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Govt says US forces spared from attacks, but Afghans paying the price
The deputy spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Sunday that the reason why the US has not suffered casualties among its forces in the past 10 months is because the foreign forces are no longer fighting in Afghanistan.
Reacting to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s earlier statement about the Taliban not targeting American soldiers in Afghanistan in the past year, Meenapal said this was not because of the US-Taliban deal as Pompeo stated but because the US was no longer actively involved in the war on the ground.
Meenapal said the casualties are being sustained by the Afghan security forces and that the Taliban is now at war with the Afghan people and with the country’s own security forces.
On Sunday morning Pompeo put the lack of casualties among US troops down to the Taliban adhering to the Doha deal signed in February.
In a series of tweets Pompeo said: “Our mission in Afghanistan is to eliminate Al-Qaeda and threats to the American homeland. Don’t need 10s of 1,000s of U.S. troops on the ground to do that. We have partners: brave Afghans, NATO forces. We also have the ability to project power from afar”.
He said no US servicemen had been killed in Afghanistan in almost a year, and Afghans are finally discussing peace and reconciliation among themselves.
“Logged a lot of air miles to Qatar and Afghanistan and back for talks,” he said.
Meshrano Jirga head Fazl Hadi Muslimyar meanwhile noted his dismay at the high levels of violence being meted out by insurgents against the Afghan people.
Sarcastically he said: “I want to congratulate the Taliban that no Americans have been killed in the past year, but dozens of Afghan soldiers have been killed.”
The Taliban has not commented on government’s reaction to Pompeo’s remarks.
This comes just two days ahead of the resumption of intra-Afghan peace talks in the Qatari capital, Doha.
It also comes amid a serious spike in targeted attacks and attempted assassinations of public figures including journalists, civil society activists and government employees.
However, no group has yet to take responsibility for all these attacks.
Meanwhile, in response to Pompeo’s comments, the Taliban said in a series of tweets Sunday that no attacks against US forces since the Doha deal shows that the Islamic Emirate is fulfilling its obligations as a committed entity.
The Islamic Emirate wants the hoped for peace agreement to be implemented in the same way, the group tweeted.
“We will fulfill the same obligations when we reach an agreement with the internal” actors, the group stated.
Members of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights are set to discuss the return of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers from the EU to Afghanistan in Brussels on Thursday.
The meeting follows recent talks between European Commission officials and representatives appointed by the Islamic Emirate.
European lawmakers will examine the return of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in light of the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
According to a European Parliament statement, the meeting will also assess the potential implications of returning Afghan migrants to the country.
Human rights organizations have urged that any decision on returns comply with human rights principles, including the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning people to places where they may face serious risks.
The planned discussion has raised concerns among some Afghan migrants in Europe over the possibility of deportation and forced return to Afghanistan.
The Islamic Emirate has previously said it welcomes the voluntary return of Afghan migrants and considers Afghanistan safe for the return of its citizens.
EU statistics show that nearly one million Afghans applied for asylum in European countries between 2013 and 2024, with around half of those applications accepted.
The Ministry of Defense says no threat to other countries emanates from Afghan soil, stressing that Islamic Emirate forces are systematically guarding the country’s borders.
The ministry says it will not allow Afghan territory to be used by groups or individuals seeking to threaten other countries.
Sediqullah Nusrat, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, said an independent government is now in power in Afghanistan and that no group or individual inside the country poses a threat to other countries.
“The policy of the Islamic Emirate is clear: there is an independent government in Afghanistan. There is no group in Afghanistan that poses a threat to other countries, and the Islamic Emirate will never allow such individuals to operate in the country,” he said.
Nusrat added that Islamic Emirate forces are systematically deployed along the borders and will not allow any individual or group to create insecurity or carry out destructive activities.
“We assure Afghans and the countries of the region that border forces are systematically performing their duties along the borders, and there is no need for concern,” he said.
The remarks come as some regional countries and the Collective Security Treaty Organization have periodically raised concerns over security along Afghanistan’s borders. The Islamic Emirate’s leadership has previously dismissed such concerns as baseless.
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Mujahid: Afghanistan ‘undoubtedly’ better off without US presence
Referring to the collapse of the previous government and the US withdrawal in August 2021, Mujahid said Kabul wants to establish normal diplomatic relations with Washington.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, has said Afghanistan is “undoubtedly” better off five years after the withdrawal of US forces, while acknowledging that the country continues to face significant challenges.
Speaking to RT India journalist Runjhun Sharma, Mujahid said the departure of foreign forces had restored Afghanistan’s independence and placed responsibility for rebuilding the country on Afghans themselves.
Referring to the collapse of the previous government and the US withdrawal in August 2021, Mujahid said Kabul wants to establish normal diplomatic relations with Washington, including the reopening of the US Embassy in Afghanistan and the establishment of an Afghan diplomatic mission in the United States.
He also called for the lifting of sanctions against Afghanistan and the release of the country’s frozen assets, arguing that such measures could contribute to improved relations between Kabul and Western countries.
Mujahid described Russia as an important regional partner and said the Islamic Emirate is seeking to expand cooperation with Moscow in areas including trade, reconstruction, fuel and energy.
The Islamic Emirate spokesman also said Kabul would not alter its domestic policies in exchange for international recognition.
Addressing restrictions on women and girls, Mujahid said Afghanistan has its own religious beliefs, national interests and laws, which he argued should be respected.
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