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UK govt confirms accelerated plan to relocate Afghan translators

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The UK government officially announced Tuesday that local staff who worked for the UK government in Afghanistan, including translators, will be eligible for expedited relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP).

“Local staff who worked for the UK Government in Afghanistan, including many who worked as interpreters for UK forces in the country, will be eligible for expedited relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP),” the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel announced Tuesday in a statement.

Wallace said: “We owe a debt of gratitude to our interpreters and other locally employed staff who risked their lives working alongside UK forces in Afghanistan.

“We have always made clear that nobody’s life should be put at risk because they supported the UK Government to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan.

“As we withdraw our Armed Forces, it is only right we accelerate the relocation of those who may be at risk of reprisals.

“The Home Secretary and I are going to do everything to make sure we recognise their services and bring them to safety. It is the right thing to do,” he said.

The ARAP scheme came into effect on 1 April 2021 and offers the relocation of current and former local staff in Afghanistan, including interpreters and their immediate families.

Wallace said this new scheme acknowledges and reflects that the situation in Afghanistan has changed, and with it the potential risk to the local staff who have worked for the UK Government over the past twenty years.

Patel in turn said: “I’m proud to say that the UK is fulfilling its promise to those Afghan interpreters and other locally employed staff who have worked tirelessly alongside our Armed Forces.

“It is our moral obligation to recognise the risks they have faced in the fight against terrorism and reward their efforts. I’m pleased that we are meeting this fully, by providing them and their families the opportunity to build a new life in this country.

“A new intimidation scheme administered by a specialist team based in Kabul has been set up to administer the ARAP and support local staff who are threatened as a result of their work with the UK.

According to her, under the new policy, any current or former locally employed staff who are assessed to be under serious threat to life are offered priority relocation to the UK regardless of their employment status, rank or role, or length of time served.

She also said the Ministry of Defense will work with a range of UK government partners, including the Home Office to successfully relocate those who meet the eligibility requirements and support them to integrate and build a new life in the UK.

“By accelerating the ARAP for those staff still in Afghanistan, the government is meeting its moral obligation to ensure their continued safety, she said.

The UK government has already supported the relocation of more than 1,360 former Afghan staff and their families, enabling them to create new lives in the UK.

No confirmed figures were released by the UK government Tuesday but earlier reports indicated about 3,000 people, including family members, could be resettled in the UK.

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India reaffirms healthcare support to Afghanistan, hands over medicines and vaccines

Indian officials said the support underscores New Delhi’s commitment to helping improve healthcare services and access to life-saving treatment in Afghanistan.

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India has reaffirmed its commitment to continued humanitarian assistance and healthcare cooperation with Afghanistan, with a focus on the long-term supply of essential medicines.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda held a productive meeting with Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali. The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation in the health sector and addressing the medical needs of the Afghan people.

During the meeting, a symbolic handover of cancer medicines and vaccines was carried out, reflecting India’s ongoing support for Afghanistan’s healthcare system. The ministry also announced that a larger consignment of medicines, vaccines, and a 128-slice CT scanner is being dispatched to Afghanistan as part of India’s humanitarian assistance efforts.

Indian officials said the support underscores New Delhi’s commitment to helping improve healthcare services and access to life-saving treatment in Afghanistan.

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Afghan forces target hideout of suspects linked to cross-border attacks on Chinese nationals

Afghan forces target hideout of suspects linked to cross-border attacks on Chinese nationals

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Security sources said that special forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) have targeted a hideout in Badakhshan province linked to suspects involved in attacks against Chinese nationals in neighboring Tajikistan.

According to the sources, the operation was carried out on Tuesday night in Faizabad city, where several individuals suspected of orchestrating cross-border attacks from Badakhshan’s frontier regions were believed to be present. As a result of the operation, one wanted suspect was arrested alive along with weapons and other military equipment.

The sources added that preliminary investigations and initial confessions by the detainee indicate the planning of the attacks was carried out from outside Afghanistan.

This comes as Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on November 27 that three Chinese citizens were killed in an attack in Khatlon province.

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Baradar urges scholars to promote protection of Islamic system and national interests

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Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, has called on religious scholars to play a stronger role in promoting the protection of the Islamic system and Afghanistan’s national interests among the public.

Speaking at a turban-tying ceremony at Jamia Fath al-Uloom in Kabul on Wednesday, Baradar urged scholars to adopt a softer tone in their sermons and public addresses.

He said that alongside teaching religious obligations, scholars should help foster a sense of responsibility toward safeguarding the Islamic system and national unity.

Baradar described madrasas as the sacred foundations of religious learning, moral education, spiritual and intellectual development, and Islamic movements within Muslim societies.

He noted that in Afghanistan, religious teachings and the concept of sacred jihad originated in madrasas, spread from villages to cities, and eventually translated into action and resistance.

He also emphasized the role of madrasas in the intellectual reform of society, the removal of what he described as un-Islamic cultural influences, and the preservation of Islamic traditions.

Baradar stressed that religious schools must remain committed to their original mission and values under all circumstances.

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