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US slips out of Bagram silently without notifying new commander

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(Last Updated On: July 6, 2021)

The U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said, the Associated Press reported.

The U.S. announced Friday it had completely vacated its biggest airfield in the country in advance of a final withdrawal the Pentagon says will be completed by the end of August.

“We (heard) some rumor that the Americans had left Bagram … and finally by seven o’clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram,” Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, Bagram’s new commander said.

U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett did not address the specific complaints of many Afghan soldiers who inherited the abandoned airfield, instead referring to a statement last week, AP reported.

The statement said the handover of the many bases had been in the process soon after President Joe Biden’s mid-April announcement that America was withdrawing the last of its forces. Leggett said in the statement that they had coordinated their departures with Afghanistan’s leaders.

Before the Afghan army could take control of the airfield about an hour’s drive from the Afghan capital Kabul, it was invaded by a small army of looters, who ransacked barrack after barrack and rummaged through giant storage tents before being evicted, according to Afghan military officials.

“At first we thought maybe they were Taliban,” said Abdul Raouf, a soldier of 10 years. He said the the U.S. called from the Kabul airport and said “we are here at the airport in Kabul.”

As of last week, most NATO soldiers had already quietly left. The last U.S. soldiers are likely to remain until an agreement to protect the Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, which is expected to be done by Turkey, is completed, AP reported.

Bagram was a massive facility, the size of a small city, that had been exclusively used by the U.S. and NATO. AP reported that the sheer size is extraordinary, with roadways weaving through barracks and past hangar-like buildings. There are two runways and over 100 parking spots for fighter jets known as revetments because of the blast walls that protect each aircraft. One of the two runways is 3,660 meters long and was built in 2006. There’s a passenger lounge, a 50-bed hospital and giant hangar-size tents filled with supplies such as furniture.

Kohistani said the U.S. left behind 3.5 million items, all itemized by the departing U.S. military. They include tens of thousands of bottles of water, energy drinks and military ready-made meals, known as MRE’s.

“When you say 3.5 million items, it is every small item, like every phone, every door knob, every window in every barracks, every door in every barracks,” he said.

The big ticket items left behind include thousands of civilian vehicles, many of them without keys to start them, and hundreds of armored vehicles. Kohistani said the U.S. also left behind small weapons and the ammunition for them, but the departing troops took heavy weapons with them. Ammunition for weapons not being left behind for the Afghan military was blown up before they left.

Afghan soldiers who wandered Monday throughout the base that had once seen as many as 100,000 U.S. troops were deeply critical of how the U.S. left Bagram, leaving in the night without telling the Afghan soldiers tasked with patrolling the perimeter.

“In one night, they lost all the goodwill of 20 years by leaving the way they did, in the night, without telling the Afghan soldiers who were outside patrolling the area,” said Afghan soldier Naematullah, who asked that only his one name be used, AP reported.

Within 20 minutes of the U.S.’s silent departure on Friday, the electricity was shut down and the base was plunged into darkness, said Raouf, the soldier of 10 years who has also served in Taliban strongholds of Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

The sudden darkness was like a signal to the looters, he said. They entered from the north, smashing through the first barrier, ransacking buildings, loading anything that was not nailed down into trucks.

On Monday, three days after the U.S. departure, Afghan soldiers were still collecting piles of garbage that included empty water bottles, cans and empty energy drinks left behind by the looters.

Kohistani, meanwhile, said the nearly 20 years of U.S. and NATO involvement in Afghanistan was appreciated but now it was time for Afghans to step up, AP reported.

“We have to solve our problem. We have to secure our country and once again build our country with our own hands,” he said.

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1402, a difficult year for Afghan women and girls

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(Last Updated On: March 19, 2024)

As this solar year, 1402 draws to a close, the suspension of high school and higher education for girls continues, despite repeated calls to the Afghan government to reconsider this decision.

This year, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials repeatedly said they plan to reopen schools above grade 6, and universities, to girls – once plans were finalized. However, nothing has come of this.

In many meetings, both in Afghanistan and outside the country, repeated requests were made to the IEA to provide education for everyone – and some officials of the Islamic Emirate even expressed their dissatisfaction over the decision.

Representatives of the United Nations and countries of the world have repeatedly emphasized that the right to education should be given to women and girls, but these requests were not accepted by the Islamic Emirate.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said: “Supporting the rights of women and girls is a central part of our foreign policy. Over the past three years, we have put forward concrete strategies, policies and programs to support women and girls around the world. It’s not just rhetoric, it’s action.”

Spokespersons of the Islamic Emirate said many times in interviews with the media that schools and universities for girls would reopen. However, they did not say when the wait for girls would end.

Now, almost three years after schools, above grade 6, were closed to girls, the hope is that in the new academic year there will be changes in the policy of the Islamic Emirate and the school bell will ring with a good news for girls.

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US urges Pakistan to exercise restraint after airstrikes in Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: March 19, 2024)

The United States on Monday urged Pakistan to exercise restraint in its counter-terrorist offensive in Afghanistan.

Addressing a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre called on both sides to address differences through dialogue.

This came after Islamabad carried out airstrikes early Monday on what they claim were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts in Khost and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate in turn responded and said they targeted Pakistan’s military posts along the Durand Line.

Jean-Pierre meanwhile said: “We are aware of the reports, obviously, that Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan in response to an attack in Pakistan on Saturday at a military post. We deeply regret the loss of life and injuries sustained during the attack in Pakistan and the loss of civilian lives during the strikes in Afghanistan.”

“We urge the Taliban to ensure that terrorist attacks are not launched from Afghan soil. We urge Pakistan to exercise restraint and ensure civilians are not harmed in their counterterrorism efforts. We urge both sides to address any differences through dialogue. We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists who wish to harm the United States or our other partners or allies,” she continued.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Monday said “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations” were carried out inside the border regions of Afghanistan, hours after Kabul said airstrikes conducted on its soil had killed eight people.

The dead included five women and three children in the airstrikes carried out by Pakistan.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Monday the attack was a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) does not allow anyone to compromise security by using Afghan territory,” he said in a statement.

While Pakistan blames Afghanistan for sheltering the TTP responsible for the rise of such attacks, the ruling Taliban has denied these allegations.

In response to the Pakistani military’s air strikes the IEA claimed it carried out attacks on “Pakistani military centers with heavy weapons” and warned Islamabad of repercussions.

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IEA’s foreign ministry summons Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over airstrike

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2024)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over Islamabad’s airstrike inside Afghanistan in the early hours of Monday morning.

The ministry presented the charge d’affaires with a letter of protest and advised the new civilian government to curb anti-Afghanistan actions and to not ‘complicate’ relations between the two Muslim countries.

The ministry also condemned the airstrikes, in Paktika and Khost, and warned Islamabad it has a long history of fighting foreign powers and that it will not tolerate military action on its territory.

The ministry said in a statement that Pakistan’s new civilian government and the people of Pakistan should not allow some circles to complicate the relations between the two neighboring Muslim countries.

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