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State responds to Blinken subpoena over Afghanistan hearing

Last week House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called for a full committee markup to find the Secretary of State in contempt of Congress

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US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday night he does not understand why the House Foreign Affairs Committee has taken the step to move to hold Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with a subpoena to attend a hearing on the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Last week House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called for a full committee markup to find the Secretary of State in contempt of Congress.

In an announcement, McCaul said this was for “his refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee on Tuesday, September 3rd.”

Blinken was requested on May 23, this year, to appear before Congress on September 19, 2024 regarding the committee’s recent report on the Afghanistan withdrawal.

However, he will not appear due to his current travel arrangements. The markup is now scheduled for Thursday, September 19.

Following a markup in the committee, the full House would need to vote to refer it to the Department of Justice for prosecution — a move unlikely to be carried out under the Biden administration, but that could be treated differently in a potential second Trump administration, The Hill reported.

Miller meanwhile said on Tuesday that Blinken has testified 14 times before Congress on Afghanistan.

“Four of those times have been before this committee, including one appearance that was exclusively focused on Afghanistan – that was the sole subject of the hearing.

“We cooperated with their investigation into the – Afghanistan, provided them with documents, provided them with witness interviews. And we have tried to accommodate their request for a hearing.

“They asked for a hearing this Thursday. Obviously the Secretary is traveling, trying to advance a ceasefire. He’s not able to be there because he’s doing important – the important business of the United States.

“But we’ve said we would make the deputy secretary available, and we have offered the Secretary to appear at a later date,” he said.

The report is highly critical of US President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all US military forces from Afghanistan and accuses the administration of failing to plan for all contingencies.

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Acting FM says IEA in control of 39 Afghan embassies globally

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Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi says currently, 39 embassies and consulates of Afghanistan in different countries are under the control of the Islamic Emirate.

Delivering the foreign ministry’s annual report, Muttaqi also said that IEA’s new ambassador to Uzbekistan will visit Tashkent next Saturday, and that Russia will remove the IEA from their list of banned groups.

He stated that Kabul’s relations with the countries of the region and the world are expanding, and that in the past year, many countries have held bilateral and multilateral meetings with the authorities on important issues.

“During the last year, dozens of Afghan diplomats were introduced to Malaysia, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, China, Doha, and the United Arab Emirates, and the mentioned countries accepted these diplomats and all this indicates the expansion of our diplomatic relations,” Muttaqi said.

Comparing the current security situation with that under the former government, he said the annual casualty toll in Afghanistan now amounts to the daily toll in the past.

He said as many as 300 people were killed in the country each day under the previous government.

He also said in response to US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comments on retaking Bagram Airfield that those who have failed in the country will no longer be "happy" with Afghanistan.

Ministry officials also pointed out that conditions for the implementation of large economic projects have been established, and that effective measures have been taken to strengthen the level of interaction and diplomatic relations with countries in the region and the world.

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Afghanistan is ruptured from the international community: UN envoy

Otunbayeva said that the end of armed conflict in Afghanistan has delivered a period of stability and created opportunity for a positive peace.

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Afghanistan is ruptured from the international community, Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, said at the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday.

Otunbayeva said that the end of armed conflict in Afghanistan has delivered a period of stability and created opportunity for a positive peace.

“A number of positive steps have been taken in the fields of economy, infrastructure, and foreign relations to seize this opportunity and begin to address the many negative legacies of war,” she said. “I have growing concerns, however, that this opportunity is being missed. The Afghan population faces a serious humanitarian and development crisis as international funding drops.”

The envoy, however, noted that the adoption of the moral oversight law shortly after the Doha meeting has undermined this process.

“We are at the same time trying to address the political legacy of Afghanistan’s long conflict. In the current situation, Afghanistan is ruptured from the international community. Individual Taliban (IEA), many of whom are de facto ministers, are under sanctions and cannot travel without permission from this Council. Afghanistan’s Central Bank assets are frozen, limiting the development potential of the private sector,” she said.

At the meeting, US and UK representatives also called on the IEA to reverse restrictions on women and girls.

“The Taliban (IEA) cannot expect the international community to move forward on the UN process without first meeting their international obligations on the fundamental freedoms of women and girls, political inclusion, and counter terrorism.” said Jess Jambert-Gray, Deputy Political Coordinator of UK at UN.

Chinese and Russian envoys expressed over security risks from Afghanistan.

“Terrorist forces such as Da’esh, Al-Qaida, and ETIM are still active in Afghanistan, posing a threat to Afghanistan and international and regional security. We call on the interim government of Afghanistan to take vigorous actions to resolutely combat the various terrorist forces in its territory, and to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming an enclave for terrorist organizations.” Said Fu Cong, Chinese envoy to UN.

Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia said: “The Russian Federation has consistently advocated for a realistic and comprehensive approach to Afghanistan, which should be based on objective analysis and a balanced assessment of the situation. It is imperative to have constructive cooperation within the international community on the Afghan issue. First and foremost, it means paying due regard for the needs of the Afghans themselves and rejecting one’s own narrow interests, as well as maintaining patient dialogue with the de facto Afghan authorities on a wide range of pressing problems, without blackmail or pressure.”

Pakistan’s envoy Munir Akram termed the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as the largest terrorist organization in Afghanistan.

He said that TTP is conducting almost daily terrorist attacks against Pakistan with full support and protection of the Islamic Emirate and sponsorship of Pakistan’s major adversary.

The Islamic Emirate, however, denies all these allegations and human rights violations and says that if anyone has evidence about the presence of terrorists, they can provide them.

"We have six neighbors, No neighboring country has complained. There is only one country that sometimes makes allegations. Unfortunately, instead of getting information and stating the facts, the Secretary General of the United Nations made an accusation that did not suit him,” said Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

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IEA appoints ambassador to Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan handed over the Afghan embassy to the Islamic Emirate in February this year.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday announced the appointment of Abdul Ghafar Bahr as the new ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in Uzbekistan.

Hafiz Zia Ahmed, Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced Bahr’s appointment on his X account.

Bahr was present at the recent farewell meeting of Khawaja Shadmanov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan in Kabul, with Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Uzbekistan in turn handed over the Afghan embassy to the Islamic Emirate in February this year.

According to the IEA, it now controls 39 embassies and consulates in foreign countries. 

 

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