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Andarabi claims new Daesh leader is a Haqqani member

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Masoud Andarabi, the acting minister of interior, said Monday night that Shahab al-Muhajir, the newly appointed leader of Daesh in Afghanistan, was in fact a member of the Haqqani Network.

Commenting on Twitter, Andarabi said: “Haqqani and the Taliban carry out their terrorism on a daily basis across Afg and when their terrorist activities does not suit them politically they rebrand it under ISKP (Daesh Afghanistan).”

Andarabi’s tweet came just hours after security forces brought an end to the Jalalabad prison siege in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

The attack started on Sunday night shortly after 6.30 pm and carried on throughout the night and most of Monday.

Soon after militants detonated a car bomb at the gates of the prison, and gunmen stormed the facility, Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sunday was also the final day of a three-day Eid ceasefire that had been called by both the Taliban and the Afghan government.

However, the prison siege resulted in the death of at least 30 people, including civilians, security force members, and prisoners.

In addition, prisoners escaped during the chaos but security forces said they rounded hundreds of them up.

The attack came just a day after the Afghan intelligence agency, the National Security Directorate (NDS), killed a senior Daesh group commander near Jalalabad.

A statement late Saturday by the National Directorate of Security said the slain militant was Assadullah Orakzai, an intelligence leader for the IS affiliate (Daesh) in Afghanistan. The statement said he was killed near Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province. IS has its headquarters in the province.

Orakzai was suspected of being involved in several deadly attacks against both military and civilian targets in Afghanistan.

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Iran’s FM says water treaty with Afghanistan not being fully implemented

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the country’s Helmand River water rights treaty with Afghanistan is not being fully implemented.

“We have a treaty with Afghanistan on the issue of the Helmand River that is not being implemented fully,” Araghchi told reporters.

This comes as the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly said that it is committed to the water treaty with Iran, but Afghanistan itself is struggling with drought.

Experts say that the Iranian side should consider the drought situation in the region and the conditions of the rivers.

“Environmental changes, drought, and water shortages have occurred in the region. The Islamic Republic of Iran should take this into account. They should examine this issue with careful assessments. Continuing with such excuses, for whatever political purpose, can disrupt political relations, friendship, and good relations between the two neighboring countries,” said Najib Rahman Shamal, an expert on international affairs.

Araqhchi’s remarks contradict Iran’s acting ambassador in Kabul Ali Reza Bekdeli who said earlier this month that the issue of water rights between the two countries had been resolved.

 

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Trump says aid in exchange for return of US military hardware in Afghanistan

Trump went on to say that the US “gives Afghanistan about $2 or $2.5 billion in aid”, adding “we need aid ourselves”.

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US President Donald Trump said Saturday if Afghanistan wants aid from America, the Islamic Emirate must return US military equipment left behind during the 2021 troop withdrawal.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Trump said the IEA’s military parades of the equipment “makes him angry.

The IEA has said in the past that the equipment was given to the former Afghanistan Defense Force and therefore belongs to the country and not to the US.

Trump went on to say that the US “gives Afghanistan about $2 or $2.5 billion in aid”, adding “we need aid ourselves”.

“If we are going to give them money, it’s okay, but then I want them to give us back the military equipment that they have.”

He also stated “they (IEA) are selling it”, but did not elaborate.

“They have tanks, trucks, guns and goggles. They have night goggles. Better than we have. Brand new. Right out of the box. It’s unbelievable.

“If we are going to pay them, then I want to get that equipment back,” he said.

Trump also stated the equipment is worth “billions and billions of dollars”.

This is not the first time Trump has called for the return of the weapons and equipment abandoned by the US when troops withdrew.

During his election campaign last year, Trump raised the issue.
However, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid dismissed Trump’s comments, and said it was mere electoral rhetoric.

Mujahid insisted the IEA will not return the equipment and would instead continue to protect it.

The Pentagon meanwhile estimates the value of the equipment, including fighter planes and helicopters, is worth over $7 billion.

 

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Torkham closed amid Afghanistan-Pakistan border tension

The busy border crossing was closed for all trade and travel and Afghans were advised by the Islamic Emirate to avoid using this route. 

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Travel and trade came to a standstill on Saturday at the Torkham crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan due to rising tension, between the two countries, along the border. 
 
The busy border crossing was closed for all trade and travel and Afghans were advised by the Islamic Emirate to avoid using this route. 
 
Torkham was closed following a verbal clash between border security forces from the two countries on Friday night.
 
The closure comes amid ongoing hostilities between Pakistani and Afghan forces, particularly over the construction of security posts along the border. 
 
“Afghan Taliban (IEA) are constructing a new check post near the border crossing. Pakistani officials told them to stop, but they refused,” a Pakistani official at the border told Anadolu news agency on the condition of anonymity.
 
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been fragile since November 2023 after Islamabad launched a crackdown against illegal foreigners, mostly Afghan refugees.
 
Islamabad has also repeatedly accused “Afghanistan-based” militants loyal to outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan of carrying out attacks.
 
The IEA has repeatedly denied this and said it will not allow any individual or group to threaten the security of another country from Afghanistan. 
 
However, in December, the Pakistani military carried out airstrikes, the second such cross-border action by Islamabad since March 2024, in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province.
 
The IEA stated a Pakistani military jet killed 46 people, including women and children. Islamabad rejected the claims that civilians were targeted.
 
 
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