New Classified Documents Detail Qayoumi’s Foreign Salaries

·
Qayoumi (left) and Ghani (right)

Qayoumi (left) and Ghani (right)

Tolo News: Newly-available documents seen by TOLOnews indicate that the acting minister of finance–and top adviser to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani– Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi, received a $450,000 salary from California State University in 2015, where he had served as president between 2011 and 2014.  These documents—along with others shown to Tolonews earlier in the month—reveal a number of different sources of income for Qayoumi. In fact, in 2016 he apparently held several positions simultaneously… Previously, Qayoumi has faced severe criticism for his failure to attend meetings of the Council of Ministers, as well as for his trips abroad, and for his absence from the ministry. Click here to read more (external link).

Idrees Zaman Appointed As Acting Foreign Minister

· · 1 Comment
Idrees Zaman

Idrees Zaman

Ariana: President Ghani has appointed Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Idrees Zaman as Acting Foreign Minister, presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi tweeted. Mr. Zaman has been serving as Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs since October 2018.  His new appointment comes days after resignation of former Acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani. Click here to read more (external link).

Sources: Taliban Wants ‘80 Prisoners for 2 Expat Hostages’

·
Hafiz (left) and Haqqani (right)

Hafiz (left) and Haqqani (right)

Tolo News: The Taliban has demanded the release of 80 prisoners, including Anas Haqqani and Hafiz Rashid–two leaders of the Haqqani Network–for a swap with two US professors, sources close to the Taliban said on Wednesday. The sources said a prisoner exchange would offer a restart to the US and Taliban peace talks that were halted by US President Donald Trump about two months ago. Click here to read more (external link).

Senate Urges for Immediate Announcement of Election Result

·

ballot_boxAriana: A number of Afghan senators on Tuesday called on the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to announce the election result as soon as possible. Senators also called on frontrunner candidates to avoid taking this national process toward a political deadlock. Abdul Latif Nahzatyar, a member of senate said postponement of election results will pave the way for interference. Sayed Safiullah Hashimi, another member of the senate said recent developments in the commission including seal breaking has raised concerns. Click here to read more (external link).

More Election Related News

Young Taliban must be heard, says Afghan UN youth envoy

· · 3 Comments
Aisha Khurram

Aisha Khurram

AFP: Afghanistan’s ruling elite and international power brokers must listen to the fast-growing youth population — including junior Taliban members — if the war is ever to end, the country’s new youth delegate to the United Nations says. In a nation at war for 40 years and where two-thirds of the population is aged 24 or under, twenty-year-old Aisha Khurram says the younger generation’s concerns have been shunted aside even as they inherit the conflict. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan Government Links Peace Talks With Taliban to One-Month Cease-Fire

·
Hamdullah Mohib

Hamdullah Mohib

Ayaz Gul
VOA News
October 29, 2019

ISLAMABAD – A senior official in Afghanistan announced Tuesday that under a “new” peace plan, the government will not seek any more unconditional negotiations with the Taliban and will require that a cease-fire last at least one month before initiating any peace process with the insurgent group.

Hamdullah Mohib, the adviser to President Ashraf Ghani on national security, revealed details of the plan at a news conference as officials confirmed to VOA a fresh Taliban attack in northern Jowzjan province killed at least 20 Afghan forces.

Mohib said the government has made the cease-fire a precondition because insurgents do not maintain unity of their command and do not control the war. Afghans have long alleged Pakistan covertly helps the Taliban, charges the neighboring country rejects.

Some key Taliban commanders have even joined Daesh, the adviser claimed while referring to the Islamic State terrorist group by an Arabic acronym.

“Before we enter into peace talks with them, Taliban leaders must prove how much control they have over their commanders and fighters,” Mohib said.

The Taliban did not offer any reaction immediately to Mohib’s assertions and allegations. The insurgent group rarely responds to Afghan official statements, dismissing the government in Kabul as an American puppet.

Critics are skeptical, however, about Afghan conclusions that the Taliban are divided or lack unity in their ranks. Analysts point to last year’s cease-fire the Taliban had observed during the three-day Muslim festival of Eid when insurgents did not carry out a single attack across Afghanistan and resumed fighting as soon as the festivities ended.

Mohib spoke a day after the U.S. chief negotiator for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, ended a trip to Kabul where he held meetings with Ghani and other prominent Afghan political leaders regarding Washington’s peace-building efforts.

This was Khalilzad’s first visit to the country since President Donald Trump halted a yearlong direct peace dialogue with the Taliban in September, citing continued insurgent attacks on Afghans and American troops.

Adviser Mohib, however, said no peace-related discussions were held with Khalilzad and that the U.S. envoy’s mission this time was to seek government cooperation in securing freedom for two Western hostages in Taliban custody.

American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks were teaching at a Kabul university when they were kidnapped at gunpoint just outside the campus three years ago. The Taliban has been demanding release of some of its key prisoners from Afghan jails before freeing the two men. King is said to be suffering from serious health problems.

“There were no discussions [with Khalilzad] on peace, nor were there discussions on political government in Afghanistan or other related issues. They are our internal matters and it is for the Afghan government to deal with them,” Mohib said.

His remarks contradicted those of chief presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi, who said earlier this week that Khalilzad briefed Ghani on his recent visits and meetings “in some countries” regarding the Afghan peace process.

The U.S.-Taliban talks excluded Kabul’s representation from the outset because of opposition from the insurgent group, creating rifts in Kabul’s relations with Washington.

During a U.S. visit in March, Mohib leveled strong criticism of Khalilzad’s conduct of the peace process. Addressing reporters at the Afghan embassy, Mohib accused the Afghan-born veteran U.S. diplomat of a lack of transparency and “delegitimizing” the Kabul government by excluding it from the process.

The Trump administration denounced the allegations and has since stopped conducting official business with Mohib.

The draft peace deal Khalilzad negotiated with the Taliban, before Trump canceled the process, required the insurgents to engage in intra-Afghan negotiations and give assurances they would not allow terrorist groups to use Taliban-held areas to plot international attacks.

In return, U.S. and allied nations would stage a “conditions-based” drawdown from Afghanistan.

The Taliban repeatedly has urged Washington to resume the stalled dialogue to conclude the deal that insurgent officials insist is just awaiting signatures from the two sides in the presence of international guarantors.

The insurgent group refuses to cease hostilities against the Kabul government or enter into an intra-Afghan peace process until it concludes a peace agreement with the U.S. to bring an end to what the Taliban denounces as “foreign occupation” of Afghanistan.

Related

Three Civilians Killed In Afghan-Pakistani Border Clash

·

afg_and_pakistanBy RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
October 28, 2019

Afghan and Pakistani security forces have clashed along the countries’ disputed border, leaving at least three civilians dead, Afghan officials said.

A firefight broke out in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar on October 27 and continued the following morning, the officials said.

Sher Zamin Khan, a member of Kunar’s provincial council, said the clashes erupted after Pakistani forces attempted to erect a military installation along the border district of Nari.

Khan said three Afghan women were killed and three other people were wounded in the incident.

Abdul Ghani Musamem, spokesman for the provincial governor, said Pakistani forces fired mortar shells and rockets across the border.

There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan.

The two countries share a 2,500-kilometer border known as the Durand Line, which Pakistan considers to be an international border. Afghanistan rejects the colonial-era border that was created in 1893.

In 2017, Pakistan said it started building a fence along the border to improve security, a move that sparked condemnations in Kabul.

Pakistani forces have continued to build border fortifications, sparking numerous clashes along the border.

With reporting by AP

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.