Iran helps the families affected by terrorist attacks in Afghan
Scores of families affected by the latest terrorist attacks in two Afghan provinces have received humanitarian aid provided by Iran…reports Asian Lite News
At least 93 worshippers were killed and more than 230 people wounded in suicide bomb attacks against two Shiite Muslim mosques during Friday prayers in northern Kunduz and southern Kandahar provinces earlier this month, Xinhua New Agency reported.
In northern Kunduz province, 240 families of victims were provided food and non-food items on Monday morning, Matiullah Rohani, director of provincial information and culture directorate, told Xinhua.
Iran helps the families affected by terrorist attacks in Afghan
The assistance was dispatched to Kunduz airport a couple of days ago by planes, the official said.
Earlier on Monday, two planes transported 35 tons of relief goods consignment, including 10 tons of medicines, from Iran to Kandahar International Airport, according to Hafiz Abdul Hai, head of provincial health directorate.
A total of 30 patients, who sustained serious wounds, will be shifted to Iran from a regional hospital in Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar, the official noted.
The affiliates of Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the deadly explosions that occurred on October 15 and October 8 in Afghanistan
US top envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad resigned from his position on Monday….reports Asian Lite News
Calling the mission of former US peace envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad a “failure”, politicians and civilians criticised him for his “destructive” role in Afghanistan.
US top envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad resigned from his position on Monday.
“As Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad steps down from his role, I extend my gratitude for his decades of service to the American people,” US Secretary of the State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Following the resignation of the envoy, former intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil took to Twitter and accused him of “dragging” Afghanistan into an “irreversible” catastrophe.
“Finally, this con man was expelled from the scene after dragging Afghanistan into an irreversible catastrophe!”, tweeted the former chief.
Former Afghan foreign minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta lashed out at the former envoy saying that he completed his destructive role in a shameful process.
“Khalilzad completed his destructive role in a shameful process. In this process, he had the support of some naive politicians and chauvinist circles,” he tweeted.
According to Tolo News, the residents of the country have also criticised the outgoing envoy and blamed him for the crisis in Afghanistan.
“Khalilzad has betrayed the people of Afghanistan. He took Afghanistan into the crisis,” Tolo News quoted a resident Naqib as saying.
“Khalilzad’s mission was a failure. For the people of Afghanistan, he is evil and the people of Afghanistan are experiencing the current bad situation which resulted from Khalilzad’s activities,” the news channel quoted another citizen Mohammad Naqib as saying.
Earlier, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan urged the United States to probe its former top envoy to the country over his suspected dealings with the Taliban.
The developments came almost two months after the US withdrew from Afghanistan in a ‘chaotic and deadly’ evacuation process. Khalilzad was the person who led talks with the Taliban in Qatar that resulted in the Doha agreement with the outfit to withdraw US troops by May 2021.
Menawhile, Khalilzad said Afghans are facing great challenges in the war-torn country.
“US forces are out, and the war is over for the United States, but this is not the final chapter. The Afghan people face great challenges ahead, including on the economy and security,” Khalilzad said in a tweet.
“Today, I step down from my position as the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation. It has been an honour to serve the American people again,” Khalilzad added.
Meanwhile, Khalilzad also welcomed Thomas West for the position.
“I welcome Tom West to the role of Special Representative for Afghanistan as the United States engages the international community and Afghan leaders on the way forward,” Khalilzad said.
On Tuesday, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has also urged the United States to probe its former top envoy to the country over his suspected dealings with the Taliban.
Khalilzad reportedly admitted in a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the political arrangement between the Taliban and the government in Kabul “did not go forward as envisaged”. (ANI)
Political and economic issues, as well as humanitarian aid, are expected to be the main topics of discussion in Moscow…reports Asian Lite News
An Afghan delegation led by the Deputy second Prime Minister of Islamic Emirate’s government left Kabul to attend the Moscow meeting on Afghanistan on Wednesday, said local media.
According to Tolo News, the delegation includes the acting foreign minister Amir Khan Mutaqi, among other ministers of the Taliban government.
Political and economic issues, as well as humanitarian aid, are expected to be the main topics of discussion in Moscow, the Tolo News report said.
Countries like Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China, India and the United States were invited to the meeting. However, the US would not attend the meeting, reported the Afghan news agency reported.
The US will not attend, and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said official recognition of the Taliban is not under discussion at the moment.
“The delegation has gone to Russia to make Afghanistan’s position clear,” the agency quoted Inaamullah Samangani as saying.
The acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqi expressed hopes that the meeting would lead to recognition of the Islamic emirate by international countries, the Tolo News reported citing Mutaqi’s recent interview.
“Representatives of many countries will participate in the meeting, so the meeting is important for Afghanistan,” said Mutaqi.
