West risks civil war unless it engages with Taliban, Pakistan warns
Afghanistan could descend into another civil war if the West fails to “engage” with the Taliban, Pakistan’s foreign minister has told Sky News.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi warned of potential “anarchy” and a resurgent threat of terrorism as he criticised the West’s exit strategy, saying there was a failure to listen to Pakistan‘s concerns about ending the war in Afghanistan and as a result the withdrawal was not “responsible or orderly”.
But he also said the initial statements from the extreme Islamist group have been “positive” and “encouraging”, and he hoped the Taliban would work towards creating an “inclusive government” in the multi-ethnic state.
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Taliban forces at the airport in Kabul after the West’s withdrawal from the city
He said: “One option is engagement as opposed to isolation, you know we’ve withdrawn, let’s wash our hands, we’ve done our bit, we leave.
“That’s a dangerous option. That’s an option of abandonment of Afghan people.
“That’s the mistake that was committed in the 90s. I would urge the international community not to repeat the same mistake again.”
But there are huge questions about whether the Taliban can be trusted. The minister said the West should “test” the ultra-conservative hardliners to make sure they were true to their word.
He added that it was in the group’s interest to act responsibly and hoped they had changed.
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Taliban celebrates as last US troops leave Kabul
“They should have learned from their mistakes,” he said. “And I think the attitude and the approach they are taking is reflective of a different approach.”
“What I’m saying is test them before trusting them. They’re big statements but let’s see if they live up to them and if they do, then build on it because the other option is far worse.
“If they’re sensible, they should in my view respect international opinion and international norms. Why? They need assistance, they will be in charge, if they will be in charge they will need humanitarian assistance, they will need financial assistance, otherwise you will see an economic collapse.”
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Will Taliban in power lead to terrorism?
But many Afghans are frightened about how their new rulers will behave.
The country has bitter memories and is fearful of a repeat of what happened when the extremists last ran the country between 1996 and 2001.
As the last American flight left Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the victory was a “lesson for other invaders”, but emphasised the group wanted “good diplomatic relations” with the US and the rest of the world.
After 20 years of bitter war and then a humiliating defeat, the West is now in a dilemma about what to do next.
But the policy choices are few and none are very desirable: cooperating with a sworn enemy against a potential bigger threat such as ISIS-K, or isolating the Taliban as international pariahs for their brutality and treatment of women.
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‘We succeeded in what we set out to do’
The foreign minister warns the “consequences of abandonment” are dangerous.
“It could lead to a civil war,” he said.
“Things could become chaotic, there could be anarchy, and that will give space to the organisations we all dread: the international terrorist organisation that we do not want their footprint to grow in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the initial statements from the Taliban had been encouraging
There is another major issue, a massive, worsening humanitarian crisis looming in the war-ravaged country.
The World Food Programme says one in three Afghans are already going hungry as the nation faces its worst drought in 30 years.
Added to that, Afghanistan is facing bankruptcy as it is heavily reliant on foreign aid, but giving money to a Taliban government would not only be an endorsement, it would also help bankroll their regime.
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Pakistan’s government is clear on this issue, though – there is no room for the “abandonment” and the world needs to come together for the Afghan people.
The stakes are extremely high for Islamabad. Neighbouring Afghanistan, it says, already hosts nearly four million refugees and can’t afford another major crisis on its borders.
Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza on Saturday – despite the humanitarian situation in the enclave worsening, Palestinian officials have warned.
According to the Gazan government’s media office, most of the humanitarian supplies were looted and stolen – “as a result of the state of security chaos that the Israeli occupation systematically and deliberately perpetuates”.
Officials say at least 600 truckloads of aid are required on a daily basis, adding: “The needs of the population are worsening.”
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Gaza nurse: ‘We’re rationing care’
A statement released late last night called for “the immediate opening of crossings, and the entry of aid and infant formula in sufficient quantities” – and “condemned in the strongest terms the continuation of the crime of starvation”.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, refuted this – and accused Hamas of “stirring up a slanderous propaganda campaign against Israel”.
He said: “The cruelty of Hamas has no boundaries. While the State of Israel is allowing the entry of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, the terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving our hostages and document them in a cynical and evil manner.
“The terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving the residents of the Strip as well, preventing them from receiving the aid.”
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Aid drops continue over Gaza
It comes as the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza said its headquarters in Khan Younis were hit by an Israeli strike, killing one staff member and injuring three others.
Footage posted on social media shows a fire broke out in the building.
Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a 60-day ceasefire, and a deal for the release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, ended in deadlock last week.
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy told the families of the hostages yesterday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would end the war.
Steve Witkoff arrives to meet families of hostages in Tel Aviv. Pic: AP
Steve Witkoff claimed that Hamas was willing to disarm to stop the conflict, despite the group’s repeated statements that it would not do so.
In response, Hamas said it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.
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After Mr Witkoff’s meeting with the families of the hostages, Hamas released two videos of an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023 and has been held in captivity in Gaza since.
The 24-year-old looked skeletal, with his shoulder blades protruding from his back. He was heard saying that he had not eaten for three days. The distressing videos show him digging his own grave, he said in the footage.
Two videos of an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, have been released by Hamas, after US special envoy Steve Witkoff this week met with the families of the hostages.
The now 24-year-old looks skeletal, with his shoulder blades protruding from his back, and says he has not eaten for three days.
The distressing videos show him apparently digging his own grave.
He worked in a restaurant, according to a video posted by Labour Friends of Israel, before he was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023.
Since then, he has been held in captivity in Gaza, and the videos suggest he is being kept in dark tunnels and surviving on scarce portions of lentils and beans.
Gaza itself is suffering “man-made mass starvation” because of Israel’s blockade on aid to the enclave, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has previously said.
Evyatar David before he was captured by Hamas. Pic: Hostages and Missing Families Forum
In the video, Evyatar David writes on a hand-made calendar on the wall of a tunnel
In the second video, released on Saturday, Mr David – according to the English subtitles – says: “I haven’t eaten for three days.”
The captions continue as he speaks while in an underground tunnel: “There’s no [sic] enough food. I barely get drinking water.”
The video shows him talking through what he ate in July, which has been recorded on a handmade calendar hung up on the side of an underground Gaza tunnel.
Speaking while under captivity and under duress, he adds: “They give me what they can get.”
At the end of the video, he is digging a hole. The subtitle reads: “This is the grave where I think I’m going to be buried in. Time is running out.”
He then appears to break down, crouching on the floor and leaning his head on his arm while still clinging to the shovel.
A poster released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum with photos of Evyatar David released in 2023, February this year and July
In a statement, his family said: “We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza – a living skeleton, buried alive.
“Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition.”
They added: “Israel and the international community must oppose Hamas’s cruelty and ensure that our Evyatar immediately receives proper nutrition.
“The intentional starvation, torture, and abuse of Evyatar for propaganda purposes violate even the lowest standards of humanitarian law and basic human decency.”
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Gaza nurse: ‘We’re rationing care’
‘Famine’ looms in Gaza
On Friday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff visited a site where the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been distributing food in Gaza.
Read more: ‘Little confidence’ US Gaza delegation would see full picture
The controversial GHF scheme has been widely condemned, including by the UK government, after fatal shootings ever since it was set up earlier this year.
According to the United Nations’ human rights office, at least 859 people have been killed “in the vicinity” of GHF aid sites since late May.
The Israel Defence Forces has repeatedly said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians” and has blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IFSPC) this week said a “worst-case scenario of famine” was sinking in across the besieged enclave.
It has also said more than 20,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition since April.
Families of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are concerned they are also starving, and blame Hamas.
On Saturday, Gaza’s health ministry said a further seven Palestinians had died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours, including a child.
Rescue crews searching for five trapped Chilean miners have discovered a body.
A section of the copper mine had collapsed on Thursday following a strong, 4.2-magnitude tremor.
The remaining four miners are still missing – and rescuers are vowing to continue their search with “strength and hope”.
A man reacts during a vigil at an entrance to El Teniente mine complex. Pic: Reuters/Pablo Sanhueza
Andres Music, general manager of El Teniente mine, said: “This discovery fills us with sadness, but it also tells us that we are in the right place, that the strategy we followed led us to them.”
Crews are trying to drill through 90m (295ft) of rock to reach the trapped miners, but Mr Music said they had not yet made contact with the workers.
Just over a fifth of the blocked underground tunnels have been cleared, with teams hoping to get through about 15m to 20m (49ft to 66ft) every 24 hours using heavy machinery.
He said rescue efforts would continue with increased caution, which could slow progress.
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Two people are now known to have died as a result of the collapse.
Another miner, Paulo Marin Tapia, was found dead on Thursday shortly after the incident.
Codelco, which owns the mine, said the identity of the second man is yet to be confirmed.
Nine other miners were injured.
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