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Afghan war crimes suspect says he is a victim of mistaken identity

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A 76-year-old Afghan man accused of being the commander of the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul in the 1980s, where he allegedly abused political opponents, on Wednesday told The Hague court it was a case of mistaken identity.

“I am not the person that you are talking about,” the suspect, who said he did not remember his own name but was identified in court as Abdul Rafief, told judges.

According to the charges summarized by the judges, Rafief is accused of living in the Netherlands under a false name and that he is actually Abdul Razaq Arif who served as commander of the Pul-e-Charki prison between 1983 and 1990, Reuters reported.

Afghanistan’s Soviet-backed government was fighting a guerrilla war against mujahideen at the time, following the Soviet invasion in 1979.

Prosecutors say Rafief was responsible for political prisoners in the jail, who were allegedly held in inhumane conditions in the facility. Guards under his command allegedly beat, tortured and executed prisoners, Reuters reported.

During the hearing Rafief referred all questions from the judges about his identity to his lawyers and said he was ill, dizzy and could not remember anything.

Rafief came to the Netherlands seeking asylum in 2001 and has become a Dutch national. He is being tried under “universal jurisdiction” principles, which say suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity can be prosecuted abroad if they cannot be tried in the country where they were allegedly committed.

The Netherlands has already successfully tried three high ranking officials of the Afghan military intelligence service for similar crimes in the same period in Afghanistan.

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Muttaqi to Pakistani envoy: Trade and transit obstacles benefit no one

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Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq met on Saturday and discussed bilateral relations, political and economic cooperation, security and transit, said Zia Ahmad Takal, head of public relations at Foreign Ministry in a statement.

In this meeting, Muttaqi emphasized that obstacles to trade and transit are not in anyone’s interest and that certain issues should not be linked together.

He added that the process of Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan should be carried out gradually and with dignity.

According to the statement, Pakistan’s special representative also acknowledged that ensuring security in Afghanistan benefits both Pakistan and the region.

He committed to introducing measures to facilitate the visa issuance process for Afghan citizens.

Mohammad Sadiq also stated that practical steps will be taken to resolve existing trade and transit challenges.

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IEA announces resumption of consular services in Norway

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The Afghan embassy in Oslo will resume consular services on coming Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul announced Saturday.

The ministry said in a statement that the resumption of consular services in Norway was a “positive step.”

In August last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul declared the consular services of Afghan missions in 14 Western countries including Norway to be invalid.

The statement cited corruption, lack of transparency and non-coordination with the ministry as reasons for the closure.

 
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Eighteen injured after dispute between two brothers in Helmand

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Eighteen people were injured following a dispute between two brothers in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province on Friday, local officials said.

The incident occurred in the Old Bazaar area of ​​Gereshk district and the people were injured when the son of one of the two brothers threw a hand grenade, the provincial department of information and culture said.

Two of the injured people are said to be in critical condition.

Officials did not say what caused the dispute.

One person has been arrested in connection with the incident.

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