Taliban to declare ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’; Afghan Embassy India account hacked

Taliban made its way into Afghanistan’s capital city early Sunday. President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the county. An official from the Taliban has said that they will soon declare ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ from the presidential palace in Kabul.

The official said that it was the official name of the country under the Taliban government that was ousted by the US-led forces after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. The Taliban has asked officials to return things to the way they were 20 years ago during the Talibani rule. The asked officials to beware of bribery, embezzlement, arrogance, corruption, laziness and indifference.

In a joint statement, more than 60 countries led by the US said that given the deteriorating security situation, they are working to secure and called on all parties to respect and facilitate the safe and orderly departure of foreign nationals and Afghans who wish to leave the country.

The US also said that it would deploy as many as 6,000 troops at the Kabul airport to ensure safe departure of its citizens and those from its friends and allies from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Abdulhaq Azad, Press Secretary to Afghan Embassy in India said that the Twitter account of Afghan Embassy India has been hacked. "I have lost access to Twitter handle of Afghan Embassy India, a friend sent a screenshot of  this tweet, (this tweet is hidden from me.) I have tried to log in but can’t access it. Seems it is hacked," he said sharing a screenshot of a tweet slamming Ashraf Ghani, calling him a traitor and a ‘stain’ on their history.

Ghani, on the other hand, said in a Facebook post late on Sunday that he had to face a ‘hard choice’ between the Taliban or ‘leaving the dear country’ he dedicated his life to protect in the last 20 years.

"If there were still countless countrymen martyred and they would face destruction and destruction of Kabul city, result would have been a big human disaster in this 6 million city. Taliban have made it to remove me, they're here to attack all Kabul and the people of Kabul," he said in the official statement.

(With agency inputs)

Also read: US to expand security presence at Kabul airport; to deploy 6,000 troops