At the same time, the US has made it clear that the country will not participate in the scheduled meeting.
“We will not participate in the Moscow talks. The Troika Plus has been an effective, constructive forum. We look forward to engaging in that forum going forward, but we’re not in a position to take part this week,” US State Dept spokesperson Ned Price said.
Meanwhile, ahead of the Taliban’s upcoming visit to Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday said the official recognition of the Taliban is not under discussion at the moment.
“Official recognition of the Taliban is not under discussion for now,” Tolo News quoted Lavrov, adding, “Like most of other influential countries in the region, we are in contact with them. We are prodding them to fulfill the promises they made when they came to power.”
“We encourage them to live up to the promises they made when they came to power, including ensuring that the government is inclusive not only along the ethnic lines but also along the political lines so that the full range of political beliefs of the society is reflected in the government’s composition,” Sputnik said quoting Lavrov.
This comes after members of the Extended Troika format on Afghanistan met in Moscow on Tuesday and discussed common threats and humanitarian assistance to Kabul. (ANI)
Kabul residents urged Afghanistan’s central bank to take steps to control the currency markets and to pave the way for more robust business….reports Asian Lite News
Kabul residents have complained about the rise in prices of goods as the value of the Afghani has fallen against the dollar in recent days, Tolo News reported.
The dropping in value of Afghanis against the dollar has greatly reduced business in the markets.
According to the money exchangers, recently, the smuggling of dollars has also caused problems in the markets.
Currently, one dollar is exchanged for about 90 Afghanis in the Kabul market.
Kabul residents urged Afghanistan’s central bank to take steps to control the currency markets and to pave the way for more robust business.
“It’s problematic when the value of the dollar rises in the currency markets, then the price of the goods increases too,” said Esmatullah, a resident.
In the meantime, several money exchangers in Kabul believed that lack of cash in banks is the reason that the Afghan currency dropped, the report said.
“In the currency markets, the shortage of dollars is the reason behind Afghanis dropping dramatically,” said Mirwais, a money exchanger.
At the same time, Afghanistan annually imports goods which cost $8.5 billion and to buy these goods, they use dollars.
“Afghanistan is one of those countries that relies on other countries’ imports and we need dollars to buy goods and that is why the Afghani is losing its value in currency markets,” said Haji Zirak Zirak, the spokesperson of the money exchangers union in Kabul.
Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation since September 2018, has stepped down…reports Asian Lite News
Taking to Twitter on Monday night, Blinken said: “Thank you to Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for decades of tireless service to the United States. Pleased to welcome Thomas West to the role of Special Representative for Afghanistan.”
Zalmay Khalilzad.
TOLO News shared Khalilzad’s resignation letter to Blinken, in which the former diplomat wrote: “Today, our forces are out, the war is finally over for the United States and the very high financial costs of this engagement can now be directed to other vital needs. However, the political arrangement between the Afghan government and the Taliban did not go forward as envisaged.
“The reasons for this are too complex and I will share my thoughts in the coming days and weeks, after leaving government service.”
The move came two months after the hasty withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.
ZALMAY KHALILZAD: “I am of course saddened on behalf of the Afghan people that, despite our best efforts and extensive shuttle diplomacy on my part and that of the team as well as much urging from the international community, the Afghans failed to make use of this opportunity to end their 40-year conflict in a constructive spirit and with a fair compromise.”
Khalilzad, a leading US diplomat of Afghan-origin, has long been a controversial figure for his involvement in Washington’s ‘War on Terror’.
He also led Washington’s talks with the Taliban, which many see as the main precursor to the Pashtun-dominated group’s lightning victory in Afghanistan, TRT World reported.
After the Taliban’s surprisingly quick victory against the US-trained Afghan army, many government operators and experts can’t help but speculate on Washington’s role, particularly that of Khalilzad, in the Afghan group’s return to power.
Zalmay Khalilzad
Some other experts further believe that Khalilzad pursued a “special political agenda” to promote his personal and family interests.
“One man responsible for the chaos and destruction raging across Afghanistan is Zalmay Khalilzad. He should be investigated for alleged financial corruption,” says Kamal Alam, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
In 2014, Khalilzad’s finances were subject to an Austrian investigation which froze his wife’s accounts in the European country based on information from the US Department of Justice that he was suspected of money laundering related to business activities in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“This man wanted to be the president of Afghanistan. He ran to be the president of Afghanistan. No one likes him. Everyone hates him,” Alam tells TRT World.
Afghanistan for long has always refused to recognize the Durand Line as an international border. Pakistan views this refusal as clear evidence of Kabul’s revisionist tendencies….reports Asian Lite News
The Pakistani state may want to rework its foreign policy regarding extending support to the Taliban and its formal relations with Afghanistan amid the Durand Line dispute.
