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C.I.A. Calls for Authority to Conduct Drone Strikes in Afghanistan
The C.I.A. is pushing for expanded powers to carry out covert drone strikes in Afghanistan and other active war zones, a proposal that the White House appears to favor despite the misgivings of some at the Pentagon, according to current and former intelligence and military officials.
According to the New York Times, if the proposal approves by President Trump, it would mark the first time the C.I.A. has had such powers in Afghanistan, expanding beyond its existing authority to carry out covert strikes against Al Qaeda and other terrorist targets across the border in Pakistan.
Until now, the Pentagon has had the lead role for conducting airstrikes with drones or other aircraft against militants in Afghanistan and other conflict zones, such as Somalia and Libya and, to some extent, Yemen.
The military publicly acknowledges its strikes, unlike the C.I.A., which for roughly a decade has carried out its own campaign of covert drone strikes in Pakistan that were not acknowledged by either country, a condition that Pakistan’s government has long insisted on.
But the C.I.A.’s director, Mike Pompeo, has made a forceful case to Mr. Trump in recent weeks that the Obama-era arrangement needlessly limited the United States’ ability to conduct counterterrorism operations, according to the current and former officials, who would not be named discussing internal debates about sensitive information.
He has publicly suggested that Mr. Trump favors granting the C.I.A. greater authorities to go after militants, though he has been vague about specifics, nearly all of which are classified.
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Pakistan: IEA must prevent US weapons from reaching terrorists
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has once again expressed concern over the potential for terrorist groups to access weapons left behind by the United States in Afghanistan.
Speaking in a news conference, Pakistan's spokesperson for the foreign ministry Shafqat Ali Khan urged the leaders of the Islamic Emirate not to allow the weapons left by the US to fall into the hands of terrorists, as this would create serious security concerns for both Pakistan and the region.
"Regarding the issue of weapons left behind in Afghanistan, it should be noted that Afghan officials are responsible for ensuring that, under no circumstances, such weapons fall into the hands of terrorist groups. This is a significant concern for the countries of the region, and we continue to call for increased attention to this matter,” said Shafqat Ali Khan.
Currently, the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan do not appear to be very positive. However, some experts believe that a unified stance must be created between the countries in the region to combat terrorism.
Earlier, the Islamic Emirate has described such concerns as baseless and repeatedly stated that all US weapons and military equipment left behind are secured by the government, with no group or individual having access to them.
Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have always been tense since IEA’s takeover, particularly regarding the issue of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Pakistan claims that this group plans and carries out attacks from Afghan soil against Pakistan.
However, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly rejected Pakistan's accusations, calling them baseless.
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ICC arrest warrant request for IEA’s supreme leader has no legal basis: Foreign Ministry
The International Criminal Court prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Mawlawi Hebatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, has no “fair legal basis” and it is “politically motivated”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
On Thursday, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he had applied for arrest warrants for the two IEA figures in Afghanistan, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls.
The Foreign Ministry, however, said in a statement on Friday that the charges brought by the prosecutor were baseless.
"Nationwide security in Afghanistan is ensured, people breathe a sigh of relief, private prisons, kidnappings, warlords’ islands of power, many other forms of discontent and inhuman acts have been eliminated," the statement said.
"It is regrettable that this institution (ICC) has turned a blind eye to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by foreign forces and their domestic allies during the 20 years of occupation of Afghanistan," the statement said.
"This misconduct further undermines the weak credibility of the institution and makes its position at the international level completely meaningless," the statement said. “This institution should not try to impose a particular interpretation of human rights on the entire world and ignore the religious and national values of people in other parts of the world.”
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Trump says ‘Afghanistan disaster’ would not happen with him in power
In his first interview since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that if he remained in power for the past four years, the "Afghanistan disaster" would not have happened.
In an interview with Fox News at the White House, Trump also said that with him in power, there would be no inflation in the United States, no massive Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and no war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump said that his political comeback proves the policies and philosophies of the "radical left" throughout the past four years are "horrible" and "don't work."
The president said there were thousands of terrorists and tens of thousands of murderers living in the United States.
He added that the murderers had been released from jails in other countries before entering the United States.
"If I were the president or prime minister or something of another country, I would empty my jails right into America, into the United States. Why not?" Trump said.
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