Attack on Kabul Rally Kills 27; Top Afghan Politicians Unhurt
Khalili
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
March 6, 2020
ISLAMABAD – Officials in Afghanistan say at least 27 people were killed and 55 injured Friday when gunmen opened fire on a gathering in Kabul, with high-profile opposition politicians in attendance.
Witnesses said the shooting started when a former vice president, Karim Khalili, was delivering his speech to a ceremony in the Afghan capital, organized to commemorate the death of a prominent minority Shi’ite Hazara politician.
The event was being shown live by Afghan television stations and Khalili could be seen running for cover along with others when the gunfire erupted from a nearby under-construction building.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said Afghan security forces later engaged three assailants and killed them in the ensuing hours-long clash to end the siege.
There were no claims of responsibility, and the Taliban insurgency swiftly denied its involvement in the attack.
The Islamic State terror group’s regional affiliate, known as Khorasan Province or ISKP, has claimed responsibility for previous attacks on Shi’ite gatherings and worship places in Afghanistan.
Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and former president Hamid Karzai were also among guest speakers at Friday’s gathering. Both of them escaped unharmed.
However, a former provincial governor was said to one among those wounded.
President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack as a “crime against humanity”, saying the violence was directed at Afghan national unity.
Last year’s commemoration of Abdul Ali Mazari’s death anniversary, which is mostly attended by Shi’ite Afghans, had also come under attack. About a dozen people were killed and many more were injured. That attack was claimed by Islamic State.
The ethnic Hazara leader was assassinated in 1995 after being taken hostage by militants when Afghanistan was in the grip of a deadly civil war.
Friday’s violence comes nearly a week after the United States and the Taliban sealed a landmark peace agreement in Qatar to try to bring an end to the Afghan war, now in its 19th year.
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Afghanistan says arrival of over 50,000 from Iran has put country at ‘very high risk’ from coronavirus
Ferozuddin Feroz
1TV: Afghanistan’s health minister warned on Thursday that the arrival of 50,000 people from neighboring Iran over the past one week has put the country at a very high risk from the deadly coronavirus. Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, Minister Ferozuddin Feroz said that they cannot prevent the arrival of Afghans, but there are travel restrictions for foreigners arriving from China and Iran. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – March 5, 2020
U.S. Defense Chiefs: Taliban Mostly Adhering To Deal Despite Attacks
Esper
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
March 5, 2020
U.S. defense chiefs have told lawmakers that the initial results from the Taliban peace deal have been mixed, but they insisted that the extremist group is adhering to much of the agreement despite a flare-up of deadly violence in Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper told a Senate panel on March 4 that the extremists are honoring the agreement by not attacking U.S. and coalition forces, “but not in terms of sustaining the reduction in violence.”
“Keeping that group of people on board is a challenge. They’ve got their range of hard-liners and soft-liners and so they’re wrestling with that too, I think,” he added.
The comments came after the Pentagon said U.S. forces had conducted a “defensive” air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province after a checkpoint manned by Afghan forces was attacked.
Taliban militants killed at least 20 Afghan security officers in a string of attacks on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “very good” phone chat with the Taliban’s political chief.
The wave of violence is threatening to unravel a February 29 agreement signed in Doha between the United States and the Taliban that would allow allied forces to leave Afghanistan within 14 months in return for various security commitments from the Taliban and a pledge to hold talks with the Afghan government — which the militant group has so far refused to do.
Prisoner-Release Clause
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has warned he was not committed to a key clause in the deal involving the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
The Taliban said it would not take part in intra-Afghan talks until that provision was met.
Esper — who was in Kabul with Afghan leaders while the peace agreement was signed in Qatar – told the Senate panel that the deal allows the U.S. military to act to defend Afghan forces.
“It’s the commitment I made to the Afghans when I was there on. We would continue to defend the Afghans,” he said.
Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in a tweet that Taliban fighters “were actively attacking an [Afghan National Security Forces] checkpoint. This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack.”
“Taliban leadership promised the [international] community they would reduce violence and not increase attacks. We call on the Taliban to stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments,” he said.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, did not refer to the U.S. strike in a series of Twitter comments. But he said: “Increasing violence is a threat to the peace agreement and must be reduced immediately.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told lawmakers that “there is no attacks on 34 provincial capitals, there is no attacks in Kabul, there’s no high-profile attacks, there’s no suicide bombers, there’s no vehicle borne suicide, no attack against the U.S. forces, no attack against coalition.”
