was deeply impressed by each student's dreams, curiosity, and confidence. Such conversations remind us that when women recognise their potential and move forward with an open mind, they can bring about extraordinary change," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
"Every woman is unique. Their sensitivity, understanding, and emotional intelligence provide balance and direction to society. Women also wield power in their own unique ways - with patience, long-term vision, and empathy," Gandhi asserted in his post in Hindi, accompanying the video.
"Therefore, they should have every right to move forward according to their identity, personality, and aspirations, rather than being bound by society's restrictive norms," he said.
"Heartiest greetings to all women on International Women's Day. May your strength, courage, and dreams continue to propel society toward a positive future," Gandhi said.
Posting the video on X, Gandhi said interacting with some young students in Kerala was incredibly inspiring.
"Their confidence and belief in their dreams demonstrate that women are the ultimate force for change," he said.
In the video, Gandhi is seen having a free-wheeling chat with the women students.
"I grew up in a family where the women were the bosses. So the boss of my family was my grandmother and I have always in my family, like on this table, been outnumbered by women," Gandhi tells the students.
"Women are generally more intelligent than men for the most part. Men are in a hurry and men get blinded by silly things.Women think longer term, they don't apply direct power they apply indirect power, it is more effective," he says.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge shared on X a quote by BR Ambedkar on gender equality - "You are not born to suffer. You are born to rise"
"Women are not merely participants in development. They are its driving force. Through their wisdom, resilience, compassion, and determination, women strengthen communities, and build stronger nations," Kharge said on X.
"On International Women's Day 2026, we celebrate the courage, leadership, and countless contributions of women everywhere. True progress will come when equality is not an aspiration, but a lived reality for every woman," the Congress chief said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also greeted women on International Women's Day.
"On this Women's Day, may every woman realise her strength, her rights and her power to shape the future. You matter. Your voice matters. Your dreams matter," she said on X.
केरल में कुछ युवा छात्राओं के साथ हुई बातचीत बेहद प्रेरणादायक रही।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 8, 2026
उनका आत्मविश्वास और सपनों पर विश्वास बताता है - महिलाएँ बदलाव की सबसे बड़ी शक्ति हैं।
सभी को #InternationalWomensDay की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ। pic.twitter.com/OV2fvth1rB
