Category: Afghanistan

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-Top News Afghanistan PAKISTAN

Drug trafficking to intensify in Pakistan due to Afghanistan violence

The security situation in Afghanistan has weakened as the US troops have almost left. The Taliban are capturing more and more areas…reports Asian Lite News

Violence in Afghanistan could intensify drug trafficking and the problem of narcotics in Pakistan, an anti-narcotics official told NIKKEI Asia.

Akbar Durrani, federal secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Narcotics Control said: “If there is no political stability in Afghanistan, it might aggravate the problems which we are experiencing already.” He added that Afghanistan is one of the major narcotics challenges for Pakistan.

The security situation in Afghanistan has weakened as the US troops have almost left. The Taliban are capturing more and more areas.

Pakistan has always been a centre of trade in Afghan-produced drugs but the increasing violence in Afghanistan has boosted the trade. The situation was under control before the US troops entered the country two decades ago but the drug trade is likely to grow in the situation of political vacuum. Drug traffickers thrive amid lawlessness and economic devastation, and the pandemic has made conditions even riper for them, NIKKEI Asia reported.

“As a result of the economic downturn triggered by the pandemic, fragile communities in areas of illicit cultivation of drugs are now increasingly vulnerable, especially in Afghanistan, where the appeal of illicit crop cultivation of opium poppy is likely to rise,” a United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime report said.

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Afghanistan is currently the world’s top opium producer. In 2020 it accounted for 85 per cent of global production and the area under poppy cultivation expanded by 37 per cent to the third-highest level ever recorded, the UN report said further.

Pakistan is one of the highest drug-consuming nations in Southwest Asia, the country now has nine million drug addicts compared to seven Million reported in 2015.

Durrani told Nikkei Asia that crystal meth in Pakistan is usually imported from faraway countries such as Mexico and Australia. But Afghanistan is now emerging as a producer of the drug, too. Afghan cooks are able to produce inexpensive crystalline methamphetamine using a native plant, ephedra, which is much cheaper than importing chemical ingredients.

Drug abuse is taking a heavy toll on the youth in Pakistan, especially students, and fuelling a life of addiction and crime.

The country’s Anti-Narcotics force has said that children as young as 9-12 have already started consuming tobacco and some as young as 13 and 14 are said to be turning to drugs. (ANI)

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-Top News Afghanistan UK News

UK PM urged to grant asylum to Afghan women

As many as eighty-one civilians were killed last week in Afghanistan despite ongoing international efforts to bring peace to the country…reports Asian Lite News.

Human and women’s rights groups on Sunday asked the UK administration to provide asylum to the vulnerable Afghan women amid the US troops withdrawal and increase in Taliban violence in the war-torn country.

The Khaama Press reported that the campaigners have asked UK to join the US in granting visas to prominent female journalists, politicians and activists prone to the Taliban threats and also airlift Afghan interpreters and its embassy’s staff and security guards in Kabul.

Earlier, the groups have asked the Biden administration to provide up to two thousand visas specifically for vulnerable women and their advocates who are at risk after the US troops pull out from Afghanistan.

Neither UK nor the US administration has shown a green signal for the recommendation made by these groups.

This comes amid a surge in violence in Afghanistan. The Taliban has intensified its offensive against the government after foreign forces have started withdrawing from the war-torn country.

As many as eighty-one civilians were killed last week in Afghanistan despite ongoing international efforts to bring peace to the country.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s efforts to mediate between the Taliban and the Afghan government failed to reduce the violence and bring peace to the war-torn country.

Pajhwok Afghan News reported that last week, 30 civilians were killed and 51 others were injured due to 17 attacks in 11 provinces. Kandahar, Baghlan, Faryab, Khost, Jawzjan, Paktika, Kapisa, Kabul, Logar and Takhar among the attacked provinces.

Though, in the ‘peace talks’, Taliban representatives and some Afghan politicians strongly condemned attacks on non-combatants, public homes, mosques and hospitals. Both sides demanded punishment to those causing civilians casualties and property loss.

