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Germany: NATO may need to stay longer in Afghanistan
Reuters: NATO troops may need to stay in Afghanistan for a longer period and any decision should be based on the situation on the ground, Germany’s defense minister said on Thursday in an implicit criticism of U.S. withdrawal plans.
Despite the recapture of the strategic northern city of Kunduz from Taliban militants, the intense fighting has raised questions over whether NATO-trained Afghan forces were ready to go it alone now most foreign combat troops have left.
“We’ll need to look at how we go forward and whether we should stay longer,” Ursula von der Leyen said as she arrived for a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. “The developments in Kunduz show that the way that we have walked together with the Afghans … that we have to walk on.”
The deadly bombing of a hospital in Kunduz has also put renewed attention on NATO’s future in the country that has received more than $100 billion in international aid but whose long-term stability is still in question.
Germany has long seen its troop presence under NATO as a stabilization mission and stresses the focus is on civil reconstruction, meant to reassure a German public that remains deeply uncomfortable with the idea of its troops in combat, more than six decades after the end of World War Two.
“I will appeal today that we don’t organize the withdrawal from Afghanistan according to a rigid timetable, but that we analyze the situation there and coordinate the withdrawal accordingly step by step,” von der Leyen said.
“This means that we put the responsibility into the Afghans’ hands in a way that they are actually capable to keep their country stable.”
Germany, which had 1,900 troops stationed in Kunduz at the height of its mission there, has reduced its presence but still has 870 soldiers in the region.
Defense ministers meeting in Brussels discussed a timetable for the mission significantly beyond 2016, a NATO source said.
Von der Leyen has warned for months about a hasty withdrawal and was uncomfortable with U.S. President Barack Obama’s timetable for bringing troops home by the end of next year, leaving 1,000 U.S. soldiers in Kabul.
U.S. Army General John Campbell, who commands the NATO troops in Afghanistan, said he supported calls for drawing down force numbers at a slower pace, citing multiple threats from Islamic State militants and other radical groups.
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Trump administration to end protection program for Afghans
Over 8,000 Afghans were approved for TPS as of last year, according to federal statistics.
The Trump administration is ending the Temporary Protection Program that offered deportation protection to thousands of people from Afghanistan.
The Department of Homeland Security said Monday it will end the program on July 12.
The TPS program allows migrants to get work permits and temporary reprieve from deportation if the U.S. government determines it is unsafe for them to return to their home countries due to war, natural disaster or other issues.
Over 8,000 Afghans were approved for TPS as of last year, according to federal statistics.
TPS was last extended for Afghanistan in 2023, and it was set to expire in May unless the Trump administration chose to grant another extension.
“This decision is unconscionable and will have long-lasting ripple effects,” #AfghanEvac, a group that helps relocate Afghans, said in a post on X.
A number of domestic investors have announced plans to invest $650 million in three phases for the exploration and extraction of one of the blocks in the Hajigak iron mine.
The announcement was made during a meeting on Monday with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, who welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed the Islamic Emirate’s full support for such investments.
According to the investors, the project will be implemented in partnership with a foreign company and carried out using professional and modern mining standards. In addition to extraction, the plan includes the establishment of a sponge iron processing plant within Afghanistan, equipped with advanced technology and compliant with international standards.
The facility is expected to process up to 9,000 tons of sponge iron daily, converting it into steel billets to meet Afghanistan’s domestic demand for iron products. The project is also projected to create 6,000 direct jobs, contributing significantly to the local economy.
Mullah Baradar instructed the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum to collaborate closely with the investors and to regularly report on the project’s progress. He reiterated the government’s commitment to supporting initiatives that foster economic growth and self-reliance in the mining sector.
Acting Minister of Energy and Water Abdul Latif Mansoor has left Kabul for Tashkent to participate in the fifth Uzbekistan International Energy Conference.
The event is part of Energy Week of Uzbekistan 2025 that is focused on regional partnership for sustainable energy. It will be held from May 13 to 15.
The aim of the summit is to strengthen regional cooperation, attract investment in joint energy projects, exchange experiences and promote green technology, the Ministry of Energy and Water said in a statement.
During the conference, Mansoor is expected to emphasize expanding cooperation with regional countries, attracting foreign investment and using successful international experiences in the field of energy resource management, the statement said.
Representatives of regional countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia, as well as organizations s such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Bank, are expected to attend the conference.
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