Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday reported 23 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 1,677 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry reported that the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 55,917, the total number of reported deaths is 2,451, and the total number of recoveries is 49,444. Click here to read more (external link).
Tajik Locals On Afghan Border Trained To Defend Against ‘Taliban Attack’
RFE/RL’s Tajik Service
May 9, 2021
SHURO-OBOD, Tajikistan — Villagers in a southern part of Tajikistan along the border with war-torn Afghanistan have been told they should be prepared “to take up arms” if militants try to enter the region.
Local authorities in the Tajik district of Shamsiddin Shohin have held meetings with residents — including army reservists and hunters — to discuss the situation, says Governor Pochokhon Zarifzoda.
“In coordination with the police and intelligence departments, we’ve registered all hunters who live in the border areas. They will have to take up arms to defend our country. In fact all of us will have to take up weapons if the situation dictates,” Zarifzoda said in an official meeting on March 6.
Similar warnings are being issued in other Tajik districts near the mountainous border, which is marked by the Panj River.
Authorities, however, didn’t give any details about their plans to train the men who they say could be given weapons to help defend the border.
It comes as fighting between the Afghan Army and the Taliban and other insurgent groups has intensified in areas close to Tajikistan in recent months. Adding to concerns in Dushanbe, Afghan officials have warned that there are many Tajik nationals fighting with the militants.
With a rocky, mountainous terrain of brush and cliffs, much of the 112-kilometer border between Shamsiddin Shohin and northeastern Afghanistan is considered one of the most difficult parts of the frontier for Tajik border troops to control.
As in many Tajik border villages, people in Shamsiddin Shohin are used to hearing the sound of gunfire coming from Afghanistan and even fear being struck by a stray bullet or artillery shell.
Two weeks ago, several bullets and shells — fired from Afghanistan — landed in the backyards of two residential houses and a school in the nearby Ruzvai village, in the Darvoz district.
Tajik villagers narrowly missed being hit by the those munitions, which came from an exchange between Afghan government forces and the Taliban during a night of fighting on February 24 in Afghanistan’s Nusai (Darwaz) district.
The following day, Nusai Governor Zainalabedin told RFE/RL there had been at least two Tajik citizens among the militants killed in the clashes. He identified them as Muhammad Yunus and Huzaifa.
It’s unlikely the names will provide any clues for Tajik authorities as many Central Asian militants who fight abroad usually get new nicknames, which are often Arabic-style.
Zainalabedin called on Dushanbe to cooperate in the fight against the militants and Tajik nationals who the governor described as affiliates of the Taliban and the Islamic State terrorist group.
Afghan officials put the number of Tajik militants fighting in Afghanistan at around 200, but it’s not possible to verify that number.
Border Reinforcement
Dushanbe has long been concerned about the concentration of militants — including insurgents from Central Asia — in Afghan provinces near the 1,360-kilometer border the countries share.
In December, Tajikistan deployed additional troops along the border after reports emerged that a group of Tajik militants helped the Taliban overrun an Afghan district several days earlier.
Some 10 minutes of footage on social media purportedly showed Tajik insurgents fighting against Afghan state forces in Maymay, which borders Tajikistan.
The video showed several fighters killing men in Afghan Army uniforms and civilian clothes while setting a building on fire. Some of the insurgents can be heard speaking a distinct Persian dialect that is spoken in Tajikistan.
RFE/RL cannot verify the authenticity of the video, which Afghan politician Latif Pedram says depicts a militant attack on Maymay in November 2020.
Pedram, a native of the area, also published a list of names he described as insurgents from Afghanistan who took part in the Maymay raid.
Within days, security services in Tajikistan identified at least 15 Tajik citizens who appeared on the video or had their names included in the lists and statements shared by Afghan officials in connection with the Maymay fighting.
Afghan officials say the Tajik insurgents who took part in that raid belong to Jamaat Ansarullah, a militant group founded in Afghanistan by Tajik national Amriddin Tabarov in 2010. Tabarov was killed by Afghan forces in July 2015.
Written by Farangis Najibullah with reporting by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service
Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036
Political parties mull US peace plan that ‘offers’ Taliban 50%
Ariana: Members of a number of different political parties said Tuesday that under the new US plan for a transitional government, the Taliban has been offered a 50 percent stake in the system with the balance shared between politicians and government. Meanwhile, sources from the Jamiat-e-Islami party said they proposed the power-sharing plan to the US – but said it should be divided up equally between government, political parties, and the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).