“Yes, there were significant numbers of attacks, small attacks. They were all beaten back,” he said.
The Taliban did not confirm or deny responsibility for any of the attacks.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in a tweet that “according to the plan, [the Taliban] is implementing all parts of the agreement one after another in order to keep the fighting reduced.”
With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
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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International Criminal Court Allows Afghanistan War Crimes Probe
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
March 5, 2020
ISLAMABAD – The International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled Thursday that an investigation can go ahead into war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by the United States and other warring parties to the conflict in Afghanistan
The global court in the Hague overturned an April 2019 rejection of the probe.
“The Appeals Chamber considers it appropriate to amend the appealed decision to the effect that the prosecutor is authorized to commence an investigation into alleged crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan since May 1, 2003,” Presiding Judge Piotr Hofmanski said.
The ruling will allow ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to examine the actions of U.S. armed forces and members of the CIA, the Taliban insurgency, Afghan government security forces and other armed groups operating in Afghanistan.
Bensouda has been seeking a formal investigation into the alleged crimes since 2017.
Washington is not a signatory of the ICC and disputes its authority over American citizens. Afghanistan, however, is a member of the global court.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last year that the Trump administration would revoke or deny visas to ICC staff seeking to investigate alleged war crimes and other abuses committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan or elsewhere.
The Afghan government has also opposed the investigation.
Thursday’s ICC ruling came just days after the United States and the Taliban signed a landmark agreement to try to bring an end to the Afghan war, now in its 19th year.
Rights groups welcome ruling
Afghan and global rights groups hailed the ICC for upholding the rights of victims to accountability, and paving the way for the United States to be held to account for the first time for its actions.
“ICC Appeals Chamber’s decision to green-light an investigation of brutal crimes in Afghanistan despite extreme pressure reaffirms the court’s essential role for victims when all other doors to justice are closed,” noted Param-Preet Singh, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) welcomed Thursday’s decision as an “important step for justice in Afghanistan.
”Today, the International Criminal Court breathed new life into the mantra that ‘no one is above the law’ and restored some hope that justice can be available — and applied — to all,” said Katherine Gallagher, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and ICC Victims Legal Representative.
“In authorizing this critical and much-delayed investigation into crimes in and related to Afghanistan, the Court made clear that political interference in judicial proceedings will not be tolerated,” noted Gallagher.
A 2016 ICC report focusing on Afghan hostilities concluded there was a reasonable basis to believe that the U.S. military, Afghan government and the Taliban committed war crimes.
Prosecutor Bensouda alleged while arguing before the judges last year that members of the U.S. military and intelligence agencies “committed acts of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual violence against conflict-related detainees in Afghanistan and other locations, principally in the 2003-2004 period.”
She said the Taliban and other militant groups have killed thousands of Afghan civilians since 2009 in attacks, including targeted killings. The report blamed Afghan security forces for allegedly torturing prisoners at government detention centers.
At a hearing before the Appellate Chamber in December, the Afghan government said it objected to the investigation and has set up a special unit to investigate war crimes.
There was no official U.S. delegation at the hearing, but President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, appeared on behalf of the European branch of the American Center for Law and Justice and told judges that the U.S. position wouldn’t change.
He told appeals judges that “it is not in the interests of justice to waste the court’s resources while ignoring the reality of principled non-cooperation.”
Pakistani Rhetoric Sparks Afghan Response
Shah Mahmood Qureshi
Tolo News: The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned recent statements by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, calling them an “irresponsible interference” in Afghanistan’s affairs. Pakistan’s FM Qureshi gave opinions about َthe prisoner release, and a retired Pakistani general called for a regime change in Kabul [using Pakistan’s “asset” the Taliban]. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – March 4, 2020
U.S. Strikes Taliban After Afghan Security Personnel Killed In Attacks
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
March 4, 2020
The United States has conducted a “defensive” air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province after a checkpoint manned by Afghan forces was attacked.
