Iran advises U.S. to study Iran’s position on Afghanistan before making claims

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Tehran Times: Iran’s embassy in Kabul has issued a statement reiterating support for peace talks in Afghanistan led by the Afghan leaders. The statement came as a response to a claim made by Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States’ chief negotiator with the Afghan Taliban, about Iran’s lack of support for a U.S.-led attempt to get the Taliban militant group and the Afghan government to negotiate. The Iranian embassy in Kabul advised the U.S. officials to study Iran’s position on Afghanistan precisely before making claims. Click here to read more (external link).

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Beekeeping industry expanding in Afghanistan

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Xinhua: “I can sell around 150 kilograms of honey annually and earn 150,000 afghani (1,948 U.S. dollars) to support my family,” said Matiullah, a farmer in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province. Making a living as a beekeeper in his hometown in the Andarab district over the past four years, the farmer said that his work is a fulfilling and lucrative profession.  Click here to read more (external link).

121 new positive cases of the coronavirus

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Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Sunday reported 121 new positive cases of the coronavirus from 741 samples tested over the last 24 hours. In the last 24 hours, the ministry also reported 12 new deaths from COVID-19 and 387 recoveries. The number of total cases is now 36,157, the total reported deaths is 1,259, and the total recoveries is 25,180. Click here to read more (external link).

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First group of Afghan Sikhs expected to leave the country on Sunday

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Ariana: Eleven Afghan Sikhs are expected to leave Kabul on Sunday for India, after being granted visas by the Indian government.  Chhabol Singh, a community leader in Kabul, told India’s Sunday Express that among those leaving Sunday was Nidan Singh Sachdeva, who was kidnapped in Paktia last month before being freed, and the 15-year-old girl who was recently rescued by police after also allegedly being abducted.  Click here to read more (external link).

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UN Says Thousands Of Pakistani Militants In Afghanistan

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 26, 2020

More than 6,000 Pakistani insurgents are hiding in Afghanistan, a fresh UN report says.

The report released earlier this week said most of the militants belonged to the outlawed Pakistani Talibani group that is responsible for attacks on Pakistani military and civilian targets.

According to the report, the group, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), has linked up with the Afghan-based affiliate of the Islamic State extremist group. Some TTP members have even joined the IS affiliate, which has its headquarters in eastern Afghanistan.

The Afghan government did not respond on July 26 to requests by the AP news agency for comment.

The report was prepared by the UN analytical and sanctions monitoring team, which tracks terrorist groups around the world.

The report said IS in Afghanistan, known as IS in Khorasan Province, has suffered losses as a result of being targeted by Afghan security forces as well as U.S. and NATO forces, and even on occasion by the Afghan Taliban.

The report estimated that the membership of IS in Afghanistan is 2,200, and while its leadership has been depleted, IS still counts among its leaders a Syrian national, Abu Said Mohammad al-Khorasani.

The report also said the monitoring team had received information that two senior Islamic State commanders, Abu Qutaibah and Abu Hajar al-Iraqi, had recently arrived in Afghanistan from the Middle East.

“Although in territorial retreat, [the Islamic State[ remains capable of carrying out high-profile attacks in various parts of the country, including Kabul. It also aims to attract Taliban fighters who oppose the agreement with the United States,” the report said, referring to a U.S. peace deal signed with the Taliban in February.

That deal was struck to allow the U.S. to end its 19-year involvement in Afghanistan, and calls on the Taliban to guarantee its territory will not be used by terrorist groups. The deal is also expected to guarantee the Taliban’s all-out participation in the fight against IS.

The second and perhaps most critical part of the agreement calls for talks between the Taliban and Kabul’s political leadership.

Late on July 25, the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying its peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, was again shuttling through the region seeking to jump start those negotiations, which have been repeatedly postponed as both sides squabble over a prisoner release program.

With reporting by AP

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.

Al Qaeda is covertly active in 12 Afghan provinces: UN monitors

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Al Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahri

1TV: According to the report, al Qaeda leadership maintains close contact with the Haqqani Network. In February this year, al-Zawahiri met with Yahya Haqqani, the primary Haqqani Network contact with Al-Qaida since mid-2009, to discuss ongoing cooperation. Click here to read more (external link).