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‘Millions of Dollars, 100s of Kilograms of Gold Smuggled Abroad’
Tolo News: Documents seen by TOLO news show that millions of dollars and hundreds of hundreds of kilograms of gold have been smuggled out of Afghanistan. Sources told TOLO news that a number of lawmakers and politicians in collaboration with the government officials are smuggling US cash and gold from Hairatan Port. Click here to read more (external link).
26 New Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Afghanistan
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday reported 26 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 1,084 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry says the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 55,894, the total number of reported deaths is 2,451, and the total number of recoveries is 49,409. Click here to read more (external link).
Female cyclists mark Women’s Day in Kabul
Ariana: A number of Afghan women cyclists held a cycling contest to mark March 8, International Women’s Day, in Kabul. Twenty cyclists from Kabul, Bamyan, Ghazni, Balkh, and Faryab provinces cycled 35 km from the National Olympic Committee Headquarters to the Paghman Palace west of Kabul. Click here to read more (external link).
Blinken Reportedly Sets Out Plan To Revitalize Afghan Peace Talks
Blinken
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
March 8, 2021
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has set out a series of steps to reinvigorate the stalled peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban, according to media reports.
Blinken made the suggestions in a letter to President Ashraf Ghani seen by Afghanistan’s TOLOnews. The New York Times also reported on the letter, citing U.S. and Afghan officials who confirmed its existence.
Deputy presidential spokesman Dawa Khan Minhapal confirmed to RFE/RL that Ghani has received the letter, but declined to give details about its contents.
The “unusually blunt” letter, as The New York times describes it, sets out four key points to help bring an end to the war that began in 2001 when a U.S.-led coalition drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. About 2,500 U.S. troops remain in the country leading a coalition of allied forces, now mainly in training and anti-terrorism operations.
According to both the TOLOnews and The New York Times reports, Blinken wrote that Washington had not decided whether to withdraw the remaining 2,500 American troops from Afghanistan by May 1, as outlined in its agreement with the Taliban.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has begun a review of its strategy for Afghanistan. That includes the agreement reached by the previous U.S. administration with the Taliban a year ago that paved the way for the ongoing peace talks.
In the message, Blinken requested Ghani’s “urgent leadership,” The New York Times wrote, signaling that the Biden administration “had lost faith” in the stalled talks being held in Qatar between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Word of the letter comes days after reports emerged that the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, had suggested a new format for determining the country’s political future during his visit to Kabul last week.
Khalilzad also stopped in Qatar — where Afghan government officials and a Taliban delegation have been holding peace talks since September.
The State Department did not confirm the Blinken letter or details of a new Khalilzad proposal, saying in an e-mail to RFE/RL that “as a general matter, we do not comment on alleged correspondence with foreign leaders.”
“Ambassador Khalilzad’s trip represents a continuation of American diplomacy in the region.”
“We have not made any decisions about our force posture in Afghanistan after May 1. All options remain on the table,” it added.
Under that agreement, U.S. forces are set to withdraw by May, but a surge in fighting in past months has sparked concerns that a speedy exit may spark greater bloodshed and chaos.
The Blinken letter calls for bringing the two sides together for a UN-organized summit with foreign ministers and envoys from the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, and India “to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan.”
It also called for Khalilzad to share written proposals with Ghani and Taliban leaders “aimed at accelerating discussions on a negotiated settlement and cease-fire.”
Blinken also pressed for talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban in a senior-level meeting in Turkey in coming weeks to finalize a peace agreement. Blinken urged Ghani or his “authoritative designees” to attend the meeting.
He also said there would be a revised proposal prepared for 90-day reduction in violence “to prevent a spring offensive by the Taliban … to coincide with diplomatic efforts to support a political settlement between the two parties.”
Blinken stressed to Ghani the urgency of accepting the proposals and emphasized his concerns over the security situation in Afghanistan
“Even with the continuation of financial assistance from the United States to your forces after an American military withdrawal, I am concerned that the security situation will worsen and the Taliban could make rapid territorial gains,” Blinken wrote.
Many people in the United States have grown weary of the nearly 20-year war in Afghanistan and have called for full a withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Others warn that a total pullout could hand the Taliban leverage in dealings with the Western-backed Kabul government and betray the sacrifices made by U.S. forces during the long conflict.
With reporting by TOLOnews, nytimes.com, AP, and Reuters
Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036
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Hekmatyar accuses govt of being party to targeted attacks
Hekmatyar (left) and Ghani (right)
Ariana: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Hizb-e-Islami Party, has accused the government of being involved in targeted attacks across the country. In an interview with Ariana News, Hekmatyar threatened to expose those involved in the attacks if the government failed to “stop assassinating people”. Click here to read more (external link).