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-Top News Afghanistan USA

20 US senators back legislation to help Afghan interpreters

More senators have been urging administration to do more for thousands of civilians who helped US troops, often risking their lives and those of their families….reports Asian Lite News

Nearly 20 US senators now back legislation to help protect Afghan civilians who supported US forces during the 20-year-long war in their country, a lead sponsor of the bill said on Friday, a day after President Joe Biden set a target date of Aug. 31 for withdrawal.

Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said at least 17 Democratic and Republican senators are now sponsoring her bill to increase the number of authorized visas and take other steps to improve the efficiency of a program to help bring to the United States Afghans who helped US troops.

In a speech on Thursday, Biden strongly defended his decision to pull US military forces out of Afghanistan, and set a target date of the end of next month for the final withdrawal of US forces.

A growing number of Biden’s fellow Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives have been urging his administration to do more for thousands of civilians who helped US troops, often risking their lives and those of their families.

US soldiers prepare to depart from Kunduz, Afghanistan. (Brian Harris Planet Pix ZUMA_dpa_IANS)

“We have a moral imperative to act now – before it’s too late – and fulfill our promise of safety for the Afghans who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our troops,” Shaheen said in a statement.

Senators co-sponsoring the bill include Democrats Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy, Jack Reed, Mark Kelly, Kirsten Gillibrand and Tim Kaine, as well as Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

Republicans signed on to the measure include Joni Ernst, Roger Wicker, Steve Daines, Ben Sasse, Tim Scott, Dan Sullivan, Cynthia Lummis, Rob Portman and Todd Young.

Members of the House are also working on legislation to help the Afghan civilians. Many lawmakers have voiced support for evacuating interpreters and others who worked with US forces to third countries to protect them while their applications for visas to reach the United States are reviewed.

ALSO READ: Afghan forces retaliate against Taliban attack

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-Top News Afghanistan Asia News

Afghan forces retaliate against Taliban attack

Afghan national army soldiers take part in an operation against Taliban militants in Kunduz city, Afghanistan. (Photo by Ajmal Kakar_Xinhua_IANS)

The armed insurgents launched multi-pronged offensives on Taluqan city early Sunday morning, but the security forces retaliated with heavy gunfire, forcing the insurgents to flee…reports Asian Lite News

A Taliban attack on Taluqan city, capital of Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province, has been repulsed, an official said Sunday.

The militants fled after suffering casualties and leaving over two dozen bodies, provincial government spokesman Hamid Mubariz said.

The armed insurgents launched multi-pronged offensives on Taluqan city early Sunday morning, but the security forces retaliated with heavy gunfire, forcing the insurgents to flee.

Meanwhile, army officer in the province Abdul Razaq told Xinhua that “at least 18 Taliban rebels have been killed and the rebels failed to gain ground in Taluqan city”.

Ten more militants and three soldiers have been injured in the fighting.

Taliban militants have already captured at least six districts in the troubled Takhar province and have been fighting to overrun the provincial capital Taluqan city.

The government forces have also repulsed Taliban attacks on the neighbouring Kunduz provincial capital the Kunduz city, and Badakhshan’s provincial capital Faizabad over the past couple of days.

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-Top News Afghanistan China

China Fear Revival of Turkistan Islamic Movement Amid US Troop Pull Out

In November 2020, the former Donald Trump administration removed Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) from America’s terror list, saying at the time there was “no credible evidence” that ETIM still exists, reports Asian Lite News

Amid the ongoing US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, China is worried about the instability to come in the country, a revival of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), its cross-border agitation and terrorism in Xinjiang region, said scholar Salman Rafi Sheikh.

The ETIM, also known as the Turkistan Islamic Movement, is an ethnic Uyghur group active in Afghanistan that has long sought to achieve independence for Xinjiang, which it envisions as a future “East Turkestan.”

ALSO READ – US Military Mission in Afghanistan to End on Aug 31

The ETIM is also active in Syria’s civil war, where battle-hardened fighters have largely been grouped in Idlib and other northern regions. The United Nations has categorised the group as a “terror organisation” since 2002.

In November 2020, the former Donald Trump administration removed ETIM from America’s terror list, saying at the time there was “no credible evidence” that ETIM still exists.

