Latest News
Pentagon Releases Report on Enhancing Security, Stability in Afghanistan
The U.S. Defense Department on Tuesday provided to the Congress its semiannual report titled “Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan.”
The report covers events during the period from December 1, 2016, through May 31, 2017.
“Our purpose in Afghanistan remains to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a safe-haven from which terrorist groups can plan and execute attacks on the United States, or our allies and citizens abroad,” officials said in a statement announcing the report’s submission.
“To accomplish this, we continue to support Afghanistan and train, advise and assist its military and police forces.”
This reporting period marks the first campaign season to begin under the conditions-based South Asia Strategy announced by President Donald Trump in August.
In February, U.S. Central Command designated Afghanistan as its main-effort mission and allocated additional combat enablers such as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets; attack aviation; fire support; and medical evacuation assets to support Afghan national defense and security forces and coalition forces, officials said.
Optimism for Political Settlement
“The assets and authorities to implement the South Asia Strategy in Afghanistan are now in place and continue to generate optimism within the Afghan government and [the Afghan defense and security forces] that a political settlement with the Taliban is possible,” the Pentagon statement said.
“The key to success remains sustained military pressure against the Taliban in order to eliminate the idea that they can achieve their objectives through violent conflict. The targeted investment of U.S. assets and personnel have increased the lethality of the [Afghan forces] this fighting season.
At the second Kabul Peace Conference in February, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered peace negotiations without preconditions to the Taliban, an unprecedented initiative that opened the door for meaningful negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
During this reporting period, Afghan forces remained in control of all provincial capitals and quickly defeated the Taliban’s attempt to take control of the provincial capital of Farah in May, the Pentagon statement said. The mild winter allowed for sustained military pressure against insurgent and terrorist forces and built positive momentum heading into the 2018 fighting season.
Combined Afghan Special Security Force and conventional force operations demonstrate increasing Afghan tactical and operational ability on the battlefield, officials said.
Afghanistan reaction
Following the Pentagon report, some Afghan MPs and analysts say the U.S. strategy for Afghanistan might be successful for the U.S. but not for the Afghan people who have sacrificed a lot in the ongoing war in their country.
“A strategy should be planned to ensure lasting peace in Afghanistan,” said Zalmai Wardag, a political analyst.
“The government is losing territory every day. The U.S. strategy has not been significant so far as expected to be,” said MP Munawar Shah Bahadori.
A tripartite meeting between the delegations of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was held in Kabul with the aim of connecting North Asia to South Asia and reducing transit and transportation costs among these three countries, the Ministry of Trade and Commerce said in a statement.
In this meeting, an agreement was reached on the creation of a joint technical committee to continue the talks.
This tripartite meeting was held under the leadership of Nooruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Vice President of Turkmenistan and Srik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
Earlier, a bilateral meeting was held between the delegation of the Islamic Emirate and Turkmenistan. The ministry of commerce said the participants of the meeting discussed the construction of a large joint logistics center in Torghondi, the trilateral transit agreement between the IEA, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, the expansion of Afghanistan’s railway, solving issues related to Afghan transit and export goods, and a number of other commercial issues.
Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid has said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan, adding the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) will not allow anyone to pose threat to any country in the region from the Afghan soil.
Mujahid made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Malaysia in Kabul on Thursday.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, Mujahid highlighted Malaysia’s “good treatment” of Afghan refugees and its long-standing relations with Afghanistan, and said that Malaysia is a powerful Islamic country and visits should increase.
He added that with the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, occupation and war ended in Afghanistan, and the country is fully secure.
Based on the statement, the Malaysian delegation called Afghanistan a friendly country and while emphasizing on comprehensive cooperation, it assured that what they have seen in Afghanistan will be shared with the authorities of their country.
The European Union signed an agreement worth 17 million euros with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to improve access to basic services, increased economic opportunities and protection for Afghans on the move and their host communities in Afghanistan.
The needs of women and girls are a particular focus of the programme, EU said in a statement released on Thursday.
The statement noted that from January 2023 until April 2024, over 1.5 million Afghans returned from Pakistan and Iran.
“I am deeply moved by the hardship returnees face when being deported to Afghanistan. In a country suffering from poverty and climate change, and in a city that just saw devastating earthquakes, this truly is a crisis within a crisis.”, said Peteris Ustubs, Director for the Middle East, Asia and Pacific of the European Commission’s Department for International Partnerships during the signing ceremony at the IOM transit centre in Herat.
Raffaella Iodice, EU Chargée d’Affaires a.i. to Afghanistan, added “The solidarity of the Afghan people towards their brothers and sisters is an inspiration. We must assure that communities hosting and helping new arrivals are supported. The partnership with IOM ensures access to essential services and provides protection for Afghan returnees and their host communities. As women and girls can be particularly affected, we make sure that all members of society can benefit”.
“IOM’s continued partnership with the EU has been critical in enabling our teams to reach hundreds of thousands of Afghan returnees and other vulnerable communities in the country”, said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission, Maria Moita. “Thanks to this renewed commitment, we will be able to focus on addressing the immense challenges in the areas of return and contribute to reintegration, social cohesion, and longer-term solutions for those communities.”
This additional contribution is part of a 5-year programme that is being implemented across Afghanistan and in four countries in the region. It builds on the EU’s previous support to IOM to improve the wellbeing of Afghans forced to return to the country, EU said.
Attack Energy and Abu Muslim secure wins in respective ACL matches
Saar: 46th anniversary of 7th Saur coup in Afghanistan discussed
Tripartite trade meeting held in Kabul to boost regional connectivity
Afghanistan beat Iraq 5-3, inch closer to Futsal World Cup berth
In Beijing, Blinken meets Xi and raises US concerns about China’s support for Russia
Dead body of Quran-burner found in Norway
ATN secures rights to produce, broadcast second season of KPL
Yadav hits 156.7 km/h as Lucknow trump Bengaluru in IPL match
Afghanistan’s national futsal team ‘ready for’ group stage of Asian Cup
Afghanistan, Pakistan agree to abandon barter trade, establish banking relationships
Saar: 46th anniversary of 7th Saur coup in Afghanistan discussed
Tahawol: Pakistan’s security concerns from Afghan soil discussed
Saar: Visits by foreign diplomats to Kabul discussed
Tahawol: Calls for handing over Afghanistan’s seat to IEA discussed
Malaysian delegation trip to Kabul discussed
-
Latest News3 days agoRashid Khan named AWCC’s brand ambassador
-
Regional4 days agoIranian president lands in Pakistan for three-day visit to mend ties
-
Sport4 days agoKolkata beat Bengaluru by one run in IPL as Kohli fumes at dismissal
-
Sport5 days agoACL: Aino Mina 3-0 Istiqlal Kabul; Attack Energy 3-0 Khadim
-
Climate Change5 days agoRescuers race to reach those trapped by floods in China’s Guangdong
-
World4 days agoMalaysian navy helicopters collide in mid-air, 10 killed
-
Sport3 days agoJaiswal ton powers Rajasthan to big IPL win
-
Sport4 days agoMawj Sahil player scores stunning halfway line goal in 1-0 win over Jawanan Wahedi