“The US conducted an airstrike on March 4 against Taliban fighters in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand, who were actively attacking an #ANDSF checkpoint. This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack,” U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Sonny Leggett said in a tweet.
The strike came just hours after Taliban militants killed at least 20 Afghan security officers in a string of attacks and on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “very good” chat with the Taliban’s political chief.
The wave of violence is threatening to unravel a February 29 agreement signed in Doha between the United States and the Taliban that would allow allied forces to leave Afghanistan within 14 months in return for various security commitments from the extremist group and a pledge to hold talks with the Afghan government — which the Taliban has so far refused to do.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has warned he was not committed to a key clause in the deal involving the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
The Taliban said it would not take part in intra-Afghan talks until that provision was met.
And on March 2, the militant group ordered its fighters to resume operations against Afghan forces, saying that a weeklong partial truce between the Taliban, U.S., and Afghan forces that preceded the Doha agreement was “over.”
“Taliban fighters attacked at least three army outposts in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz last night, killing at least 10 soldiers and four police,” said Safiullah Amiri, a member of the provincial council.
Another attack killed six soldiers in the same northern region, Amiri added.
Washington has said it would defend Afghan forces if they came under Taliban attack.
With reporting by Reuters and dpa
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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Trump Discusses Afghan Peace Deal With Top Taliban Leader
Donald Trump
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
March 3, 2020
ISLAMABAD – U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone Tuesday with a top leader of the Taliban insurgency about the landmark peace deal the two sides recently signed in Qatar that aims to end a nearly 19-year-old war in Afghanistan, America’s longest.
A Taliban readout of what it asserted was a 35-minute phone call said its deputy chief, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, assured Trump the insurgent group would seek “positive future bilateral relations” with Washington after all U.S. and coalition troops withdraw from the country under the agreement they signed Saturday.
Trump later told reporters at the White House that he “had a very good conversation” with the Taliban leader. Baradar is based in Doha, the Qatari capital, where he signed the historic deal with U.S. chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad last week.
“The relationship is very good that I have with the mullah. We had a good long conversation today and you know, they want to cease the violence, they’d like to cease violence also,” Trump said of his phone call, the first such contact by a sitting American president with the Taliban.
“I think we all have a very common interest. … We’ve been there for 20 years. Other presidents have tried and they have been unable to get any kind of an agreement. The relationship is very good that I have with the Mullah,” the president said in reference to Baradar.
The rare contact took place two days after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ruled out a prisoner swap with the insurgent group, a key component in the U.S.-Taliban agreement.
The Afghan government was not part of the talks between U.S. and Taliban negotiators that led to the signed agreement Saturday.
Ghani told a news conference Sunday that his government had made no commitment to free thousands of insurgent prisoners, and insisted the issue could be taken up in intra-Afghan negotiations, which are scheduled to begin March 10 as has been stated in the pact.
The negotiations between Afghan parties to the conflict will seek a permanent nationwide cease-fire and future power-sharing in post-war Afghanistan.
However, the Taliban swiftly rejected Ghani’s announcement as an attempt to sabotage the peace deal and urged Washington to fulfil its obligations to secure release of insurgent prisoners before the start of intra-Afghan talks.
The U.S.-Taliban agreement said up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners will be released from Afghan government custody, and in turn the insurgent group will free 1,000 detainees, mostly Afghan security forces, by March 10.
On Tuesday, the Taliban said without elaborating that Trump told Baradar that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “shall soon talk with Ashraf Ghani in order to remove all hurdles to the intra-Afghan negotiations.”
Baradar called on the American president to “not allow anyone to take actions that violate the terms of the agreement thus embroiling you even further in this prolonged war,” according to the insurgent readout.
A mutually agreed seven-day reduction in violence paved the way for U.S. and Taliban officials to conclude last week’s agreement.
The insurgents were supposed to uphold the reduced fighting truce until they open talks with Afghan interlocutors. But Afghan authorities alleged Tuesday the Taliban carried out deadly attacks across many parts of the country in breach of their commitments.
Under the agreement reached last week, the United States is preparing to bring down the U.S. troop level to 8,600 within next five months from roughly 13,000 service members currently deployed to the Afghan mission. The rest of the troops would leave the country by April 2021, subject to Taliban counterterrorism commitments and progress in intra-Afghan peace talks.