by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
Kabul : US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a brief, unannounced visit to Kabul on Monday, and reaffirmed the US’ commitment to working with the Afghan government and partners in the region to achieve peace in Afghanistan and “deny safe havens to terrorists who threaten that goal”.
Tillerson’s visit, ahead of his visit to Doha, Qatar, and Pakistan, was shrouded in secrecy and comes amid a spike in Taliban violence in the country, that has claimed around 200 lives in the past week.
Tillerson, who was in Kabul for just over two hours, met President Ashraf Ghani, CEO Abdullah Abdullah and National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar. He then departed for Doha.
According to a US Embassy statement, Secretary Tillerson and President Ghani met in Kabul and together reaffirmed the US-Afghan commitment to achieving peace, stability and long-term prosperity in Afghanistan.
“The Secretary stated that the new US strategy for South Asia makes clear the United States’ commitment to working with the government of Afghanistan and with partners across the region to achieve peace in Afghanistan and deny safe havens to terrorists who threaten that goal. President Ghani reiterated his support for the new US strategy and emphasized his government’s commitment to reforms aimed at ensuring the safety, security and well-being of all Afghans.”
According to a government source, the discussions centered around counterterrorism, the new US strategy in Afghanistan, the peace process and bilateral relations, Tolo News reported.
Tillerson’s visit came as Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) announced that a key Haqqani member suspected of being behind a number of suicide attacks in parts of Afghanistan, especially Kabul city, has been arrested in Kabul.
The suspect, named Mawlawi Bashir, is an important member of Haqqani and is believed to have ties with the Taliban, the NDS said.
A source from the NDS said Bashir also had ties with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, and is suspected of having been involved in a number of deadly attacks in the last 12 years in Afghanistan, Tolo News reported.
According to the NDS, Bashir was also involved in getting suicide bombers into Kabul city.
He is also believed to have been involved in explosions, bombings and kidnappings of Afghan businessmen and foreigners. Bashir reportedly had sanctuaries in Logar and Maidan Wardak.
In related news, the CIA has decided to send in small, experienced teams to Afghanistan to hunt down Taliban commanders – a move that has been welcomed by the Afghan government.
The Afghan Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Monday welcomed the move by the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to ramp up efforts to target Taliban leaders and commanders in Afghanistan, Tolo reported.
The top US commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson has said based on the new US strategy for Afghanistan, not only will the pressure be increased on insurgents, but the countries that support them will also come under serious pressure.
The CIA’s move comes on the heels of a spate of deadly attacks around the country, especially in the cities, which have killed over 200 civilians and military personnel.
Tillerson is on a five-nation tour and will hold discussions with high-ranking officials in Pakistan on Tuesday.
From Pakistan, Tillerson goes to India.
President Trump outlined a revamped strategy for Afghanistan in August, with measures including more troops, lifting restrictions on commanders in the field imposed by the Obama administration, and increasing pressure on Pakistan to stop providing a safe haven to militant groups along its border.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Kabul : Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said that he has the “worst job on Earth” and did not deny that it had been a difficult three years since he took office in September 2014.
“This is the worst job on Earth,” the President said in an exclusive BBC interview.
“We were like 12-year-olds taking on the responsibility of a 30-year-old; but we really grew in the process. Now in terms of management and leadership things are really falling into place.
“Within four years, we think our security forces would be able to do the constitutional thing, which is the claim of legitimate monopoly of power.”
Regarding the NATO troops, the President said they will be pulled out “within four years”.
About 14,000 Nato troops remain in the country to “train, advise and assist Afghan forces. The aim is to strengthen them so they can take the battle to the Taliban”, Ghani said.
The Taliban, he said, had two strategic aims: to overthrow the government or to create two “political geographies”.
“It has failed miserably in both of these aims,” Ghani told the BBC.
“Taliban is the largest exporters of heroin to the world. Why is the world not focusing on heroin? Is this an ideological war or is this a drug war? This criminalisation of the economy needs to be addressed.”
“A peace agreement with the Taliban”, would be the ultimate aim, the President asserted.
“The whole aim of the strategy is to provide the ground for political solution and a political solution is a negotiated solution. It’s imperative that the people are given a chance to live their lives.”
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Tehran, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the agenda for economic engagement with Iran and Afghanistan is a priority for India and the Chabahar transport and transit agreement “can alter the course of history” of the region.
“The agenda for economic engagement is a clear priority for us. We stand together in unity of our purpose,” Modi said in a joint media conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani following the signing of the trilateral agreement on the Chabahar port for transport and transit corridor.
“Today, we are witnessing a creation of history… “Not just for the people of our three countries, but for the entire region,” he said.
Pitching to carve out “new routes of peace and prosperity” of the three countries, Modi said: “It is our common goal. We want to link with the world.”
The prime minister said the Chabahar transport and transit corridor “would spur unhindered flow of commerce throughout the region”.
He said the inflow of capital and technology could lead to new industrial infrastructure in Chabahar.
“This would include gas-based fertiliser plants, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and IT,” the prime minister said.
“The key arteries of the corridor would pass through the Chabahar port of Iran.”
He said Afghanistan would now get an assured, effective, and a more friendly route to trade with the rest of the world.
“The arc of economic benefit from this agreement would extend beyond our three nations,” Modi said.
Stating that its reach could extend to the Central Asian countries, he said that when linked with the International North South Transport Corridor, “it would touch South Asia at one end and Europe at another”.
“And, studies show that as compared to the traditional sea routes, it could bring down the cost and time of the cargo trade to Europe by about 50 percent,” he said.
“Over time, we could even look to connect it with the strong sea and land based routes that India has developed with the Indian Ocean region and Southeast Asia.”
The prime minister said the global economy was yet to fully come out of uncertainty and weakness.
“Our present growth and future prosperity is under threat from the spread of radical ideas and physical terror,” he said.
He said the Chabahar corridor would be a “corridor of peace and prosperity for our peoples. Motives of economic growth, and empowerment would drive it. It would break barriers among our nations and encourage new benchmarks of people-to-people contacts”, and help lead to a friendly and healthy neighbourhood.
He said the three countries — India, Iran and Afghanistan — were estimated to have more than 60 percent of their population under 30 years of age.
“We want them to walk the road to knowledge and skills; industry and enterprise,” he stated.
Modi expressed confidence that the economic fruits of the Chabahar agreement would expand trade, attract investment, build infrastructure, develop industry and create jobs for our youth.
“The agreement will strengthen our ability to stand in mutual support against those whose only motto is to maim and kill the innocents,” he said.
On his part, President Rouhani said that through this agreement, Tehran, Delhi and Kabul have sent the message that the path of progress can be achieved through cooperation and utilisation of regional resources.
“With our joint investments in Chabahar, we can connect India with Afghanistan, Central Asia and the CIS countries,” he said.
He also said that there was room in the agreement for other countries to join in.
Speaking on the occasion, Afghan President Ghani said Asia was changing and it was moving towards being an economic continent.
“We wanted to prove that geography is not our destiny. With our will we can change geography,” he said.
He also said that in the coming years, $60 trillion would be invested in infrastructure and most of it would be invested in Asia.