The Durand Line divides the traditional Pashtun homelands in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The border was mainly porous until recently fenced and heavily guarded due to the tribal, linguistic, social, and economic ties, reported Pajhwok Afghan News.
Afghanistan for long has always refused to recognize the Durand Line as an international border. Pakistan views this refusal as clear evidence of Kabul’s revisionist tendencies.
Durand is currently a disputed boundary for several reasons. Pashtuns on both sides believe that they have been indiscriminately divided and separated from their family and land on either side, reported Pajhwok Afghan News.
The Pashtun leaders of Afghanistan’s civilian government like Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani claimed that the Durand Accord was signed with the British Colonial administration, and it ceased to stand valid with the end of British rule; hence, Pakistan cannot lay any legal claims on it.
Therefore, to gain better leverage in the internal politics of Afghanistan and have a government that would recognize the Durand Line, the Pakistani generals strategized their support for the Islamist Taliban, who are ethnically Pashtun but not ethnic nationalists, reported Pajhwok Afghan News.
Though there is a movement for integration with Afghanistan (their historical homeland) by the Pashtun people in Pakistan, this movement is being crushed by force.
Pashtun Tahafuz (Protection) Movement (PTM) is a non-violent group that campaigns against human rights abuses by Pakistan’s army against the Pashtuns. These human rights excesses against Pashtun civilians during its counterterrorism operations against the Pakistani Taliban included enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is an association of Jihadi and sectarian groups to overthrow the Pakistani State. It also loosely supports the Afghan Taliban militarily inside Afghanistan against Afghan Forces.
One of the recent major attacks orchestrated by TTP was the July 2021 bomb attack that killed at least thirteen people, including nine Chinese nationals working on a hydropower project under the multi-billion-dollar rubric of the Chinese investment through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Hence apart from targeting the Pakistani military, TTP is also eyeing Chinese investments in Pakistan.
Afghan Taliban, a majority of this outfit comprises Pashtuns. They fought the elected Afghan government. But still, raise voices against the recent fencing of the Durand Line by the Pakistani state, reported Pajhwok Afghan News.
Moreover, the Pakistani military sees the US exit as an opportunity to suppress the resurgent Pashtun nationalism. Such nationalism is represented by both the popular non-violent PTM and the violent TTP.
Hence, with Chinese pressure on Pakistan about the safety of their people and investments, the Pakistani state might continue their support to the Afghan Taliban, while the Pakistani military might expect the Afghan Taliban to rein in TTP in lieu of their support. However, there is little evidence to suggest that the Afghan Taliban is in any disposition to oblige, reported Pajhwok Afghan News.
Faran Jeffery, an OSINT expert and deputy director of Islamic Theology of Counter-Terrorism (ICT), opines, “The Taliban didn’t act against TTP even when they were a lot dependent on Pakistan. Now Pakistan’s leverage on them is in decline. I don’t think the Taliban will act against TTP. If things get bad, they might ask TTP not to carry out ops from Afghan soil, but that’s about it.”
In a more likely turn of events, if the Afghan Taliban successfully stabilizes its control in Afghanistan, a civil war seeking self-determination for Pashunistan will be inevitable in the future. (ANI)
Onions, potatoes, saffron, figs, dried fruits, and handicrafts were among the goods exported from the country on Monday…reports Asian Lite News
The Taliban on Monday said that the first consignment of commercial goods was exported via transit routes to countries in the region and around the world since their August takeover, reported local media.
According to Ariana News, Mawlawi Abdullah Halil, head of Kabul customs department, said: “We are trying our best to grow our exports. We are trying to get our products to international markets as was done in the past”.
Onions, potatoes, saffron, figs, dried fruits, and handicrafts were among the goods exported from the country on Monday.
Halil emphasised that the department is “coordinating with private sectors and will be ready to help”.
Officials have also said that they will work hard to bolster economic ties with neighbouring countries. (ANI)
Soon after former President Ashraf Ghani left the country after the Taliban took control of it, Naima, like hundreds of other judges, went into hiding as they had reasons to be afraid….reports Asian Lite News
Hundreds of female judges in Afghanistan live in fear and anonymity after the Taliban took control of the country in August, a media report said.
Naima (name changed), who served as a judge in Afghanistan for nearly a decade, said that she regrets those 10 years she spent as a judge as the Taliban has taken control of the country for over two months, reported Al Jazeera.
Naima had presided over various cases of violence against women in Afghanistan, hearing distressing accounts of unspeakable violence from battered women and their families. Naima had even witnessed a man killing his wife during a court hearing.
“Sometimes you think to yourself: Why did I do that? Why didn’t I choose any other discipline,” she told Al Jazeera from an undisclosed location in capital Kabul.