Turkistan

In an opinion piece in Asia Times, Sheikh said as the Taliban surges north in the wake of America’s troop withdrawal, it seems likely only a matter of time before the group overruns Kabul and its US-backed government, and establishes in its place a new “Islamic Emirate”, as it has repeatedly said it aims to do.

“A Taliban takeover, analysts and observers believe, will open new space for groups like ETIM to recruit and radicalize Uyghur youth, many of whom are already reportedly deeply disaffected by reports of Beijing’s Uyghur “vocational camps” and authoritarian control of Muslim religious practices in Xinjiang,” Sheikh added.

He further stated that for Beijing, however, the concern is not merely the spread of radical ideas among Uyghur Muslims in neighboring Afghanistan. Rather, it is the threat a resurgence of extremism could pose to its strategic Belt and Road Initiative in the region, not least in Pakistan.

Four of China’s six so-called Silk Road networks, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), emanate from or pass through Xinjiang. Those roads aim to connect China with Russia, Central, Southern, and Western Asia, reaching the Mediterranean Sea.

Specifically, Silk Road networks other than the CPEC that run through Xinjiang include the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor, the New Eurasia Land Bridge Economic Corridor, and the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor.

Sheikh said that while the departure of US and NATO forces from neighboring Afghanistan is no doubt broadly welcomed by China, it also puts Beijing in a new strategic quandary – one that could make or break its BRI ambitions in the region.

“Beijing’s concerns about the ETIM in Afghanistan are not simply an exaggerated threat assessment to justify its authoritarian control of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. In 2008, China’s Ministry of Public Security released a list of eight “terrorists” linked to ETIM with detailed charges against them, including threats to bomb the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” Sheikh added.

Citing the recent United Nations Security Council report, Sheikh said, despite the Trump administration’s denials ETIM not only exists and operates in Afghanistan but is also pursuing a “transnational agenda.”

According to the report, ETIM is among the “foremost” foreign terror groups operating in Afghanistan. The report said ETIM is situated mainly in Badakhshan, Kunduz and Takhar provinces and that Abdul Haq (Memet Amin Memet) remains the group’s leader, he said.

The report goes on to say approximately 500 ETIM operate in the north and northeast of Afghanistan, primarily in Raghistan and Warduj districts, Badakhshan, with financing based in Raghistan. Those northern areas connect with China through the narrow Wakhan Corridor, a potential passageway for Xinjiang-bound militants.

The UN report said ETIM collaborates with Lashkar-e-Islam and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, two banned Pakistani groups. It also said ETIM “has a transnational agenda to target Xinjiang, China, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as well as Chitral, Pakistan, which poses a threat to China, Pakistan and other regional states,” he said.

US soldiers prepare to depart from Kunduz, Afghanistan. (Brian Harris Planet Pix ZUMA_dpa_IANS)

Citing another report, Sheikh said that it indicates Beijing is trying to get a grip on the situation in Afghanistan. According to media reports, in December 2020, a Chinese spy ring was arrested in Afghanistan.

Although Beijing denied the allegation, Ahmad Zia Saraj, the chief of Afghanistan’s National Directorate Security, confirmed to the Afghan Parliament that the arrests had indeed been made. What information the reputed spies may have gathered and transmitted to Beijing before their apprehensions, however, is unknown, he added. (ANI)

ALSO READ – China Wants a Taliban Govt in Afghanistan

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-Top News Afghanistan China

China Wants a Taliban Govt in Afghanistan

For long, the Chinese have wanted to play a leading role in Afghanistan, buoyed by support from neighbouring Pakistan, and with the Taliban as the frontline, a report by Atul Aneja and Rahul Kumar

A grand geopolitical drama with seismic implications is unfolding in Afghanistan. The United States is leaving Kabul with its mission largely unaccomplished.

Pakistan-backed Taliban fervently wants to fill the emerging vacuum left behind by the departing American and NATO forces.

But if the Taliban succeeds in driving the formation of a new government, the real winner would be China, accepted by Pakistan after considerable internal quarrels, as its unrivalled boss.

