26.2.2021    Top Democrat expects some ‘extension’ of troops in Afghanistan

Senator Jack Reed said he favored seeking an extension of the May 1 deadline for withdrawing troops that President Donald Trump and the Taliban negotiated last year, The New York Times reported. American Senator Jack Reed has favored US troops’ withdrawal beyond the May deadline. According to the New York Times, Jack said the US should look for an extension to give diplomats to negotiate an agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban. “To pull out within several months now is a very challenging and destabilizing effort,” Jack said in a video conference organized by George Washington University. He added his voice to a growing number of national security specialists, including those on a bipartisan, congressionally appointed panel, who argue, in essence, for abandoning the May 1 timetable. “I would expect some extension,” Reed said, even if that ultimately meant more time for the United States to withdraw the 2,500 troops in the country now. He also underscored that a top American national security priority should be to prevent terrorist organizations, such as al-Qaeda and Daesh, from using Afghanistan as a safe haven from which to carry out strikes. He said that America’s top national security priority should include prevention of Afghanistan from being used as safe heaven by groups such as Al-Qaeda and Daesh. “We’ve got to be able to assure the world and the American public that Afghanistan will not be a source of planning, plotting to project terrorist attacks around the globe,” he added, “that’s the minimum. I’m not sure we can do that without some presence there.” Early this week, Michael McCaul, a top US Republican, has said in an interview with CNN that President Biden needs to keep US troops in Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from taking over. Michael McCaul, a Republican US representative was quoted by CNN saying “I think Afghanistan can be very important. I hope that the Biden administration I can work with them on this and talk to Secretary Blinken and the national security adviser about leaving a residual force there to protect the homeland and not allow the Taliban to take over their country,”. This comes as a senior Pakistani military official on Thursday said that his country will never support the Taliban and that the Pakistan government’s main goals are for a prolonged peace in Afghanistan. The director-general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said as quoted by International The News that “Afghanistan now is not what it was in the 90s and the state infrastructure cannot be trounced easily, and Pakistan also has changed,”. Iftikhar added, “It’s impossible for the Taliban to recapture Kabul and that Pakistan would support them. It isn’t going to happen”. “Even Afghan leaders are admitting that Pakistan has done utmost for peace in Afghanistan,” the ISPR director-general said. He explained that Afghans and their government should determine the future of Afghanistan, the developments of peace talks, and who they back to take it on, he added “We only aim for a long-lasting peace in Afghanistan,”. The policy of the Pakistan government to offer support in peace to its neighbors was clear, ISPR general indicated.

26.2.2021    FM Atmar in Moscow on official trip

Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar has arrived in Moscow at the official invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The purpose of the visit is to expand bilateral relations between Kabul and Moscow, strengthen the regional and global consensus for peace in Afghanistan, and increase cooperation in the joint fight against terrorism and organized crime in the region, said an official statement. Atmar headed a high-level government delegation to Moscow on Wednesday. According to the Foreign Ministry officials, the three-day visit was organized at the official invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Speaking to Salam Watandar, deputy spokesman for the ministry, Hamid Tahzib said that the purpose of Atmar’s visit was to expand bilateral relations between Kabul and Moscow, strengthen regional and global consensus for peace in Afghanistan, and increase cooperation in the fight against terrorism and organized crimes. During his visit to Moscow, Atmar is scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and a number of other Russian officials, he said. The visit comes days after Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special envoy to Afghanistan, told a Russian media outlet that the Taliban controlled three-quarters of Afghanistan’s territory and that the only way to deal with the group was to establish a transitional government in Afghanistan.

26.2.2021    Taliban blamed for killing 3 members of journalist in Ghor

GHOR (SW) – Security sources in Ghor said that three members of the family of Bismillah Adel Aimaq, the slain managing director of Sada-e Ghor radio, were killed in the Taliban attack and 10 others were wounded. Hayatullah Adel, head of the second police district and a brother of Aimq, said that last night (Thursday, February 26) the Taliban attacked their house in the village of Tagha Teimour, west of Feroz Koh, the provincial capital. According to him, a brother, a cousin and a 15-year-old niece of the Aimaq were killed and 10 others were injured in the attack. He added the Taliban also set fire to their house. Meanwhile, Ghor police chief Abdul Qadir Walizada, has confirmed the incident without sharing further details. The Taliban, however, denied involvement in the attack. Yusuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said the attack was not carried out by their fighters. Aimaq, the former director of Sada-e Ghor Radio, was assassinated nearly two months ago by unidentified gunmen in Feroz Koh, the capital of the province.