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US-Taliban deal ‘not solidly negotiated’ and still under review: Biden

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US President Joe Biden has said it will be tough to meet the May 1 troop withdrawal deadline but that he has not yet made the decision as to when troops will leave.

In an interview with ABC news on Wednesday night, Biden said he is still reviewing the agreement sealed between his predecessor Donaly Trump and the Taliban in February last year.

"I'm in the process of making that decision now as to when they'll leave," Biden said.

"The fact is that, that was not a very solidly negotiated deal that the president - the former president - worked out. And so we're in consultation with our allies as well as the government, and that decision's going to be - it's in process now."

Biden said it would be "tough" for all service members to leave by May 1.

"It could happen," he said, "but it is tough."

Currently Washington official reports there are 2,500 US troops in the country but last week New York Times reported there are at least 3,500 US soldiers in Afghanistan.

That’s 1,000 more than Washington has disclosed.

The NYT reported the “cloudy accounting” around troops numbers results from some Special Forces units having been put “off the books”.

According to a senior US official, the presence of some temporary and transitioning units also accounted for the additional troops.

A second official told NYT that these troops include Joint Special Operations Command units, some of them elite Army Rangers, who work under both the Pentagon and the CIA while deployed to Afghanistan.

Having more troops in a country than the Defense Department officially acknowledges is common practice, NYT reported.

According to the report, the United States often details military troops to the CIA or other agencies, declares that information “classified” and refuses to publicly acknowledge their presence.

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IEA delegation attends conference for ‘Promoting Mining Cooperation’ in China

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The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said on Saturday in a statement that its delegation participated in a conference titled "Promoting Mining Cooperation" in China’s Hunan province.

The Ministry stated the conference aims to build a well-equipped laboratory in Afghanistan, increase the capacity of technical and professional employees of the Ministry of Mines, and encourage investors in the mineral resources sector of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Chinese investors expressed their interest in Afghanistan’s gold, copper, mica, talc, oil, gas, lithium, lead and zinc mines.

At the conference, the ministry’s deputy minister of finance and administration and head of the delegation Hussamuddin Saberi talked about Afghanistan's natural resources contracts and investment opportunities and considered holding such programs effective for the relations between the two countries.

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Uzbekistan, EU envoys meet to discuss Afghanistan

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Uzbekistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Ismatulla Irgashev, on Friday met with the EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the current state and prospects of Uzbek-European relations in the Afghan direction, the efforts of the international community to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the country and the possibility of using the international transport and logistics hub in Termez to deliver humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Hakala highly appreciated the efforts of Uzbekistan to develop a consolidated regional position on Afghanistan, establish long-term peace and stability in the country, according to the statement.

The parties expressed mutual interest in continuing bilateral consultations on the Afghan issue, the statement added.

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UN expert calls for comprehensive, rights-focused action plan for Afghanistan

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A UN expert on Friday called on the international community to devise and implement a comprehensive, human rights-centered action plan to address the human rights crisis in Afghanistan.

“The absence of a unified, forceful response from the international community has emboldened the Taliban (IEA),” UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said.

In his latest report to the UN General Assembly, Bennett said that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is worsening, which includes systematic gender oppression, amounting to gender persecution and which many Afghans term “gender apartheid” with intergenerational implications.

Bennett expressed concern about the new “vice and virtue” law, announced in August, which he believes has institutionalized an expanding list of restrictions that “blatantly violate the rights of women and girls.”

He also expressed concern about the “shrinking civic space” in Afghanistan, the situation of minorities, journalists, and former government officials and security personnel.

“Justice, equality, and the rule of law are being systematically undermined,” he said.

The UN expert also called for increased funding and support for Afghan civil society and humanitarian efforts to mitigate the crisis.

Bennett urged the IEA to reverse its “repressive policies” and reinstate basic human rights. He pressed the international community to take a coordinated, multifaceted approach to support the Afghan people.

Bennett urged states not to normalize relations with the IEA until there are demonstrable human rights improvements and pathways to justice and accountability.

This comes as the Islamic Emirate has said that it is committed to ensuring human rights, including the rights of women and girls, according to Sharia, and this is an internal issue of Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate has banned Richard Bennett from traveling to Afghanistan, saying that he exaggerates small issues.

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