US Sees Significant Decline in Fatalities Among Afghan Forces, Civilians

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Khalilzad

Ayaz Gul
VOA News
July 25, 2020

ISLAMABAD – The U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan said Friday that violence in the war-torn country had lately been “too high,” but that fatalities among Afghan government security forces battling the Taliban insurgency had dropped 35 percent to 40 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the special representative for Afghan reconciliation, also noted that no American or coalition solider had been killed by the Taliban since the United States signed a landmark agreement with the insurgent group in February to end the nearly 19-year-old Afghan war, America’s longest.

Khalilzad, who negotiated and sealed the deal, shared the assessment while speaking to an online forum in Washington arranged by the United States Institute of Peace.

“This year, the number of Afghan security forces killed is between 35 and 40% less than last year for the same period and the number of civilians killed is also significantly lower for the same period compared to last year,” the Afghan-born U.S. envoy said.

Hurdles to peace talks

Khalilzad’s assessment of the conflict contradict assertions by Afghan authorities that insurgent violence has sharply risen to record levels after the US-Taliban deal, killing hundreds of government security forces and civilians.

He lamented, however, that the recent intensification in violence and a protracted prisoner swap between the Kabul government and the Taliban stand in the way of the opening of much-awaited peace negotiations between Afghan parties to the conflict. Both crucial next steps are stipulated in the U.S.-Taliban pact.

Khalilzad said the Trump administration was “not satisfied” with the current level of violence and was working with both Afghan adversaries to encourage them to reduce it further.

“I am hoping that as we move closer to intra-Afghan negotiations, which I hope will happen in the coming weeks, that violence will be less than it is now,” Khalilzad stressed.

A spokesman for the Afghan National Security Council, in an apparent response to Khalilzad’s remarks, tweeted Saturday that insurgent violence has not decreased.

“Taliban killed 46 civilians and wounded 93 in 401 terrorist activities in just one week. Peace requires commitment and will, which aren’t visible in the actions of the Taliban, said Javid Faisal.

The proposed dialogue is aimed at reaching a permanent cease-fire and a political formula for ending decades of hostilities in Afghanistan. But the opening of the dialogue is directly tied to the conclusion of the prisoner swap, as outlined in the February 29 accord.

Khalilzad said Friday that he was pleased to see the Afghan government had released more than 4,400 insurgent prisoners out of the promised 5,000 in its custody. In turn, the Taliban have released 861 from the objective of 1,000 Afghan forces, he added.

“Most of the distance has been traveled in this difficult road but the last mile remains very challenging,” the U.S. envoy said. He added that Washington was committed to working with both sides to help complete the prisoner release so that intra-Afghan negotiations could begin.

Khalilzad spoke a day after the Taliban announced that if the prisoner swap is concluded before the Muslim festival of Eid ul Adha starting July 31, the insurgent group was ready to engage in intra-Afghan talks immediately after the three-day festivities.

600 still held

But the Afghan government has refused to free a last set of about 600 insurgent prisoners, saying they were involved in serious crimes, including killing innocent Afghans. The Taliban have denounced the charges as baseless, saying Kabul is using “lame excuses” to delay the peace process.

Washington has also repeatedly urged the Afghan leadership to wind up the prisoner swap to pave the way for the peace talks. The Taliban have ruled out participation in the talks until all their 5,000 prisoners are set free.

Khalilzad said that the United States has been delivering on its commitments since signing the agreement with the Taliban and has been reducing the number of U.S. forces to the level of 8,600 personnel, as well as vacating five bases in Afghanistan.

The remaining American troops and their coalition partners are required to withdraw by July 2021.

“But the withdrawal is very much conditions-based and we will see whether the Taliban honor their commitments, because our decisions, our commitments, are contingent on their commitment,” Khalilzad said.

He elaborated that, among other commitments, the Taliban are required to prevent transnational terrorists from using insurgent-held Afghan territory for attacks against the U.S. and its allies. The insurgents, he added, have also committed to participate in the intra-Afghan talks and agree on “a comprehensive permanent cease-fire.”

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