For long, the Chinese have wanted to play a leading role in Afghanistan, buoyed by support from neighbouring Pakistan, and with the Taliban as the frontline. Way back in 2016, when the Americans were giving early indications of their departure, a leading Chinese think tanker had told The Hindu, that after the Americans leave, China would be the custodian of Afghanistan’s destiny.

“The killing of Osama bin Laden was a benchmark, as it marked the Obama administration’s policy to scale down American presence in Afghanistan. Ever since, China has given more and more importance to its bilateral ties with Afghanistan. China has to plug the resulting vacuum because no one else would. This is necessary to secure One Belt One Road (OBOR). Then there are compulsions of safeguarding the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Xinjiang’s stability is another big concern,” said Hu Shisheng, a South Asia expert with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR)

What are China’s strategic objectives in Afghanistan?

First, China wants to pivot Afghanistan in its direction and dock Kabul with Beijing’s Belt and Road projects. That structural change is possible by extending the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan. Right now, CPEC starts from the Arabian sea port of Gwadar in Pakistan and the heads to Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang province. But it can be further extended into Afghanistan, the gateway to Uzbekistan and the heart of Central Asia.

“We can vouch that China will fund the rebuilding of Afghanistan through the Taliban via Pakistan,” the Financial Times quoted an Indian official as saying. “China is Pakistan’s wallet.” FT quoted another diplomat in the region as saying: “China at the request of Pakistan will support the Taliban.”

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China is no stranger to the Taliban. Taliban delegations have been making regular visits to Beijing, and China has feted them across the country with lavish excursions.

“China wants to extend the BRI network in Afghanistan and has been in contact with the Taliban since 2014. It recently pledged a road network and various energy projects for Taliban in exchange for peace but nothing concrete has been heard from the Taliban,” geopolitical analyst Mark Kinra told India Narrative.

Second, by drawing Afghanistan in new structural networks, the Chinese want to wean away Kabul’s dependence on India and the West, thus, geopolitically positioning the country firmly into Eurasian multilateral structures.

Third, once Afghanistan enters the “new era,” China is expected to gun for Afghanistan’s vast natural resources including lithium and rare earths which go into everything from new energy vehicles, cell phones to missiles. Gwadar and Karachi would become natural gateways for transporting this raw material to industrial hubs, from where they are marketed and sold across the world at high profits.

But China’s gameplan in partnership with the Pak-Taliban nexus is not a done deal. Russia is bound to oppose Chinese inroads into Central Asia, which has been traditionally Moscow’s backyard. India is unlikely to accept a situation where hostile forces converge, Pakistan gets its coveted “strategic depth” against New Delhi, and the country is exposed to terror exports.

Fourth, China wants to stop the use of Afghan territory as the launchpad for ethnic Uyghur fighters who are part of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM). “China’s lure for investment is also to restrict Islamic militants from crossing into China. The ETIM aligned with Taliban has been active in Badakhshan province bordering China, where the Taliban has recently been closing in with attacks in various districts of the province,” adds Kinra.

The key to reversing the China’s diabolic gameplan of being the masters of Eurasia lies in making air power available to the Afghan government forces, which have boots on the ground to block the Taliban’s march to Kabul. The Pakistanis have refused to provide the Americans any airbases to mount an anti-Taliban air campaign. India and Russia, with considerable heft in the air may like to consider a plan-b to check China’s regional advance, routed through Afghanistan.

Quad could counter BRI

 Ahead of the proposed in-person summit of the Quad countries — India, Japan, Australia and the United States – later this year a top US official has unveiled a vision for competing with China by forming a broad strategic and economic coalition of like-minded countries.

Kurt Campbell, US President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific policy coordinator said that “a period that had been broadly described as engagement has come to an end.”

“The dominant paradigm is going to be competition. Our goal is to make that a stable, peaceful competition that brings out the best in us,” he said during an online event with Stanford University. But he cautioned: “There will likely be periods ahead, in which there will be moments of concern.”

Campbell said that the proposed Quad summit could look at going ahead with a grand infrastructure plan that would be at par with the China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)– a massive pan-Eurasian connectivity project that Beijing leads.

