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Afghan pilot told to rejoin air force or leave US protection

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An Afghan major under US protection at an American base fears he could be in danger of being killed by the Taliban after being given an ultimatum following the Pentagon’s reversal on its asylum decision.

Major Mohammed Naiem Asadi, one of Afghanistan’s few elite attack helicopter pilots, his wife and four-year-old daughter had been approved in October to move to the US but this month that decision was overturned.

According to Asadi he has been told he will be forced to leave the US base in Afghanistan on Monday if he does not rejoin the Afghan Air Force, Stars and Stripes reported.

In a letter to US officials, Asadi’s lawyer Kimberly Motley said she was “extremely concerned” the major would be imprisoned and separated from his family if turned over to the Afghan military.

According to Stars and Stripes, the Afghan government has threatened to imprison pilots in the past for attempting to gain asylum in other countries.

For the last month, Asadi and his family have been living under US military protection, but on Sunday afternoon, US and Afghan military officers told Asadi that if he does not rejoin the Afghan Air Force, he will be forced to leave the base, Asadi told Stars and Stripes.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Defense Ministry has said it is committed to protecting him, Asadi said he doubts the Afghan government’s ability and willingness to protect him at a time when the country is witnessing a wave of assassinations by the Taliban.

Asadi meanwhile is said to have killed more Taliban than any other pilot in the Afghan Air Force during thousands of flight hours, Afghan and US military officers told Stars and Stripes.

In the summer, he protected an American pilot who crashed his A-29 Super Tucano attack turboprop in northern Afghanistan, a letter of commendation signed by US Air Force Captain Robert V. Yost said.

Asadi led a flight of two MD-530 attack helicopters that scrambled to protect the crash site in Taliban-contested territory, and Asadi’s efforts were vital to the pilot’s rescue, Yost wrote.

“The incident was just one of countless events where Maj. Asadi’s actions have protected and saved lives,” he wrote.

Asadi applied for asylum in the US under Significant Public Benefit Parole, a temporary status for noncitizens in need of protection. He then passed several background checks, with a US military contractor confirming the authenticity of the Taliban death threats he received, Stars and Stripes reported.

According to Motley, risks to Afghan pilots from the Taliban dramatically increase once it’s known they are applying for a visa to leave the country.

“It is also quite clear that the Afghan government cannot (or will not) protect the Asadi family from the Taliban,” Motley said in her letter. “They simply do not have the capacity or ability.”

Asadi told Stars and Stripes on Sunday he is concerned with what may happen to him and his family should they leave the base.

“It’s very scary for me,” Asadi said. “My wife, she knows too. She is very sad, she didn’t eat lunch or breakfast; we didn’t sleep last night. It’s a very bad situation.”

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Pakistani PM urges IEA to rein in terrorist groups

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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that it’s a sad reality that the soil of neighbouring Afghanistan is being used for terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.

“Afghanistan is our brotherly country and the two countries are neighbours by nature. We have to live as good neighbours. It’s up to us how we live cordially and in a friendly way. We have asked the Afghan interim government several times that the Afghan soil should not be used as per the Doha agreement against Pakistan and its interests,” Shehbaz told the media during his visit to London, Geo News reported on Sunday.

“Sadly, terror groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and other terror groups are operating from Afghanistan. They have killed innocent people inside Pakistan. These sacrifices of Pakistanis will not go in vain. My advice to Afghanistan is to rein in these terrorist groups.”

Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that Afghan soil is being used in attacks against Pakistan.

The Islamic Emirate, however, has denied the allegations, saying Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan’s “security failure”.

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Pakistan’s Punjab CM calls for ‘human response’ to Afghan girls’ education ban

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Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province, on Saturday expressed regret over the educational restrictions on girls in Afghanistan, calling on the international community to address the issue.

Speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, Maryam stressed that no society progresses without investing in the welfare of women and children.

“Innocent children lie under the rubble in Palestine. Girls in Afghanistan are denied access to schools. The children of Kashmir are victims of oppression. In Sudan, they walk miles for food. These are not isolated issues—they demand collective human response,” she said.

The Islamic Emirate has suspended education of girls beyond sixth grade.

This policy has been widely criticised internationally.

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IEA Supreme Leader defends public executions, says its as ‘part of Islam’

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The Supreme Leader of the islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Hibatullah Akhundzada has defended public executions and said these are an integral part of Islam.

In a voice clip reportedly taped during a speech at a seminar for Hajj instructors in Kandahar on Saturday, Akhundzada said: “We must carry out disciplinary measures, perform prayers and acts of worship. We must enter Islam completely. Islam is not just limited to a few rituals; it is a comprehensive system of all divine commands.”

Not a single command of Islam should be left unfulfilled, he is heard saying on the voice clip, which was posted to X by the IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

God had commanded people to pray and to enforce his punishments, said Akhundzada, adding that the IEA did not wage war for power or wealth but rather to “implement Islamic law”. He rejected criticism of the executions.

This comes after widespread condemnation following the execution by firing squad on Friday of four men convicted of murder.

Akhundzada has previously rejected the need for Western laws in Afghanistan.

He said Saturday: “Yesterday, executions were carried out. You saw how much protest was raised in the world, and said that they [IEA] kill people, that they are oppressors, that they terrorize people. They call this terror; they call this against Sharia; but this is a Sharia order to take revenge. One order is to implement the orders of Allah. One order is to impose punishments,” said Akhundzada.
He added that the Islamic Emirate is facing a great test but they will not bargain with the world over Islam, religion, and the Prophet (PBUH).

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