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US completes as much as 25% of retrograde process in Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: May 26, 2021)

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said this week that it has “completed between 16-25 percent of the entire retrograde process.”

CENTCOM said in a statement United States Department of Defense has retrograded the equivalent of approximately 160 C-17 loads of material out of Afghanistan and has turned over more than 10,000 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition.

The US has officially handed over five facilities to the Afghan Ministry of Defense, the statement said.

The CENTCOM did not elaborate on the installations. 

“For operational security reasons we will only be providing an approximate range of the percentage of the exit process that is complete,” the statement noted. 

“As the responsible and orderly exit continues, the size of the range will increase to preserve operational security. This update includes the progress on the retrograde of troops and equipment from Afghanistan, the turning over of equipment and facilities to the ANDSF, as well as the destruction of some equipment,” the statement concluded.

The foreign troops’ withdrawal process started officially early this month. According to US President Joe Biden’s decision, the withdrawal process will be complete by September 11 – the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States. 

Meanwhile, Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was on Tuesday critical of US President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces in Afghanistan by September 11 and warned that this decision is not underpinned by a clear plan to mitigate the risks once troops have withdrawn.

Addressing the U.S. Senate, McConnell said Biden’s decision was “dangerous, wishful thinking”.

He said the decision “is not underpinned by a coherent plan to mitigate the geopolitical and humanitarian risk that our departure will create.”

“When we are gone, after we leave, there’s every reason to believe al-Qaeda will regroup in its historic safe haven.

“Giving up the high ground while the enemy is still on the battlefield is not a strategic move. Neither is banking on conducting so-called over the horizon counterterrorism missions without presence on the ground,” he said.

McConnell said the U.S. had learned that in order to fight terrorists, it was important to have reliable access and local partnerships.

He said the U.S. military currently flies both reconnaissance and strike missions against terrorists from within Afghanistan – adding that the country is not easy to get to as the neighboring countries are Iran, Pakistan and Russian-influenced Central Asian nations.

“They aren’t exactly likely to let the U.S. base significant counterterrorism units in their country. So where will we be basing these forces? How will we maintain sorties from thousands of miles away?,” he asked.

He also said: “How many forces will be required to secure our embassy if a pro-Taliban mob threatens to overrun it. What will we do to protect it? Where will a quick reaction force be based if not in Afghanistan?”

McConnell said Washington had learned about the “tyranny of distance” from the 2012 Benghazi attack against two United States government facilities in Libya , which claimed the lives of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and another diplomat.

“If the Taliban takes Kabul, will the Biden administration recognize it as the legitimate government of Afghanistan?,” he asked, adding “will we shutter our embassy and our aid programs?”

The reality, he said, was “they don’t know. They can’t say. There’s no plan.”

He went on to state that the U.S. was in fact “abandoning” Afghanistan.

“It’s not courageous to abandon our allies,” he said.

“The horrific, horrific reports of the Taliban beginning to reimpose their version of Sharia Law are just a taste of the catastrophes facing our friends in Afghanistan who have borne the brunt of the fight.

“Human rights, women’s rights, counterterrorism, refugee flows – as far as I can tell, the administration has no plan,” he said.

He stated the world “will see it for what it is – retreating from the fight; abandoning our partners.

“This is the president’s decision. He chose a precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Unbelievably, he even chose the anniversary of September 11 as the deadline.”

In conclusion, McConnell said he hopes once Biden’s team has confronted the president with the risks, he hopes “the president will think again and reconsider”.

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MoI registers over 8,700 criminal cases in the past six months

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

Abdul Matin Qani, the Ministry of Interior’s spokesman said on Thursday that in the last six months, 8,747 criminal cases have been recorded across the country.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Qani said of these cases, 7,233 have been solved while the remaining 1,525 are still being investigated.

He said 12,540 people have been arrested in connection with these crimes.

In addition, 21 kidnappers have been killed, 18 hostages have been freed and 172 people have been arrested in connection with kidnappings in the same period of time.

Qani also said in the last six months 837,000 passports have been distributed. He said three new passport offices will be established in Kabul in the near future.

“10,000 passports are distributed to citizens daily by the Passport Department,” said Qani.

On the issue of narcotics, he said drug cultivation, production and trafficking has been eradicated. He said drug manufacturing equipment and 377 drug factories have been destroyed across the country.

According to him, the ministry has also made advances in collecting illegal weapons, fighting corruption and improving police skills.

Qani stated that during this period, no security incidents took place in most provinces across the country.

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TAPI gas company CEO satisfied with project’s progress

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

The minister of mines and petroleum, Shahabuddin Delawar met with the executive director of the TAPI project and the ambassador of Turkmenistan in Kabul on Thursday to discuss progress around the key project.

Murad Amanov, head of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline project, expressed his satisfaction with the recent progress of the project and talked about the practical roll out of the project.

Delawar said that the preliminary work of TAPI is progressing quickly and that the pipeline will be put into operation in the near future.

TAPI is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with participation of the Asian Development Bank.

The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.

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UK’s Mercer faces 10-day deadline in Afghanistan war crimes inquiry

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(Last Updated On: March 27, 2024)

Johnny Mercer, the former UK Minister for Veterans Affairs, has been given 10 days to reveal the source of allegations that British troops engaged in war crimes in Afghanistan, or face a potential prison sentence.

British media reported on Tuesday that Mercer, following his allegations regarding the killing of Afghan civilians by British forces, was ordered to reveal the sources of his information.

The BBC reported that a public inquiry commissioned by the UK government into the actions of its forces in Afghanistan has directed Mercer to disclose the names of individuals who leaked information to him about alleged war crimes and cover-ups by special forces, or he may face imprisonment.

Although separate investigations have sought to verify these claims, the British government has yet to officially confirm them.

Earlier this month, Mercer, who served in military missions in Afghanistan, told the court that despite the information he possesses, he cannot confirm the killing of Afghan civilians by British forces between 2010 and 2013.

In court, he also stated that the claim British soldiers killed unarmed civilians in their sleep does not contradict his findings, but he admitted reluctance to believe it.

According to Mercer, British forces were allegedly instructed to carry an unregistered weapon — one not associated with NATO forces — to place next to the unarmed Afghan individuals they had killed.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says the countries that had troops in Afghanistan for 20 years all committed war crimes.

Mujahid stated that if the investigation carries on, it will be a big step and that the crimes committed should be investigated transparently.

“The crimes that have been committed should be investigated transparently because this was not the work of a few soldiers but a plan that was drawn and crimes were committed in Afghanistan,” he added.

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