Tag: Afganistan

  • Security personnel are involved in cross-border smuggling, says Sarfraz Bugti

    Security personnel are involved in cross-border smuggling, says Sarfraz Bugti

    Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Monday in a press conference that security officials who are involved in cross-border smuggling would be court-martialed.

    Pakistan has escalated its crackdown on smugglers involved in the transportation of goods and dollars to Afghanistan.

    “If I say that security forces weren’t involved in [smuggling], it won’t be right as the [smuggled] items are transported via trucks, not camels,” Bugti said during a press conference in Islamabad.

    He also mentioned that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has told military officials that whoever is involved in cross-border smuggling will face the consequences.

    “Pakistan’s army chief had told his people very clearly: there won’t only be court-martials, but those involved in such activities would also be sent to jail,” the interior minister mentioned.

    Bugti also told the reporters that the Army’s accountability mechanism is not disclosed to the public; that’s why the general population doesn’t know much about it.

  • 78 people die in Afghanistan after temperature drops to -34 degrees

    According to a Taliban official, at least 78 individuals have died in Afghanistan’s frigid temperatures during the past nine days.

    According to Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management, over 77,000 animals have also perished in recent days after temperatures fell to record lows.

    The frigid weather has turned into the country’s coldest winter in 15 years, with temperatures dipping as low as -34 degrees Celsius (-29.2 degrees Fahrenheit), Reuters has reported.

    “The weather will get colder in the next few days, therefore it is necessary to consider humanitarian aid for affected people,” said Abdullah Ahmadi, the head of the operations centre for emergency conditions at the Ministry of Disaster Management has said.

    Health professionals noted a substantial rise in the number of small children with severe pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses even in the early days of winter. Rising poverty that prevents people from adequately heating their homes is partly to blame for the illnesses.

  • US wants to investigate Pakistan’s role in Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

    US senators have introduced a bill in the US Senate calling for an investigation into the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan and those groups, and people, who helped oust the Ashraf Ghani-led government, Geo News has reported.The bill was presented by 22 Republican senators.

    The ‘Afghanistan Counterterrorism, Oversight, and Accountability Act’ also seeks to establish a task force that will focus on continued evacuation of American citizens, legal permanent residents and Special Immigrant Visa holders from Afghanistan.

    The presented bill states that the “support by state and non-state actors, including the Government of Pakistan, for the Taliban between 2001 and 2020, provision of sanctuary space, financial support, intelligence support, logistics and medical support, training, equipping, and tactical, operational, or strategic direction” should be investigated.

    The bill also seeks to investigate the support provided to Taliban allegedly by non-state actors and the government of Pakistan into the Panjshir Valley operation by the Taliban. The bill further seeks to place restrictions on non-humanitarian foreign assistance to Afghanistan.

    Federal Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, while reacting to the bill, tweeted, “So again Pak will be made to pay heavy price 4 being an ally of US in its War on Terror.”

  • 20 years of war ends as US forces leave Afghanistan

    20 years of war ends as US forces leave Afghanistan

    Celebratory gunfire echoed across Kabul as Taliban fighters took control of the war-torn country following the withdrawal of the last United States (US) troops, ending 20 years of war.

    Speaking to reporters from Kabul airport on Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said: “We do not have any doubt that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is a free and sovereign nation.”

    “America was defeated… and on behalf of my nation, we want to have good relations with the rest of the world,” he said.

    Officials said the last C17 aircraft took off with the US ambassador onboard after midnight local time on Tuesday.

    They added that the diplomatic mission to assist those unable to leave before the deadline would continue.

    The US and its allies have mounted the biggest air evacuation in history, bringing 114,000 of their own citizens and Afghans who helped them over 20 years of war in Afghanistan, but they will still leave behind thousands of Afghans who helped Western countries and might have qualified for evacuation.

  • Ash­raf Ghani fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash: Russia

    Ash­raf Ghani fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash: Russia

    The Russian embassy in Kabul alleged on Monday that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash and had to leave some money behind as it would not all fit in, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

    Russia has said it will retain a diplomatic presence in Kabul and hopes to develop ties with the Taliban even as it says it is in no rush to recognise them as the country’s rulers and will closely observe their behaviour.