“We want to look this fall to convene an in-person Quad and the hope will be to make a similar kind of engagement on infrastructure more generally,” Campbell observed.

The Quad has already mutated into a Quad+ mechanism which also includes New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Three Quad countries�India, Japan and Australia are also working together to form alternate supply chains that exclude China.

The US official stressed that more countries could join Quad core in the future.

Campbell pointed out that the “operating system” that the US had helped build in Asia had not been disturbed. Yet, it was “under substantial strain” on account of China’s rise.

“It’s going to need to be reinvigorated in a number of ways, not just by the United States, but other countries that use the operating system and that means Japan, that means South Korea, Australia, countries in Europe that want to do more in Asia and across the board.” France, Germany and Britain have already flagged their strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region, but details about working as a collective with other partners were yet to be defined.

Campbell asserted that the Quad was not an exclusive “fancy club.” If there are other countries that believe that they’d like to engage and work with us, the door will be open as we go forward,” Campbell said.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

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-Top News Afghanistan USA

US Military Mission in Afghanistan to End on Aug 31

President Joe Biden during a press briefing (Source witter@POTUS)

President Biden has assured his Afghan counterpart, Ashraf Ghani, that the US will continue to provide civilian and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan even after the pull out, reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden on Thursday confirmed that the US military drawdown in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31.

Talking about US drawdown efforts in Afghanistan, Biden in a press briefing said, “When I announced drawdown in April, I said we would be out by September, and we are on track to meet that target. Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31. The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way, prioritizing the safety of our troops till they depart.”

“Our military commanders advised that once I made the decision to end the war. We needed to move swiftly, to conduct the main elements of the drawdown. And in this context, speed is safety and thanks to the way in which we have managed. Our drawdown, no one, no one US Forces have been lost. Conducting our drawdown differently would have certainly come with an increased risk of safety to our personnel,” added Biden.

Earlier, Biden has set a deadline of September 11 for the final pullout of the few remaining troops from Afghanistan. Talking about the early exit from Afghanistan, he stressed, “To me, these risks were unacceptable. There was never any doubt that our military performed this task efficiently and with the highest level of professionalism. That’s what they do and the same is true of our North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and partners who have supported.”

Further, he said that the US will retain some authority in Afghanistan. “I want to clear, the US military in Afghanistan continues through the end of August. We retain personnel and capacities in the country. We maintain some authority, the same authority, under which we have been operating for some time.”

Regarding the objectives of the war in Afghanistan, he stated, “As I said in April, the US did what we went to do in Afghanistan, to get the terrorists who attacked the US on 9/11 and deliver justice to Osama Bin Laden and to keep Afghanistan from becoming a base in which attacks could be continued against the US.”

“We achieved those objectives. That’s why we went,” stressed Biden.

Assistance to continue

President Biden has assured his Afghan counterpart, Ashraf Ghani, that the US will continue to provide civilian and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan even after the American military drawdown by August 31.

“In our meeting, I also assured President Ashraf Ghani that US support for the people of Afghanistan will endure. We will continue to provide civilian and humanitarian assistance including speaking out for the rights of women and girls,” said Biden.

He also said that the US did not go to Afghanistan for nation-building. “It’s the rights and responsibilities of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.”

Talking about the American assistance to Afghanistan in the backdrop of its military drawdown by August 31, Biden said, “Together with our NATO allies and partners we have trained and equipped nearly 300, 000 current serving members of the military – Afghan National Security Forces. Hundreds of that security forces trained over the last two decades. We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools.”

He also emphasized the modern military tools that have been provided to Afghanistan to fight back the terrorists.

“Let me emphasize, all the tools, training, equipment of any modern military. We provided advanced weaponry and we’re going to continue to provide funding and equipment and we will ensure, we have the capacity to maintain their Air Force, but most critically as I stressed in my meetings just two weeks ago, Afghan leaders have to come together and drive toward a future that the Afghan people want and they deserve.”

Meanwhile, he said that the US will be maintaining a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and reiterated that they want Afghans to come out of senseless violence.

