Tolo News: Over 8,500 people were diagnosed with respiratory conditions over the past one week due to air pollution in Kabul, officials of the Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said on Saturday as the thick layer of smoke continues to cover the nation’s capital. Kabul is ranked one of the world’s most polluted cities. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Torch Police HQ in Zabul, ’16 Policemen Surrendered’
Tolo News: A security source says the Taliban have torched the police headquarters in Argahndab district of Zabul, “taking 16 members of the Afghan police force with them.”
The Zabul provincial council said the policemen “surrendered.” Click here to read more (external link).
Other Security News
Taliban Hopes For Afghan Peace Deal By End Of January
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
January 18, 2020
A spokesman for the Taliban has told a Pakistani newspaper that the militant group is hoping to reach an Afghan peace deal with U.S negotiators by the end of January.
The comments by Suhail Shaheen on January 18 to the Dawn newspaper come after negotiators from the Taliban and the United States met for two days of talks in Qatar.
Shaheen said in a post on Twitter on January 17 that the meetings on January 16 and 17 had been “useful.” He said the discussions had focused on the signing of a joint agreement and a related ceremony without elaborating.
The U.S. team, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, has not spoken publicly about the negotiations. But Reuters quoted two sources as saying the Taliban was ready to agree to a 10-day truce with U.S. forces, as well as a reduction in violence with Afghan forces and talks with Afghan officials if a deal is reached.
Shaheen on January 18 said Taliban militants were ready to scale back militant attacks ahead of the anticipated signing of the deal with U.S. negotiators.
“We have agreed to scale down military operations in days leading up to the signing of the peace agreement with the United States,” Shaheen told Dawn.
‘A Matter Of Days’
He added that the Taliban was “optimistic” a deal with Washington could be signed before the end of the month and that the reduction in fighting across the country would also include the targeting of Afghan forces.
“It’s now a matter of days,” said the spokesman.
Analysts say that, if an agreement is clinched, it could revive hopes for a long-term solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.
U.S. forces have been in Afghanistan since their 2001 invasion to drive out the Taliban following the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.
The Taliban controlled Afghanistan at the time and harbored Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks.
U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his desire to remove the estimated 13,000 U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan in America’s longest war.
Over the past year, neighboring Pakistan has helped facilitate talks between Khalilzad and the Taliban in Qatar, where the militants have a political office.
But the talks have repeatedly stalled, with Washington calling on the group to reduce violence, among other things.
An Afghan presidency spokesman said a ceasefire was the only way to achieve a sustainable and dignified peace.
“To achieve lasting peace, which is the demand of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the people, is the only way to achieve a cease-fire,” Sediq Sediqqi said in a post on Twitter.
“Any cease-fire that is proposed as a fundamental step will be acceptable to the people and the government,” he added.
With reporting by AFP 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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Tolo News in Dari – January 17, 2020
Afghan U19 Cricket Team Defeats South Africa by 7 Wickets
Tolo News: The Afghan national U19 cricket team defeated South Africa by seven wickets in the opening match of the U19 Cricket World Cup on Friday. Afghanistan’s Imran Mir and Ibrahim Zadran played a key role in the match against the rival South African squad. The ICC U-19 World Cup is underway at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley, South Africa. Click here to read more (external link).
World’s most powerful passports: Japan tops, Afghanistan lowest
Ariana: The Henley Passport Index, which measures the world’s most travel-friendly passports from time to time based on data received from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA), has released its first report of the new decade. According to the report, Japan is now on top of the list. Afghanistan ranks the lowest. Its passport stands in number 107 – last in the list. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban: Discussions Continue With US on Afghan Peace Deal
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
January 17, 2020
ISLAMABAD – The Taliban said Friday its latest meetings with representatives of the United States in Qatar have discussed the signing of a peace deal between the two adversaries to end their 18-year-old Afghan war.
The insurgent group’s assertions come two days after its political envoys in the Qatari capital, Doha, offered a brief partial cease-fire in a bid to end the latest deadly violence in their troubled direct dialogue with American interlocutors.
The Taliban negotiating team’s spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said on Twitter that both sides discussed “matters related to the ceremony of the signing of the agreement” in meetings over the past two days.
He described as “productive” the discussions with the U.S. team being led by Afghan-born veteran American diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad. “(The) talks will continue for several days.”
Shaheen did not comment on the Taliban’s reported offer of a limited cease-fire. It was also not clear for how long the insurgents intended to scale back their violent activities, though reports said the duration could be up to 10 days.
There were no immediate comments from the U.S. side on the insurgent claims of progress in talks or whether the offer of a limited cessation in hostilities was acceptable to them.
Khalilzad had paused the talks last month, demanding the Taliban reduce battlefield hostilities before his team returned to the table to conclude the peace process.
Insurgent sources say the U.S. envoy has been staying in Doha for days to hear from the Taliban on his demand, although Khalilzad’s office has been silent about his presence in the Gulf nation.
The Afghan government, which is kept out of the U.S.-Taliban talks, Friday reiterated its opposition to the Taliban’s reported offer of a reduction in violence, saying an extensive cease-fire could only test the insurgent group’s seriousness and further the peace effort.
“A cease-fire is the only way to achieve sustainable and dignified peace which is the demand of the people and the government of Afghanistan,” the deputy presidential spokesman, Dawa Khan Mina Pal, told VOA.
If signed, the U.S.-Taliban deal would lead to a gradual withdrawal of more than 13,000 American troops along with thousands of coalition partners in return for the Taliban’s assurances Afghan soil would not be allowed to be used for international terrorism.
Additionally, the Taliban would be bound to immediately open negotiations with Afghan stakeholders, including the government in Kabul, on permanently ending nationwide hostilities and negotiating a power-sharing deal to govern post-withdrawal Afghanistan.
Pakistan: ‘Major development’
Pakistan, which is credited with arranging the U.S.-Taliban talks — mostly held in Qatar — disclosed on Thursday the insurgent group had agreed to a reduction of violence to move the peace process forward.
“Today a major development has taken place in this effort. The Taliban has accepted the demand for a reduction in violence,” said Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a video statement. He is currently visiting Washington and is scheduled to hold official meetings with senior Trump administration officials.
Pakistan was one of only three countries to recognize the five-year Taliban government in Kabul before that government was ousted by a U.S.-led military invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 for sheltering al-Qaida leaders blamed for plotting the terrorist strikes against America that year.
The Pakistani spy agency is accused of covertly supporting the Taliban insurgency. Officials in Islamabad deny the charges but acknowledge that areas in Pakistan still hosting nearly 3 million Afghan refugees could be serving as a hiding place for insurgents.
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US Distorts Iran’s Role in Afghanistan in Wake of Soleimani Strike
Soleimani
Michael Hughes: There is clear evidence elements tied to Iran’s security apparatus in recent years have played a damaging role inside Afghanistan, especially in the country’s west, including by funding and arming militants – the Taliban among them. However, the Trump administration has grossly exaggerated the nature and extent of these operations in a bid to both make Iran a scapegoat and build an argument for regime change in Tehran. Click here to read more.
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – January 16, 2020
USA’s support of corrupt warlords ‘unintentionally’ strengthened Taliban: SIGAR
John Sopko
Ariana: The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) underlines that the US government has unwantedly reinforced the Taliban by backing up the corrupt warlords in Afghanistan. John Sopko, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said that to bring security, the US and its allies supported some warlords who were governing some provinces and districts of Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
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