    “As for the collapse of the (outgoing) regime, it is most eloquently characterised by the way Ghani fled Afghanistan,” Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Kabul, was quoted as saying by RIA.

    “Four cars were full of money, they tried to stuff another part of the money into a helicopter, but not all of it fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac,” he was quoted as saying.

    Ischenko, the Russian embassy spokesman, confirmed his comments to Reuters.

    President Vladimir Putin’s special representative on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier it was unclear how much money the fleeing government would leave behind.

    “I hope the government that has fled did not take all the money from the state budget. It will be the bedrock of the budget if something is left,” Kabulov told Moscow’s Ekho Moskvy radio station.

    President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday fled Afghanistan as the Taliban entered Kabul, amidst severe criticism from his opponents, saying that now is not the time for him to leave his country as the dreaded Taliban come back to rule once more.

    Ashraf left a note for his countrymen on social media, stating, “The Taliban have made it to remove me, they are here to attack all Kabul and the people of Kabul. In order to avoid the bleeding flood, I thought it was best to get out.”

    “Taliban have won the judgement of swords and guns and now they are responsible for protecting the countrymen’s honour, wealth and self-esteem. Didn’t they win the legitimacy of hearts,” wrote Ashraf Ghani.

  • Pakistan wants an all-inclusive settlement in Afghanistan: NSC

    Pakistan wants an all-inclusive settlement in Afghanistan: NSC

    A meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) was held on Monday to deliberate on the emerging situation in Afghanistan. The NSC meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan and attended by senior cabinet members and services chiefs.

    The participants were briefed on the latest developments in Afghanistan and their possible impact on Pakistan and the region.

    “The NSC noted that Pakistan was a victim of the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan and therefore desired peace and stability. Participants reiterated that Pakistan remains committed to an inclusive political settlement as the way forward representing all Afghan ethnic groups. It was reaffirmed that Pakistan would continue to work with the international community and all Afghan stakeholders to facilitate an inclusive political settlement in the country,” read a press release issued after the meeting.

    “The NSC called on all parties in Afghanistan to respect the rule of law, protect the fundamental human rights of all Afghans, and ensure that Afghan soil is not used by any terrorist organisation/group against any country.”

    PM Khan said all possible facilities be made available to repatriate Pakistanis, diplomats, journalists, and staff of international organisations seeking to leave Afghanistan. The committee reiterated Pakistan’s stance that the conflict in Afghanistan never had a military solution.

    “The ideal time to end the conflict through negotiations might have been when the United States (US)/ North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops were at maximum military strength in Afghanistan. Continuation of foreign military presence for a longer duration now would not have yielded a different outcome. Therefore, endorsement by the Biden administration of the previous US administration’s decision of troops withdrawal is indeed a logical conclusion to this conflict,” added the press release.

    “It is now time for the international community to work together to ensure an inclusive political settlement for long-term peace, security, and development of Afghanistan/ the region.”

  • US has never asked for military bases within Pakistan,’ says senior western diplomat

    US has never asked for military bases within Pakistan,’ says senior western diplomat

    The United States (US) has “at no stage or at any level even asked” Pakistan for military bases, as its forces depart from Afghanistan, a senior western diplomat has said, reports The News.

    “Nobody in the entire US administration asked for bases, and yet there is so much focus on the issue in Pakistan,” said the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak publicly on the subject.

    “The recurring debate and the hashtag ‘Absolutely Not’ campaign in Pakistan has left everyone scratching their heads in Washington,” he said.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview with Jonathan Swan of HBO Axios, in June, reiterated Pakistan’s stance on the use of military bases and categorically stated that Islamabad will not allow it.

    The prime minister was again asked by the US media for his comments on giving access to the CIA to military bases.

    “Will you allow the American government to have the CIA here in Pakistan to conduct cross-border counter-terrorism missions against Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban?” Swan asked the premier.

    “Absolutely not,” PM Khan responded.

    Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said earlier that Pakistan wants a stable Afghanistan, but there are some elements who do not want peace in the region.

    The FM had categorically stated that Pakistan has refused to give military bases to the US and added that he had told all the political parties in a briefing that they have no such intention.

    “Search for bases could be their wish. There’s no question of giving them bases, we have to see our interest.”