“I intend to maintain our diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and we’re coordinating closely with our international partners in order to continue to secure the International Airport and we’re going to engage in a determined diplomacy to pursue peace and Peace Agreement that will end this senseless violence.”

He further said, “I asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken and our Special Representative for Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad to work vigorously with the parties in Afghanistan as well as regional and international stakeholders to support a negotiated solution.”

“To be clear, to clear countries in the region have a role to play in supporting a peaceful settlement. We’ll work with them and they should help step up their efforts as well,” he added.

This comes amid a surge in violence in Afghanistan. The Taliban has intensified its offensive against the government after foreign forces have started withdrawing from the war-torn country.

The Taliban has also taken control of several districts across the country and US intelligence assessments have suggested the country’s civilian government could fall to the terror group within months of US forces withdrawing completely. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Taliban can’t make govt surrender in next 100 years: Ghani

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-Top News Afghanistan Defence

Majority of British troops have left Afghanistan: Johnson

The prime minister said that the UK did not underestimate the challenge of the NATO mission in Afghanistan and pledged to continue supporting Kabul after troops’ withdrawal…reports Asian Lite News.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday said that all British troops are returning to the United Kingdom from Afghanistan, adding that the majority of personnel is already withdrawn.

“All British troops assigned to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan are now returning home. For obvious reasons, I will not disclose the timetable of our departure, but I can tell the House [of Commons] that most of our personnel have already left,” Johnson told the UK parliament.

The prime minister said that the UK did not underestimate the challenge of the NATO mission in Afghanistan and pledged to continue supporting Kabul after troops’ withdrawal.

“The international military presence in Afghanistan was never intended to be permanent. We and our NATO allies were always going to withdraw our forces. The only question was when, and there could never be a perfect moment,” Johnson added.

Meanwhile, the US has completed “more than 90 per cent” of its entire withdrawal from Afghanistan, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) had informed in a statement.

“The withdrawal process continues; US Central Command estimates that we have completed more than 90 per cent of the entire withdrawal process,” said CENTCOM.

This comes in the backdrop of the rapid increase in violence in the country amid the Taliban’s continuing stride in the country and the capture of dozens of districts throughout Afghanistan.

“As of July 5, Department of Defence has retrograded the equivalent of approximately 984 C-17 aircraft- loads of material out of Afghanistan and has turned over nearly 17,074 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition,” the release said.

Nearly two decades after the first American troops arrived in Bagram and helped take control of the field, the transfer of the field to the Afghan military was completed last week without much fanfare.

As the Taliban have taken control of several districts across the country, US intelligence assessments have suggested the country’s civilian government could fall to the terror group within months of US forces withdrawing.

Ashraf Ghani (Number 10)

On Tuesday, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani had said that the Taliban cannot make the Afghan government surrender even in the next one hundred years.

Ghani in a cabinet meeting also said that the Taliban and its supporters are solely responsible for the current bloodshed and destruction in the country, The Khaama Press reported.

National Security Advisor Hamdullah Muhib said that the Taliban’s territory expansion does not mean they are being welcomed by Afghans, and added that people are ready to defend their territories.

He also informed that seven black hawk choppers are soon to be handed over to Afghan National Defence and Security forces that will help bring the ongoing conflict under control. (ANI/Sputnik)

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-Top News Afghanistan

Taliban can’t make govt surrender in next 100 years: Ghani

“Taliban and its supporters are solely responsible for the current bloodshed and destruction in the country,” said Ghani…reports Asian Lite News

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday said that the Taliban cannot make the Afghan government surrender even in the next one hundred years.

The Khaama Press reported that Ghani in a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace of Afghanistan also said that the Taliban and its supporters are solely responsible for the current bloodshed and destruction in the country.

National Security Advisor Hamdullah Muhib said that the Taliban’s territory expansion does not mean they are being welcomed by Afghans, and added that people are ready to defend their territories.

He also informed that seven black hawk choppers are soon to be handed over to Afghan National Defense and Security forces that will help bring the ongoing conflict under control.

Taliban

Meanwhile, the country’s Defence Ministry informed that over 200 Taliban terrorists have been killed in the last 24 hours.

