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Pentagon says Kabul not in ‘imminent threat environment’

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The Afghan capital, Kabul, is not in an “imminent threat environment” despite sudden territorial gains by the Taliban across the country, a U.S. Pentagon spokesperson said on Friday.

Taliban insurgents have seized Afghanistan’s second- and third-biggest cities as resistance from government forces crumbled, stoking fears that an assault on Kabul could be just days away, Reuters reported.

“Kabul is not, right now, in an imminent threat environment. But clearly… if you just look at what the Taliban’s been doing, you can see that they are trying to isolate Kabul now,” John Kirby said.

Also on Friday, a senior U.S. defense official said there was concern that the Taliban – ousted from power by U.S-led forces in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks on the United States – could make a move on Kabul within days.

But Washington was hoping the Afghan security forces would put up more resistance as the insurgents move closer to the capital, Reuters reported.

Kirby said that the Biden administration is concerned by the speed of the Taliban advance.

“We have noted, and we have noted with great concern, the speed with which they have been moving and the lack of resistance that they have faced,” he said.

Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said after a security meeting chaired by President Ashraf Ghani that he was proud of the armed forces and the government would do all it could to strengthen the resistance to the Taliban.

The fighting has raised fears of a refugee crisis and a rollback of gains in human rights since the Taliban were ousted. Some 400,000 civilians have been forced from their homes since the beginning of the year, 250,000 of them since May, a U.N. official said.

The Pentagon said on Thursday it would send about 3,000 extra troops within 48 hours to help evacuate U.S. Embassy staff.

Pentagon spokesperson Kirby said some of those troops are already in place and the bulk of them would be, “by the end of the weekend.”

The speed of the Taliban offensive as U.S.-led foreign forces prepare to complete their withdrawal by the end of this month has led to recriminations over President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops.

Biden said this week he did not regret his decision, noting that Washington has spent more than $1 trillion in America’s longest war and lost thousands of troops.

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US companies are welcome to join TAPI project: Turkmenistan’s ex-president

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In an interview with Al Arabiya, former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said international companies, including United States firms, are welcome to join the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.

Berdymukhamedov noted that while the project enjoys U.S. support, it will need to navigate longstanding regional tensions, as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have seen outbreaks of deadly fighting over the past year.

“This project, which enjoys international support, including from the United States, possesses immense potential in meeting the growing energy needs of South Asian nations. It also opens promising avenues for accessing the emerging markets of the Asia-Pacific region, the Near East, and the Middle East,” he said.

 “The TAPI project is also of paramount importance for political stability and economic prosperity, maintaining high investment attractiveness,” Berdymukhamedov added.

Turkmenistan plans to complete the first section of the pipeline, reaching the Afghan city of Herat, by the end of 2026. No plans have yet been announced to extend the project further south.

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UK’s Reform party pledges visa ban affecting Afghanistan and five other states

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The British political party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is set to impose a blanket visa ban on Afghanistan and five other countries — including Pakistan — as part of its proposed crackdown on illegal migration and states refusing to accept deported nationals.

In a speech set for Monday, the party’s newly appointed “shadow” home secretary, Zia Yusuf, will outline plans to halt all visas for diplomats, students, workers, VIPs and tourists from Pakistan, Somalia, Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan. Reform says these governments fail to cooperate in accepting back deported migrants and convicted criminals.

Pakistan received more than 160,000 UK visas last year, making it one of the biggest visa recipients. However, British officials say Islamabad accepts back only a small fraction of rejected asylum seekers and has resisted pressure to take back individuals convicted in high-profile criminal cases.

The move – which mirrors US President Donald Trump’s visa ban on 75 countries – would be a key element in Reform’s strategy to deport up to 288,000 illegal migrants from the UK on five charter flights a day.

On legal migration, Yusuf will say a Reform government would terminate all welfare payments to foreign nationals, including the 1.3 million currently receiving UC, up from around 900,000 in 2022.

Yusuf is expected to say that years of weak immigration enforcement have undermined public trust and that a Reform government would secure Britain’s borders and make people feel safe.

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Ex-US envoy Khalilzad condemns Pakistan air attacks on Afghanistan

He described the situation as a tragedy for both Pakistan and its neighbors, urging the Pakistani leadership to reconsider its policies and change course.

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Former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has strongly condemned Sunday’s airstrikes by Pakistan on Afghanistan. He stated that these attacks killed and wounded numerous innocent women, children, and elderly.

Khalilzad pointed to Pakistan’s long history of misgovernance, interference in minority rights, manipulation of democratic processes, and repeated military takeovers as the root causes.

He described the situation as a tragedy for both Pakistan and its neighbors, urging the Pakistani leadership to reconsider its policies and change course.

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