NATO Chief Pledges Continued Support For Afghanistan In Call With Ghani

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Jens Stoltenberg

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 27, 2021

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has reiterated the military alliance’s support for Afghanistan in a call with President Ashraf Ghani as Taliban militants solidify territorial gains made during the withdrawal of international troops from the war-torn country.

“Good to speak with President @ashrafghani today. The security situation in #Afghanistan remains deeply challenging, and requires a negotiated settlement,” wrote Stoltenberg on his Twitter account on July 27.

“#NATO will continue to support Afghanistan, including with funding; civilian presence; and out-of-country training,” he added.

In recent weeks Taliban militants have brought large swaths of Afghanistan under their control, including key border crossings, as U.S.-led international forces withdraw from the country, raising increasing concerns that the Afghan government may collapse.

The Taliban and Afghan government officials met for talks in Qatari capital Doha on July 17, but little came out of the meeting besides promises of more talks.

U.S. President Joe Biden held a similar call with Ghani on July 23, emphasizing that the United States too will continue its support for Afghanistan, including developmental and humanitarian aid.

Biden also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to continue supporting the Afghan security forces to defend themselves.

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.

Turkey criticizes Austrian leader’s ‘astonishing’ remarks on Afghan refugees

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1TV: Ankara on Monday criticized Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s remarks that Turkey is a “more suitable place” for Afghan refugees, saying they were astonished by the statement. “First of all, Turkey is not a country neighboring Afghanistan, as Chancellor Kurz stated,” Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. Click here to read more (external link).

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Why a Taliban victory may not be everything Pakistan wished for

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Christian Science Monitor: Despite consistent denials, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency has been instrumental since 2006 in boosting the insurgents with explosives, cash, ideological recruits, and a cross-border safe haven, analysts say. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan taekwondo athlete drops out of Tokyo Olympics

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Ariana: Farzad Mansouri, the Afghan national taekwondo athlete, was beaten on Tuesday morning by his Korean rival, and he missed to fight for the bronze medal following IN Kyo Don’s defeat. Click here to read more (external link).

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COVID-19: 544 New Cases, 62 Deaths Reported in Afghanistan

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Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday reported 544 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 2,589 samples tested in the last 24 hours.  The ministry also reported 62 deaths and 1,173 recoveries from COVID-19 in the same period. The figures show that there is a slight increase in the number of deaths as well as recoveries from COVID-19, but the number of new cases has remained low over the last five days. Click here to read more (external link).

UN: Afghan Civilian Casualties Up By 47%, Could Hit New Highs

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
July 26, 2021

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – The United Nations has warned that civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan sharply increased in the first half of 2021, setting the war-ravaged country on course to witness the highest ever number of civilian casualties in a single year.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in its mid-year report has documented nearly 5,200 civilian casualties, including 1,659 deaths, an astounding 47% spike compared with the same period in 2020.

The report noted that civilian casualties have escalated since May, when the United States and NATO allies officially began their military withdrawal and fighting intensified between Afghan government forces and Taliban insurgents across the country.

“The number of civilian casualties during May and June — 2,392 in total (783 killed and 1,609 injured) — was the highest for those months since UNAMA began its systematic documentation in 2009” UNAMA said in a statement.

The report lamented as “sickening” the fact that women, boys and girls made up close to half of all civilian casualties in the first six months of 2021.

It warned that “without a significant de-escalation in violence Afghanistan is on course for 2021 to witness the highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since UNAMA records began.”

The Taliban say recent battlefield gains have extended insurgent control to 85% of Afghanistan, a contested claim.

However, since foreign forces started pulling from the country about three months ago, the Taliban have nearly tripled the number of districts they control, from about 75 to now more than 220 of 407 Afghan districts, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal.

The advances have brought the insurgents close to the capital cities of all 34 Afghan provinces as well as the national capital, Kabul.

Critics noted that the UNAMA report has refuted the Taliban’s claims their territorial gains have largely been bloodless.

“The U.N. is gravely concerned that if intensive military action is undertaken in urban areas with high population densities, the consequences for Afghan civilians could be catastrophic,” the report warned.

While international troops are set to exit Afghanistan by end of August, slow-moving peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government have met with little success. Both sides accuse each other of blocking the progress.

UNAMA chief Deborah Lyons on Monday urged the warring sides to intensify their efforts at the negotiating table, saying the pursuit of a military solution to the conflict will only fuel the suffering of the Afghan people.

“I implore the Taliban and Afghan leaders to take heed of the conflict’s grim and chilling trajectory and its devastating impact on civilians,” Lyons said.

“The report provides a clear warning that unprecedented numbers of Afghan civilians will perish and be maimed this year if the increasing violence is not stemmed,” she added.

UNAMA attributed 64% of the total civilian casualties to anti-government armed forces, saying 39% of them were caused by the Taliban. Islamic State militants caused 9% while the rest were blamed on undetermined anti-government elements.

Pro-Afghan government forces were responsible for 25% of civilian casualties, according to the report.

It attributed 11% of all civilian casualties to “crossfire” during ground engagements where the exact party responsible could not be determined and other incidents.

An Afghan military spokesman, Ajmal Omar Shinwari, rejected findings in the U.N. report that government forces were responsible for causing civilian casualties.

“(Afghan) security forces have retreated from many areas only to prevent civilian casualties,” Shinwari argued while speaking at a news conference in Kabul.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the UNAMA report, claiming nowhere in Afghanistan in the last six months had insurgents “deliberately targeted or carried out attacks that could have resulted in civilian casualties.”

Monday’s U.N. mid-year report is the first since 2009 that has not attributed a single Afghan civilian casualty to international forces.

Afghanistan, China to Be Focus During Blinken Visit to India

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Blinken

Anjana Pasricha
VOA News
July 26, 2021

NEW DELHI – With an eye on Afghanistan and China, an upcoming visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to India is expected to reaffirm a growing strategic partnership between Washington and New Delhi.

India’s Foreign Ministry has said that the discussions will focus on regional and global issues including the Indo-Pacific region, Afghanistan and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blinken is scheduled to hold talks on Wednesday with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Indian analysts say the unfolding security situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban are rapidly gaining control of territory as American troops withdraw, will be a key focus for both sides.

U.S. officials have said that Blinken will seek India’s support in stabilizing Afghanistan.

“We expect that all countries in the region have a shared interest in a stable and secure Afghanistan going forward and so, we will certainly be looking at talking with our Indian partners on how we can work together to realize that goal,” Dean Thompson, the top U.S. diplomat for Central and South Asia, told reporters in Washington on Friday.

In recent weeks, India has stressed the need to preserve the gains of the last two decades in Afghanistan. Analysts say that the situation in Afghanistan is of huge concern to New Delhi, which fears that a resurgent Taliban may result in the emergence of terrorist havens that could be used by Islamist militant groups to target Indian-controlled Kashmir.

“India will want to assess what kind of role the U.S. wants to continue to play post its withdrawal and see how the two countries can actually work in convergence to help Afghanistan during this difficult time,” Harsh Pant, director of studies and head of the Strategic Studies Program at the New-Delhi based Observer Research Foundation, told VOA. “India will seek clarity on how America wants to take this forward.”

The Indian Foreign Ministry has called Blinken’s visit an opportunity to bolster the Indo-U.S. global strategic partnership. The secretary of state’s trip comes four months after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited New Delhi in what many saw as the first affirmation that the momentum in the Indo-U.S. relationship will continue under the Biden administration amid mutual concerns of a rising China.

The talks in New Delhi are expected to set the groundwork for a meeting later in the year of countries that comprise the Quad grouping – the U.S, India, Australia and Japan. The informal strategic grouping was revived in 2017 amid fears of China’s growing heft and assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

While a virtual meeting of the leaders of the Quad countries hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this year had focused on the coronavirus pandemic, the in-person meeting later this year is expected to turn its attention on providing developing nations an alternative to infrastructure projects offered by China’s Belt and Road initiative.

“There were some apprehensions in New Delhi in the beginning on whether the Biden administration will continue with a tough policy toward China, but clearly the relationship is getting very, very difficult and India’s role continues to be important in that regard,” says Pant.

While U.S. officials have said that Blinken will bring up issues of human rights and democracy, New Delhi has indicated that it is preparing to defend its record.

Critics have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of human rights violations such as stifling dissent and enacting a citizenship law that they say discriminates against Muslims.  The government denies that the law is discriminatory and dismisses allegations of human rights violations.

Dozens Of Afghan Soldiers Flee Into Pakistan Amid Taliban Advances

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 26, 2021

Pakistan’s army says 46 Afghan soldiers crossed the border and were granted refuge in the country after losing their positions to advancing Taliban militants.

Hundreds of Afghan soldiers and civil officials have fled to neighboring Tajikistan, Iran, and Pakistan in recent weeks amid Taliban offensives in border areas.

The Afghan military commander requested refuge at the border crossing in Chitral in the north, the Pakistani Army said in a statement. Chitral shares a border with the three Afghan provinces of Kunar, Badakhshan, and Nuristan.

“These Afghan soldiers arrived at Arundu sector, Chitral late last night. After contact with Afghan authorities and necessary military procedures, 46 soldiers including five officers have been given refuge [and] safe passage into Pakistan,” the statement said.

“Afghan soldiers have been provided food, shelter, and necessary medical care as per established military norms,” it said.

Pakistan said the soldiers who sought refuge will be returned to Afghanistan after due process as was another batch of 35 soldiers earlier in July.

The move comes at a time of rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Kabul recalling its envoy from Islamabad after the brief kidnapping of the his daughter in the Pakistani capital earlier this month.

Afghanistan has also accused Islamabad of secretly aiding the Taliban, allowing wounded militants to cross into Pakistan for medical treatment.

The Taliban has stepped up its offensive across Afghanistan since the United States announced in April that it would withdraw its troops by the end of August, ending a 20-year foreign military presence.

Militants have captured the Spin Boldak district, where one of the country’s main border and trade crossings with Pakistan is located.

The Taliban and Afghan government officials met for talks in Qatari capital Doha on July 17, but little came out of the meeting besides promises of more talks.

With reporting by Reuters, dpa, and dawn.com

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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