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Protecting Afghan Capital is ‘Our Main Effort’: Nicholson
Afghan capital Kabul is becoming the main focus of an intensified U.S.-backed battle against the Taliban this year after a series of high-profile attacks exposed major gaps in security.
“Kabul is our main effort. To harden Kabul, to protect the people of Kabul and the international community that are here,” U.S. General John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told a group of reporters on Wednesday.
The remarks underscored the high degree of concern about the Taliban’s intent to stage high-profile attacks in Kabul, which are aimed at undermining the Afghan government and international resolve after 16 years of war.
They are also a reminder that while U.S. and Afghan officials speak with growing confidence about the prospects of peace talks with elements of the Taliban, the military is also making long-term preparations for an extended conflict, including in the capital.
Nicholson said Kabul’s exponential growth from about 500,000 people in 2001 to 5 million today had created a haphazard sprawl that was hard to secure. U.S. intelligence agencies were helping Afghanistan map the city so police and soldiers can better design barriers and checkpoints.
“I’ll just be very candid. We have a lot of work to do,” Nicholson said.“This growth at that rate has meant that there’s a lot of sprawl. It’s easy to get in and out of the city.”
In the past year, insurgents have staged massive bombings in the Afghan capital, including one in January that killed more than 100 people and another in May 2017 near the German embassy.
No group claimed the May 2017 attack but Afghan and U.S. officials blamed the Haqqani network, a violent militant group affiliated to the Taliban.
The Taliban claimed the second attack but many officials say it bore the hallmarks of the Haqqanis, who the United States says enjoy safe haven in neighboring Pakistan.
U.S. President Donald Trump has piled pressure on Pakistan to crack down on the safe havens, announcing in January a suspension in U.S. financial assistance to Islamabad.
A group of newly arriving U.S. Army advisers would partner with some of the Afghan troops securing Kabul. Commandos would carry out intelligence-driven raids throughout the city, something Nicholson said was already ongoing.
The goal would be to eliminate Taliban strongholds as well as Taliban facilitators, which included criminal enterprises that, for a price, gave the insurgents shelter or weapons.
“The Taliban are in the city,” Nicholson said. “So this is a process of deliberately clearing sections of the city. That’s begun.”
Nicholson’s comments came during a trip to Afghanistan by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, whose delegation navigated some of Kabul’s checkpoints and blast walls while moving between U.S. military and Afghan government compounds on Tuesday, helicopters buzzing overhead.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Kabul police also confirmed the arrival of U.S. army advisors to the capital.
“We have addressed our demands to foreign partners and we are in contact with them. They are also serious [in this regard],” said Daoud Amin, the acting police chief of Kabul.
With inputs from Reuters
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Mullah Baradar discusses creation of railway with Kazakh deputy PM
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister for economic affairs has met with Erik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, and discussed the establishment of a railway network from Kazakhstan to Pakistan through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, the deputy PM’s office said in a statement.
During the meeting, Baradar emphasized the need to sign agreements to solve the banking problems of traders from both countries, the creation of Afghan-Kazakh joint companies, and the facilitation of visas for Afghan traders.
According to the statement, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan said that the Kazakh government intends to establish a joint chamber of industry and commerce and a joint trade and labor group between the two countries, and is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in the sectors of e-governance, industry, higher education, education, health, and banking.
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Iran, Pakistan leaders raise concerns over ‘terrorist groups’ in Afghanistan
Following a two-day official visit to Pakistan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a joint statement emphasizing the need to further expand commercial and economic cooperation and transform the common border of the two countries from a “border of peace” to “border of prosperity”.
The two leaders also strongly condemned aggressions and crimes of Israel in Gaza, and demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as well as unimpeded humanitarian access to the besieged people of Gaza.
Numerous other issues were also discussed but on the topic of Afghanistan, they jointly declared their commitment to the development of Afghanistan as a peaceful, united, independent country free from the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking.
According to the statement the two countries pointed out that the existence of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan is a serious threat to the security of the region and the world.
The two sides stressed their desire to strengthen cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism and ensuring security and creating a united front against terrorism.
They also discussed the importance of coordinating regional and international efforts to ensure security and stability in the region.
“While respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, the two sides recognized that increasing participation of all strata of Afghans in basic decision-making will lead to the strengthening of peace and stability in this country,” the statement read.
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Over 1,000 Afghan refugees forced out of Pakistan in one day
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) says over 1,000 Afghan migrants were forcibly returned from Pakistan on Tuesday through Spin Boldak border crossing in Kandahar province, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry stated that based on information provided by the Spin Boldak Kandahar border command, these returnees comprised 191 families, totalling 998 people.
In addition, three migrants released from Pakistani prisons were also returned, according to the statement.
The statement added that after registering the returnees, the refugees were referred to the offices of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Each family received 10,000 afghanis – paid to them by the Islamic Emirate.
In another statement, the ministry said that 2,783 migrants living in Iran voluntarily and forcibly returned to the country during this week.
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