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US and Ghani government ‘set the stage’ for the collapse of republic: SIGAR
Washington’s Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko stated in a report released Monday, that the agency found six short-term factors accelerated the collapse of the Afghan security forces in August 2021.
In his report to Congress, Sopko said first the decision by the United States to withdraw all U.S. military forces “fundamentally changed the behaviors of the United States, the [Ashraf] Ghani administration, and the Taliban (IEA).”
He said many Afghans thought the U.S.-Taliban agreement was an act of bad faith and a signal that the “United States was handing over Afghanistan to the enemy as it rushed to exit the country,” he said adding that “its immediate effect was a dramatic loss in ANDSF morale”.
In addition, the change in the U.S. military’s level of support to the ANDSF; the failure to establish a self-sustaining ANDSF; former President Ashraf Ghani’s frequent changes of ANDSF leaders and appointment of loyalists; the Afghan government’s failure to take responsibility for Afghan security through the implementation of a national security strategy; and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) effective exploitation of ANDSF weaknesses, were also behind the collapse of the security forces.
“These six short-term factors worked together to cause the ANDSF’s collapse,” Sopko stated in the report.
He said, in addition, SIGAR identified eight systemic factors that explain why, after 20 years and nearly $90 billion in U.S.
security assistance, the ANDSF was vulnerable to collapse in the first place and ill prepared to sustain security following a U.S. withdrawal.
According to him, these factors were:
The length of the U.S. commitment was disconnected from a realistic understanding of the time required to build a self-sustaining security sector;
No one country or agency had ownership of the ANDSF development mission;
Advisors were often poorly trained and inexperienced for their mission, while frequent personnel rotations impeded standardization, continuity of effort, and institutional memory;
The lack of effective interagency oversight and assessment programs prevented a clear picture of reality on the ground;
Afghan corruption eroded ANDSF capabilities;
U.S training, logistics and weapons procurement policies undermined its stated goal of creating a self-sustaining Afghan military;
The United States perpetuated pre-existing ethnic and regional tensions rather than achieving stated mission goals of force diversity and unification;
The U.S. and Afghan governments failed to develop a police force effective at providing justice and protecting Afghan citizens from crime.
Sopko also stated that during SIGAR’s work looking at the accounting for and status of U.S.-provided equipment to the ANDSF and U.S.trained ANDSF personnel, the agency found that the United States lacked a full accounting of equipment and personnel even before the collapse.
He said the IEA is now using U.S.-provided military equipment in operations; and while some U.S.-provided aircraft have been recovered, others remain in limbo in other countries.
In addition, ANDSF personnel have escaped, are in hiding, have been killed, or may have joined extremist groups, Sopko stated.
Sopko also stated in the report that the US department of defense and the state departed declined to review the interim
Draft of the report and in turn denied SIGAR access to their staff, “and mostly declined to answer requests for information”.
“This limited SIGAR’s ability to perform this evaluation. Still, this final version includes additional information that we received from U.S. and former Afghan officials over the past eight months, without support from U.S. agencies.”
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Afghanistan exported more than 2,500 tons of pine nuts in 1402
Afghan pine nut is mostly exported to China, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce says that in the past solar year (1402) more than 2,500 tons of pine nuts worth $27 million were exported to neighboring countries and beyond.
Afghan pine nut is mostly exported to China, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
“The total weight of black pine nut exports during 1402 was 2,523 tons and the value was $27 million, mostly to China, India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United States, Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, and other countries,” said Abdul Salam Javad Akhundzada, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Officials in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock say that since last year, pine nut production has increased in the country and they have also expanded artificial forests to harvest more pine nuts.
“In order to revive pine nut forests, according to last year's development budget, pine trees have been planted on approximately 1,500 hectares of land.
There used to be pine trees on these lands, but they were cut down or destroyed in a fire,” said Misbahuddin Mustain, the spokesperson of the Ministries of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.
Experts say that currently China buys most of Afghanistan's pint nuts, but the government must find new markets so that it can be sold at a better price.
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IEA says deportation of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries has intensified
A committee of the High Commission for Addressing the Problems of Migrants said the process of forced expulsion of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries has intensified.
However, members of the committee emphasized, in their meeting with the Prime Minister's administrative deputy, that they have managed the resettlement of the returnees well in cooperation with relevant institutions.
In the meeting, Abdul Salam Hanafi, the administrative deputy prime minister, said that as winter approaches, committees should seek to ensure that the returnees will not face problems.
Experts say that the refugee hosting countries should treat Afghan migrants according to international laws, and take into account the current conditions of the country.
“To reduce immigration and increase economic stability, creating employment opportunities, increasing investment, giving various types of loans to people and issuing securities can be effective,” said Asifa Stanikzai, a migration expert.
Iranian officials have said that they deport 3,000 Afghan immigrants from the country every day and they plan to deport two million Afghan immigrants by the end of this year.
Forced deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan has been a serious challenge in the last three years, but according to experts, the Islamic Emirate has been able to manage the process to some extent.
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Iran executes 13 Afghans in October, 49 in total since January
Last month, Iran carried out at least 166 executions in October alone bringing the total in the first 10 months of 2024 to at least 651
Iran Human Rights reported this weekend that in the first 10 months of 2024, Iran has executed 49 Afghan nationals, 13 of whom were executed in October alone.
According to IHR, the number of executions of Afghan nationals has increased in the past three years.
In 2022, 16 Afghan nationals, including a juvenile offender and a woman, were executed.
In 2023, this number increased to 25.
This year, the trend has accelerated further.
IHR warned that Iran may take advantage of the rising conflict between Iran and Israel to escalate the number of executions in the coming months.
Last month, Iran carried out at least 166 executions in October alone bringing the total in the first 10 months of 2024 to at least 651.
This marks the highest number of executions recorded in a single month since Iran Human Rights began documenting executions in 2007.
Among those executed were the 13 Afghan nationals, six women, and an Iranian-German citizen.
The organization has called on the international community, media, and civil society to closely monitor and respond to what they say is an “alarming rise in executions”.
IHR also stated that since the presidential election and the recent escalation in Iran-Israel tensions, the number of executions has surged, with at least 353 people having been executed between August and October - since President Massoud Pezeshkian took office.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has not yet commented on the number of Afghan nationals executed.
The Iranian government does not disclose the number of Afghans it executes or the reasons behind most cases.
However, it is widely believed that a significant portion of these executions are related to drug charges.
Human rights organizations have criticized the Iranian government for conducting such executions, arguing that these actions violate international laws and the right to life.
Amnesty International says that the death penalty, without exception, constitutes a violation of the right to life as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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