Taliban, on the other hand, claimed that they have captured six more districts in the same duration.

At least 10,000 members of Afghan commando forces are engaged in suppressing the Taliban across the country.

Afghanistan has been witnessing a surge in violence as the Taliban has intensified its offensive against the government. This comes as foreign forces are withdrawing from the war-torn country.

ALSO READ: Taliban warns foreign troops will be at risk as occupiers

As the Taliban have taken control of several districts across the country, US intelligence assessments have suggested the country’s civilian government could fall to the terror group within months of US forces withdrawing completely.

Meanwhile, the Afghanistan forces have regained control of Qala-e-naw city of Western Badghis province in just a few hours after losing it to the hands of the Taliban, informed the country’s Defence Ministry on Wednesday.

Citing Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence, The Khaama Press reported that Afghan National Defence Security Forces (ANDSF) have started patrolling the area on a usual basis. Taliban terrorists have been driven from the provincial National Directorate office, national police headquarters and the central prison in the city.

Taliban

In a tweet, Tariq Arian, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, said that Qala-e-naw city is now under ANDSF and the Taliban has been ousted from the area. He also said that ANDSF has caused heavy casualties to the Taliban.

The Taliban gained control of the central city of Bagdhish province after the group captured neighbouring districts. It was the first time when the provincial capital has fallen into the hands of the Taliban.

This comes after the Ministry of Defence has announced that ANDSF has killed over six hundred terrorists in the last 24 hours following land aerial operations, The Khaama Press reported.

This comes amid a surge in violence in the country, the Taliban has intensified its offensive against the government after foreign forces have started withdrawing from the war-torn country.

As the Taliban have taken control of several districts across the country, US intelligence assessments have also suggested the country’s civilian government could fall to the terror group within months of US forces withdrawing completely. (ANI)

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-Top News Afghanistan USA

US completes more than 90% of troop withdrawal process

This comes in the backdrop of the rapid increase in violence in the country amid the Taliban’s continuing stride in the country…reports Asian Lite News

The US has completed “more than 90 per cent” of its entire withdrawal from Afghanistan, informed the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in a statement on Tuesday (local time).

“The withdrawal process continues; US Central Command estimates that we have completed more than 90 per cent of the entire withdrawal process,” said CENTCOM.

This comes in the backdrop of the rapid increase in violence in the country amid the Taliban’s continuing stride in the country and the capture of dozens of districts throughout Afghanistan.

“As of July 5, Department of Defence has retrograded the equivalent of approximately 984 C-17 aircraft- loads of material out of Afghanistan and has turned over nearly 17,074 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition,” the release said.

Nearly two decades after the first American troops arrived in Bagram and helped take control of the field, the transfer of the field to the Afghan military was completed last week without much fanfare.

As the Taliban have taken control of several districts across the country, US intelligence assessments have suggested the country’s civilian government could fall to the terror group within months of US forces withdrawing.

ALSO READ: Will Taliban takeover give TAPI gas pipeline project a formal burial?

On Tuesday, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani had said that the Taliban cannot make the Afghan government surrender even in the next one hundred years.

Ghani in a cabinet meeting also said that the Taliban and its supporters are solely responsible for the current bloodshed and destruction in the country, The Khaama Press reported.

National Security Advisor Hamdullah Muhib said that the Taliban’s territory expansion does not mean they are being welcomed by Afghans, and added that people are ready to defend their territories.

He also informed that seven black hawk choppers are soon to be handed over to Afghan National Defence and Security forces that will help bring the ongoing conflict under control.

Meanwhile, US embassy in Kabul on Wednesday said the recent rise in violence by the Taliban violates the human rights of Afghans and is bringing hardship to the people of the country.

US Deputy Ambassador, Ross Wilson, in his Twitter post wrote that the country is already going through a tough time struggling with poverty, coronavirus, and drought, and the surge in violence by the Taliban will double their problems. The tweet read that increase in these attacks is a violation of the human rights of Afghans, reported The Khaama Press.

ALSO READ: Taliban warns foreign troops will be at risk as occupiers