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Dozens of Afghan Troops Vanished From Military Training in US Bases
Forty-four Afghan troops visiting the United States for military training have gone missing in less than two years, presumably in an effort to live and work illegally in America, Pentagon officials said.
Although the number of disappearances is relatively small — some 2,200 Afghan troops have received military training in the United States since 2007 — the incidents raise questions about security and screening procedures for the programs.
They are also potentially embarrassing for U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, which has spent billions of dollars training Afghan troops as Washington seeks to extricate itself from the costly, 15-year-old war. The disclosure could fuel criticism by supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has accused the Obama administration of failing to properly vet immigrants from Muslim-majority countries and has pledged a much tougher stance if he wins.
While other foreign troops on U.S. military training visits have sometimes run away, a U.S. defense official said that the frequency of Afghan troops going missing was concerning and “out of the ordinary.”
Since September alone, eight Afghan troops have left military bases without authorization, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump told Reuters. He said the total number of Afghan troops who have gone missing since January 2015 is 44, a number that has not previously been disclosed.
“The Defense Department is assessing ways to strengthen eligibility criteria for training in ways that will reduce the likelihood of an individual Afghan willingly absconding from training in the U.S. and going AWOL (absent without leave),” Stump said.
Afghans in the U.S. training program are vetted to ensure they have not participated in human rights abuses and are not affiliated with militant groups before being allowed into the United States, Stump said.
The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added there was no evidence any of those who had absconded had carried out crimes or posed a threat to the United States.
The Afghan army has occasionally been infiltrated by Taliban militants who have carried out attacks on Afghan and U.S. troops, but such incidents have become less frequent due to tougher security measures.
Trump, whose other signature immigration plan is to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, has proposed a temporary ban on Muslims seeking to enter the country, and has said that law enforcement officers should engage in more racial profiling to curb the threat of attacks on American soil.
After Omar Mateen, whose father was born in Afghanistan, killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando in June, Trump said an immigration ban would last until “we are in a position to properly screen these people coming into our country.”
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday met with Saif Mohammad al-Katbi, UAE’s special representative for Afghanistan and discussed bilateral relations, trade, visa facilitation, transit development and regional issues, said Zia Ahmad Takal, the head of public relations at the foreign ministry.
In a statement, Takal stated that Muttaqi evaluated the relations between the Islamic Emirate and the UAE as positive and expressed hope that implementing the agreements made during the recent visit to the UAE would further develop the trade and transit relations between the two countries.
According to the statement, Mohammad al-Katbi also regarded the relations between the two countries as important and added that the purpose of his visit to Kabul was to follow up on the recent agreements between the two countries’ foreign ministers.
The leaders of the European Union and five Central Asian states called for an inclusive government in Afghanistan that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms in a summit in Samarkand city of Uzbekistan on Friday.
“We emphasised our strong commitment to see Afghanistan develop into a secure, stable and prosperous State with inclusive government and governance systems that respects the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its citizens, including women, girls, persons belonging to ethnic and religious groups and minorities, is at peace with itself and its neighbours, and that respects its international obligations,” the summit’s declaration reads.
They also expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and recognized the need to continue supporting the people of Afghanistan.
The summit also called for “full and equal access to education conforming to international standards and participation in public life of women and girls in Afghanistan.”
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has repeatedly claimed that the current government in Afghanistan is inclusive and that human rights are respected.
Samarkand meeting marked first EU-Central Asia summit.
The leaders of the European Union and five Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan held their first summit on Friday to discuss ways to boost trade and other ties.
Addressing the summit, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed regret that the global community underestimates challenges emerging from Afghanistan.
“We believe it is important to actively engage the Afghan side in regional economic processes, also through implementation of investment and infrastructure projects, restoring the social sector.” Mirziyoyev said. “We hope for understanding and support in facilitating the international community’s constructive dialogue with the Afghan authorities to meet the current commitments.”
As many as 80 traffic accidents occurred across Afghanistan on the last day of Ramadan and the three days of Eid-ul-Fitr, resulting in 30 deaths and 155 injuries, the General Directorate of Traffic of the Ministry of Interior Affairs has announced.
It said in a statement that the number of traffic accidents during Eid this year has decreased compared to last year, as there were 98 accidents during Eid last year, leaving 50 dead and 185 injured.
The statement said that the fatalities in traffic accidents during Eid this year include 19 men, 2 women and 9 children.
The injured include 117 men, 8 women and 30 children.
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