Afghanistan Crisis News Updates: The United Kingdom said that it will welcome as many as 20,000 Afghans under a new resettlement program

• The IAF aircraft carrying 192 Indian officials landed in Gujarat’s Jamnagar on August 17. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) carried out a three-day evacuation operation to bring back Indians stranded in the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. 

• The interim head of Afghanistan’s central bank has left as the country’s currency plummets to new lows following the Taliban’s takeover. According to Bloomberg, Afghanistan’s currency Afghani dropped 1.7 percent to 83.5 per dollar on Tuesday, a fourth consecutive day of decline.

• Amrullah Saleh, Afghanistan’s first vice president, declared himself as a caretaker president.”Clarity: As per d constitution of Afg, in the absence, escape, resignation, or death of the President the FVP becomes the caretaker President. I am currently inside my country & am the legitimate caretaker President. I am reaching out to all leaders to secure their support & consensus,” Saleh tweeted.

Also Read: Who are the Taliban and what do they want? Everything you need to know about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

• US President Joe Biden, after criticism over his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, affirmed his decision and stated that American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.

• The United Kingdom said that it will welcome as many as 20,000 Afghans under a new resettlement program that will give priority to women, girls, and religious and other minorities, according to reports in British news outlets.

• The U.S. has frozen around $9.5 billion assets belonging to the Afghan central bank and stopped shipments of cash to the nation. So they can block access of money to the Taliban-led government.

• Joe Biden, Boris Johnson agrees to hold a G7 meeting on the Afghan crisis.

• The Taliban held its first official news conference in Kabul, declaring that it will maintain peaceful relations of Afghanistan with all the countries.

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• Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also said that they would respect women’s rights, forgive those who resisted them and ensure a secure Afghanistan.

• TOLONews, one of Afghanistan’s leading news organizations, has re-started broadcasting with female anchors today. This is unusual compared to the Kabul era of 1996.