Soon after former President Ashraf Ghani left the country after the Taliban took control of it, Naima, like hundreds of other judges, went into hiding as they had reasons to be afraid.
In early August, when the Taliban were on the rampage through the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, the group had released thousands of prisoners from jails under the government control, said Al Jazeera.
Among them were possibly men who judges such as Naima had personally sentenced and who might have ended up joining the Taliban, said Al Jazeera.
The Taliban said criminal elements posing as the Taliban could have joined their ranks.
“There are some bad and corrupt people who want to join us … To fulfil their own interest or to defame us and make us look bad,” the Taliban’s newly-announced acting Defence Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob said last month, according to Al Jazeera.
Confirming her suspicion Naima said that when she went to the bank last month, she saw a guard, clearly a member of the Taliban, staring at her.
It became more fearful when a bank employee called out Naima by her name and the guard tried to verify Naina’s name by attempting to take her bank card.
She managed to catch a quick glimpse of the guard who had been trying hard to watch her and quickly pushed her way into the middle of the crowd.
Naima had seen the guard only eight months before in her courtroom for murdering his wife.
It’s not only Naima, there are many female judges hiding in Kabul who have similar stories.
Women have been especially affected by these developments. Shortly after taking power, the Taliban told government workers not to return to work until they could guarantee their fighters would not harass or abuse them, according to Al Jazeera. (ANI)
US is unable to join the talks due to logistic difficulties, adding the US side supports the process,said spokesperson …reports Asian Lite News
The US will not join talks on Afghanistan hosted by Russia this week, the Department of State has said.
“We will not participate in the Moscow talks,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters in a press briefing on Monday.
“The Troika-plus has been an effective, a constructive forum. We look forward to engaging in that forum going forward, but we’re not in a position to take part this week,” Price was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
He said that the US is unable to join the talks due to logistic difficulties, adding the US side supports the process.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken later in the day announced that US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad is leaving his post and will be replaced by his deputy Thomas West.
The departure of Khalilzad, who served as special envoy for Afghanistan under presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, came less than two months after the US withdrawal from the country.
Russian special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said on Friday that Russia had invited the United States to participate in the upcoming talks on Afghanistan in Moscow, which would focus on post-conflict reconstruction and humanitarian assistance.
Russia has invited Taliban representatives to the meeting slated for October 20.
The Moscow-format consultations on Afghanistan were launched in 2017 on the basis of the six-party mechanism for consultations among representatives from Russia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Iran and China.
Khalilzad, a leading US diplomat of Afghan-origin, has long been a controversial figure for his involvement in Washington’s ‘War on Terror’….reports Asian Lite News
Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation since September 2018, has stepped down, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.
Taking to Twitter on Monday night, Blinken said: “Thank you to Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for decades of tireless service to the United States. Pleased to welcome Thomas West to the role of Special Representative for Afghanistan.”
TOLO News shared Khalilzad’s resignation letter to Blinken, in which the former diplomat wrote: “Today, our forces are out, the war is finally over for the United States and the very high financial costs of this engagement can now be directed to other vital needs. However, the political arrangement between the Afghan government and the Taliban did not go forward as envisaged.
“The reasons for this are too complex and I will share my thoughts in the coming days and weeks, after leaving government service.”
The move came two months after the hasty withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.
“I am of course saddened on behalf of the Afghan people that, despite our best efforts and extensive shuttle diplomacy on my part and that of the team as well as much urging from the international community, the Afghans failed to make use of this opportunity to end their 40-year conflict in a constructive spirit and with a fair compromise,” Khalilzad added in the leader.
Khalilzad, a leading US diplomat of Afghan-origin, has long been a controversial figure for his involvement in Washington’s ‘War on Terror’.
He also led Washington’s talks with the Taliban, which many see as the main precursor to the Pashtun-dominated group’s lightning victory in Afghanistan, TRT World reported.
After the Taliban’s surprisingly quick victory against the US-trained Afghan army, many government operators and experts can’t help but speculate on Washington’s role, particularly that of Khalilzad, in the Afghan group’s return to power.
Some other experts further believe that Khalilzad pursued a “special political agenda” to promote his personal and family interests.
“One man responsible for the chaos and destruction raging across Afghanistan is Zalmay Khalilzad. He should be investigated for alleged financial corruption,” says Kamal Alam, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
In 2014, Khalilzad’s finances were subject to an Austrian investigation which froze his wife’s accounts in the European country based on information from the US Department of Justice that he was suspected of money laundering related to business activities in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“This man wanted to be the president of Afghanistan. He ran to be the president of Afghanistan. No one likes him. Everyone hates him,” Alam tells TRT World.
