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UN-led Doha meeting with IEA not about recognition, says UN

The UN-led meeting aims to engage with the Islamic Emirate on various issues including engagement going forward, along with sessions on private sector business and counter-narcotics.

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A United Nations-led meeting with Afghanistan's Islamic Emirate (IEA) in Qatar this weekend will not be a discussion about international recognition of the group, the UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said on Wednesday.

The meeting, which will also be attended by envoys from some 25 countries, will be the third such meeting in Doha and gets underway on June 30.

It will however be the first time the IEA attends the meeting.

"This is not a meeting about recognition. This is not a meeting to lead to recognition ... Having engagement doesn't mean recognition," DiCarlo told reporters.

"This isn't about the Taliban (Islamic Emirate). This is about Afghanistan and the people."

The UN-led meeting aims to engage with the Islamic Emirate on various issues including engagement going forward, along with sessions on private sector business and counter-narcotics.

This UN official also says that the work on appointing a UN special representative for Afghanistan is currently pending and will not be discussed in the Doha meeting.

According to DiCarlo, for this, the support of all 15 members of the Security Council of this organization is needed, but the issue of appointing a special representative for Afghanistan is not over, and she wants the United Nations to take steps in this regard.

It was expected that the appointment of a special representative would also be discussed at the third Doha meeting.

Meanwhile, Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the United Nations Deputy Mission in Afghanistan or UNAMA met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs in Kabul and discussed the points of the agenda and other issues including the composition of the delegation of the Islamic Emirate at the Doha meeting.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the head of UNAMA was quoted as saying she considered the Doha meeting to be a suitable opportunity for the parties to express their views on issues related to Afghanistan.

Matthew Miller, the spokesperson of the United States Department of State, says that the US special representatives for Afghanistan, Thomas West and Rina Amiri, will participate in the third Doha meeting, and the purpose of the US presence in this meeting is to emphasize the need for the current government of Afghanistan to fulfill its commitments.

"America will participate in this meeting. Both our special representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West, and the US special representative for Afghan women and girls, Rina Amiri, will participate in this meeting.

"We participate in this meeting to pressure the Taliban (Islamic Emirate) together with the international community to fulfill their obligations to the Doha Agreement, including their behavior towards women,” said Miller.

Previously, Rina Amiri, the US special representative for women, girls and human rights in Afghanistan, said that until the issue of human rights is included in the agenda of the future talks in Afghanistan, conflicts will continue in this country.

Rights groups have however criticized the UN for not having Afghan women at the table with the Islamic Emirate in Doha.

But UN officials and the country envoys attending the meeting are due to meet separately with Afghan civil society groups.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the IEA’s spokesman, will lead Afghanistan’s delegation to the meeting.

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Canada sent 19 failed asylum seekers back to Afghanistan last year

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Canada's border guards sent 19 rejected Afghan asylum seekers back to the country last year despite Otawa’s Temporary Suspension of Removals (TSR) that has been in place for Afghan nationals since 1994.

CBC reported that none of the 19 Afghans had their cases rejected on the basis of safety or security risks. The border service did not however reveal further details.

The border agency said a TSR is meant to "halt removals to a country or place when general conditions, such as armed conflict or an environmental disaster, pose a risk to the entire civilian population."

It also said individuals who were found inadmissible "on grounds of criminality, serious criminality, international or human rights violations, organized crime, or security" can be removed despite a TSR, CBC reported.

The CBSA said the 19 who failed their refugee claims left Canada "voluntarily," and that the Afghans were "aware that they benefit from a stay of removal due to the Temporary Suspension of Removal on Afghanistan but requested to have their removal order enforced despite the legislative stay.

"In other words, the individual was advised that they can remain in Canada until the TSR is lifted and they opted to return to Afghanistan."

Canada has welcomed some 54,000 Afghans since August 2021, surpassing a commitment it made to bring in 40,000 in 2021.

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Trump team compiling list of military officers responsible for US withdrawal from Afghanistan

Trump has on a number of occasions condemned the withdrawal as a “humiliation” and “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country.” 

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The Trump transition team is compiling a list of senior current and former U.S. military officers who were directly involved in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and exploring whether they could be court-martialed. 
 
NBC reported that the team working on the transition of power between President-elect Donald Trump and outgoing President Joe Biden are considering creating a commission to investigate the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
 
Citing a US official and a person familiar with the plan, NBC stated a commission would then gather information about who was directly involved in the decision-making for the military, how it was carried out, and whether the military leaders could be eligible for charges as serious as treason.
 
“They’re taking it very seriously,” the person with knowledge of the plan said.
 
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
 
Matt Flynn, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics and global threats, is helping lead the effort, the sources said. 
 
Trump has on a number of occasions condemned the withdrawal as a “humiliation” and “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country.” 
 
NBC reports however that it is not clear what would legally justify “treason” charges since the military officers were following the orders of President Joe Biden to withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
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Ottawa taking detention of Canadian in Afghanistan ‘very seriously’

Lavery helped an estimated 100 Afghans flee Kabul during the chaotic withdrawal of US and allied forces.

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The Canadian government is taking "very seriously" the detention in Afghanistan of a former member of Canada's elite special forces, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday.

Retired soldier David Lavery, known in Kabul as Canadian Dave, was detained by the Islamic Emirate shortly after landing in Kabul on Monday, according to Canadian broadcaster CTV News.

His whereabouts are unknown, the outlet added, citing unnamed sources.

Asked about Lavery, Trudeau said: "I can first of all assure you that the Canadian government is taking very, very seriously the situation."

He also said consular assistance has been provided to Lavery's family.

Lavery helped an estimated 100 Afghans flee Kabul during the chaotic withdrawal of US and allied forces.

He spent decades in the Canadian military and is said to have been a key member of its elite Joint Task Force 2 special operations unit.

More recently, Lavery has reportedly operated a private security firm in Kabul.

The Islamic Emirate has not yet commented.

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