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MoD demands US and NATO hand over military equipment during withdrawal
The Afghan government is set to formally demand US and NATO hand over their military equipment during the withdrawal process, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said Thursday.
But US-led Resolute Support Mission has not yet said whether it will hand over military equipment to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) or not.
However, the Afghan government, the United States and NATO have set up a joint commission to oversee the transfer and withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
According to the US government and NATO alliance, the mission of support in Afghanistan is to end on September 11 by which time all foreign forces will be out of the country.
The Afghan army is meanwhile waiting for the foreign troops to hand over their remaining military bases and equipment to the ANDSF, something the Afghan government may formally demand from the United States and NATO, a Ministry of Defense spokesman said.
“Absolutely, we need this military equipment and we want the United States to hand it over to us,” said Fawad Aman, deputy spokesman for the MoD.
However, military analysts said the United States destroyed a lot of its equipment in 2014 and what’s left will be shipped home.
Some experts said that their weapons and military tanks are equipped with sensitive technology which the US military will not want to leave behind.
“Foreigners will not provide the military equipment to Afghans to protect themselves. This equipment is very advanced,” said Assadullah Nadim, a military expert.
Five months ago, the Afghan Senate said that when US troops leave Afghanistan, they destroy their military bases and destroy their equipment or move it to Pakistan. The house at the time called for government action, but government has not yet responded.
“Handing over equipment to Pakistan means the US is launching a war through the Taliban,” said Sarwar Niyazi, another military expert.
A source meanwhile said the Afghan government has set up a joint commission with Resolute Support to support the transfer of military equipment and bases of foreign forces securely to the Afghan forces - a commission headed by Hamdullah Moheb, National Security Advisor.
Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's ambassador and special representative for Afghanistan met late Thursday with Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s deputy special political envoy for Kabul and they stressed the increase of cooperation with Afghanistan, the embassy said in a statement.
In this meeting, Qomi told Gagnon that Iran would support any initiative taken by the international community for Afghanistan.
In the meeting of Georgette Gagnon with Mr. Kazemi, the issue of narcotics and the presence of the private sector in Afghanistan were discussed, and Iran supports any constructive initiative of the international community for Afghanistan,” according to the statement.
Experts, meanwhile, believe the solutions of the United Nations to cooperate with Afghanistan's neighboring countries in consolidating stability and security can solve key issues such as terrorism and immigration.
Some experts consider strengthening Iran's partnership and cooperation with the UN for greater stability in Afghanistan is important and necessary.
However, Iran has not yet recognized the caretaker government of Afghanistan and has repeatedly emphasized the establishment of a comprehensive government in the country.
Over the past three years, Iran has established good relations with the Islamic Emirate, and trade between the two countries has increased.
Meanwhile, Tehran has previously opposed the appointment of a special representative for Afghanistan by the United Nations.
Ten people were killed by unknown individuals in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province on Thursday night, police said on Friday.
The incident happened as the victims were doing Zikr at a mosque in Shahr-e-Kuhna of Nahrin district, police said in a statement.
The statement said that they used to regularly go to mosques and monasteries at night after returning from work.
Abdul Ghayoor Khadim, a provincial police official, said that several people were arrested in connection with the incident, adding that an investigation was launched.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Serdar Muhammetdurdiyev on Thursday met with Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan announced.
During the meeting, the sides discussed priority vectors of strategic interstate cooperation built on a long-term, mutually beneficial basis, as well as exchanged views on the implementation of previously reached agreements.
It was noted that personal contacts between the leaders of the two countries play a key role in intensifying the interstate dialogue, which give a strong impulse to further development and expansion of Turkmen-Chinese ties.
It was emphasized that Turkmenistan considers multilateral international platforms for maintaining stability in Afghanistan as an important factor in promoting sustainable improvement of socio-economic state of the neighboring country. The sides exchanged views on the preparations to the 5th meeting of Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan's Neighboring States to be held in Turkmenistan.
The interlocutors reaffirmed that Turkmenistan and China will continue to provide all-round support for the economic restoration of Afghanistan.
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