Taliban loses Charikar

ISLAMABAD, July 20: Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Masood captured Charikar, a strategic town north of Kabul, from the dominant Taliban militi...

ISLAMABAD, July 20: Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Masood captured Charikar, a strategic town north of Kabul, from the dominant Taliban militia, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) agency said.

Fighting was raging near the large airbase at Bagram, about 40 km from the capital when last reports came in.

Unconfirmed reports said Bagram had also fallen to Masood’s forces, which launched a major offensive early this morning.

Story continues below this ad

Last week, the strongman of ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani had moved his forces out of his fortified base in the Panjshir valley. There were no details of the fighting.

Meanwhile, supreme leader of Taliban militia Mullah Mohammed Omar has confirmed that Pakistani youths were fighting along with Taliban forces in the Afghan war.

`These youths have joined voluntarily to fight for Islam against the forces of evil,” Omar said in an interview to Pak-based Afghan Islamic press (AIP).

On SIR and SC, a question: Did we shortchange constitutional rights in the face of fearmongering?

Pan-India SIR set to be rolled out in phases in Nov, states headed for polls in 2026 first

India2 hr ago

The EC held a two-day conference with CEOs to assess preparations for a nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The revision will begin in early November, starting with states going to polls in 2026. The final rollout plan will be announced after the conference, with the eligibility cut-off potentially following the same principle as in Bihar.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS