Xinhua: Three members of a family were killed and three others wounded in a Taliban ambush in northeastern Badakhshan province on Thursday, provincial police spokesman Sanaullah Rohani said. All the victims are civilians, the official said, adding the incident happened at about 4:00 a.m. local time in Darayim district when a villager Shah Mohammad along with five members of his family was on the way to the neighboring Bagh-e-Sufi village, the official added. Click here to read more (external link).
Earthquake tremors felt in Afghanistan’s Kabul
India TV: An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 hit Afghanistan early on Thursday. According to the National Center for Seismology, the tremors were felt 237km NNE of Kabul, at 05:33:10 IST. There were no immediate reports of any loss of life or damage to property, because of the quake. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan: 25 of 188 Cases Test Positive for COVID-19
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Thursday reported 25 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 188 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The number of total cases is now 39,170, the number of total reported deaths is 1,451, and the total number of recoveries is 32,619. Click here to read more (external link).
Freed Taliban Fighters Returning To Battlefield, Top Afghan Negotiator Says
A. Abdullah
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 23, 2020
A number of Taliban prisoners who were released by the Afghan government as a condition for peace talks have returned to the battlefield, lead Kabul negotiator Abdullah Abdullah has said.
Abdullah, the head of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, said negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar have been positive since they opened in Doha on September 12, although the two sides reportedly remain far from agreement on virtually every issue.
But Abdullah said that some — though not the majority — of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners released by the Afghan authorities as a condition for talks had resumed the fight against the government.
“I do know that some have returned to the battlefield, which is a violation of the agreement that they had made,” Abdullah told an online conference with the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations on September 22.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, the level of violence inside Afghanistan has not fallen, and Abdullah called on Washington, which launched the peace process as part of a February deal with the Taliban, and Pakistan, which allegedly maintains ties to the militants, to pressure them to agree to a cease-fire.
“Unfortunately, so far, the level of violence is very high and to a level that is not acceptable for the people,” Abdullah said. “I repeat my call to the Taliban themselves and also to all partners who have any leverage over the Taliban to press on that point.”
Abdullah said he planned to travel to Pakistan soon for the first time since 2008.
The persistent violence, and the Taliban’s failure to completely cut relations with the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, was singled out as a barrier to success by U.S. officials testifying in Congress on September 22.
U.S. chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad warned that violence remains unacceptably high and Washington expects more setbacks in ongoing peace talks between Taliban militants and the Afghan government.
“By any measure, current levels of violence are too high,” Khalilzad said. “We know that reductions are possible.”
“While we have reasons to be hopeful, we are under no illusions about the challenges ahead…. We expect that there will be setbacks and obstacles,” Khalilzad said.
He added that Washington and its allies were looking at an agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan so that neither side’s territory would be used to attack the other.
“We’re hoping that by the time that these other negotiations are over, we could also achieve success in that regard,” said Khalilzad, who recently returned from Doha.
With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
Copyright (c) 2020. 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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1TV Afghanistan Dari News – September 23, 2020
COVID-19: 49 of 213 Cases Test Positive in Afghanistan
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday reported 49 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 213 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The number of total cases is now 39,145, the number of total reported deaths is 1,446, and the total number of recoveries is 32,610. Click here to read more (external link).
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APL Starts Thursday: Toofan Harirod vs. De Abasin Sape
Tolo News: Toofan Harirod will face De Abasin Sape in the opening match of the ninth season of Afghanistan’s football league—the Afghan Premier League (APL)–on Thursday. The opening ceremony will start at 5 pm Afghan time and will be aired live on TOLO and Lemar TV networks. The match will kick-off at 6 pm. Click here to read more (external link).
U.S. Envoy Says Violence In Afghanistan ‘Too High,’ Expects More Peace Talks Setbacks
Khalilzad
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 22, 2020
A senior U.S. envoy for Afghanistan on September 22 warned that violence there remains unacceptably high and Washington expects more setbacks in ongoing peace talks between Taliban militants and the Afghan government.
Veteran diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad’s comments come as the warring sides remain far apart on even basic issues 10 days into talks in Qatar meant to end two decades of war.
He was speaking at a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“By any measure, current levels of violence are too high,” Khalilzad said. “We know that reductions are possible.”
The talks follow a February agreement between the Taliban and the United States allowing U.S. forces to withdraw in exchange for Taliban promises on terrorism.
But the militant group has refused to agree to a cease-fire, and the violence in Afghanistan continues.
In recent months, the Taliban has pledged to respect women’s rights under Shari’a law, but many educated women who have grown up since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 for harboring Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin laden have doubts.
At the September 22 House hearing, Democrats asked Khalilzad about the possibility that after 20 years of war, billions of dollars, and thousands of deaths, the withdrawal of U.S. forces could end education for Afghan girls.
“I want to assure the Afghan women that we will be with them,” Khalilzad said.
Since the talks opened in Qatar on September 12, the two sides reportedly remain far from agreement on virtually every issue.
“While we have reasons to be hopeful, we are under no illusions about the challenges ahead…. We expect that there will be setbacks and obstacles,” Khalilzad said.
He added that Washington and allies were looking at an agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan so that neither side’s territory would be used to attack the other.
“We’re hoping that by the time that these other negotiations are over, we could also achieve success in that regard,” Khalilzad, who recently returned from Doha, said.
With reporting by Reuters
Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Afghan gov’t confirms 22 new COVID-19 positive cases
Xinhua: Afghanistan’s Public Health Ministry has registered 22 new COVID-19 positive cases over the past 24 hours in the country, a news letter of the ministry released here on Tuesday said. According to the news letter, one patient died over the period, bringing the number of COVID-19 related deaths to 1,445 since the outbreak of the virus in February in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – September 22, 2020