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NATO chief says ‘no guarantee of success’ in Afghanistan peace process

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(Last Updated On: December 30, 2020)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this week there is no guarantee of success in Afghanistan but that the organization will meet with incoming US President Joe Biden’s team in February in order to make a decision on whether to stay in the country or withdraw all its troops.

In an interview with Germany’s dpa news agency, Stoltenberg said: “Whatever we decide, there is a risk. If we decide to leave, the risk is that we will lose the gains we have made in fighting international terrorism to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven.

“If we stay, of course there is the risk that we will see increased fighting, violence, and that we will remain engaged in a long-term military conflict in Afghanistan,” he said.

He stated that “it’s a fragile peace process” currently and that there is “no guarantee of success”.

“But the ongoing talks in Doha between the Afghan government and Taliban is the only path to peace, and NATO strongly supports those efforts.

“We will have another meeting in February with the new Biden administration and then make our decisions,” Stoltenberg said.

This comes amid what he described as a fragile peace process – intra-Afghan negotiations, which are set to resume in Doha, Qatar, on January 5.

However, in February the US signed an agreement with the Taliban agreeing to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by April next year.

Already the US is down to only about 4,000 troops, from 13,000 a year ago, and by mid-January only 2,500 will remain.

According to Military.com, NATO had about 11,000 troops in Afghanistan at the end of November – a figure that includes US troops.

The largest contingents from other nations include Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. Each had roughly between 900 and 1,000 troops supporting the effort as of June.

Stoltenberg’s interview with dpa comes a month after he expressed concern about the US’s withdrawal plan, saying the Taliban had not kept its end of the deal and a hasty withdrawal of troops could make the country a haven for terror groups.

“As you know, the United States has announced that it will reduce its presence in Afghanistan. But the NATO mission will remain,” he said in November. “And we will continue to provide support to Afghan security forces,” he said at the time.

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Magnitude 5.2 quake jolts Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter Scale jolted Afghanistan on Thursday afternoon, the National Center for Seismology reported.

The quake was at a depth of 70km and epicentered in the mountainous north-eastern area of Ashkāsham.

The jolt was felt across the region including in Kabul, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan

There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

In October last year, over 2,000 people were killed when four 6.3-magnitude earthquakes struck in Herat province.

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Bayat Foundation helps needy families in Balkh

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

As part of Bayat Foundation’s Ramadan aid campaign, needy families in Mazar-e-Sharif, in Balkh province, received much needed food packages this week.

The aid package includes rice, flour and oil.

“In continuation of Bayat Foundation’s assistance, this time also a quantity of food such as flour, oil and rice was distributed to needy families in Mazar-e-Sharif; Inshallah, these contributions will continue,” said a representative of the foundation.

Needy families that received aid packages expressed their gratitude but called on other aid organizations to help the needy during these difficult times.

“Many thanks to Bayat Foundation, I thank Bayat Foundation for helping the needy and poor people of this region,” said a recipient said.

“I would like to thank Bayat Foundation for their cooperation in helping the needy in this holy month of Ramadan; it is hoped that traders and charities will do such sustainable work,” said another recipient.

Bayat Foundation is one of the charitable organizations that has played an important role in helping the needy in Afghanistan over the last two decades.

In addition to distributing aid packages to needy and vulnerable families, it has carried out numerous other projects, including the construction of health centers and schools.

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MoI registers over 8,700 criminal cases in the past six months

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

Abdul Matin Qani, the Ministry of Interior’s spokesman said on Thursday that in the last six months, 8,747 criminal cases have been recorded across the country.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Qani said of these cases, 7,233 have been solved while the remaining 1,525 are still being investigated.

He said 12,540 people have been arrested in connection with these crimes.

In addition, 21 kidnappers have been killed, 18 hostages have been freed and 172 people have been arrested in connection with kidnappings in the same period of time.

Qani also said in the last six months 837,000 passports have been distributed. He said three new passport offices will be established in Kabul in the near future.

“10,000 passports are distributed to citizens daily by the Passport Department,” said Qani.

On the issue of narcotics, he said drug cultivation, production and trafficking has been eradicated. He said drug manufacturing equipment and 377 drug factories have been destroyed across the country.

According to him, the ministry has also made advances in collecting illegal weapons, fighting corruption and improving police skills.

Qani stated that during this period, no security incidents took place in most provinces across the country.

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