Atmar withdraws from September 28 election in favor of no one
Mohammad Hanif Atmar
1TV: Afghan presidential candidate, Haneef Atmar, said that he will not run in September 28 presidential election and will support no other candidate. n a statement, Atmar’s office cited lack of technical, political and security preparations to hold a transparent, fair and inclusive election, and risk of deep political instability as reasons for not holding campaigns for the upcoming vote. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Election News
Pakistan’s ISI Trained Al-Qaida: Imran Khan
Tolo News: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview at the Council on Foreign Relations In New York on Monday admitted that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) trained al-Qaida and other terrorist groups to fight in Afghanistan. “The Pakistani Army, ISI, trained Al-Qaida and all these groups to fight in Afghanistan. There were always links–there had to be links, because they trained them,” said the prime minister in a candid conversation in which he offered a historical context for the regional culture, and conflict. Click here to read more (external link).
Pakistan’s PM Urges Trump to Restart Peace Talks With Afghan Taliban
Khan (left) and Trump (right)
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
September 23, 2019
ISLAMABAD – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday he wants the United States to restart peace talks with the Afghan Taliban.
Khan spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, before he met with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Trump called off his administration’s months-long peace negotiations with the Taliban two weeks ago, citing ongoing deadly insurgent attacks against Afghans and American service members. He declared the dialogue process as “dead” just when the two sides had reached a draft framework agreement to end the 18-year-old Afghan war.
Khan stressed Monday that Pakistan had played a role in arranging the U.S.-Taliban dialogue to help bring peace to neighboring Afghanistan.
“The peace deal was just about to be signed,” before Trump canceled the talks, insisted the Pakistani leader. Khan added that his country had not been informed about Trump’s decision, which he said he only learned about through the media.
Speaking to the Council, Khan had a message for Trump.
“Look, there is not going to be a military solution. For 19 years if you have not been able to succeed, you’re not going to be able to succeed in another 19 years,” he said.
Monday’s meeting with Trump is Khan’s second since he visited the White House July 22 for his first interaction with the American president. Officials in both countries say the July meeting has helped improve bilateral ties.
Khan rejected allegations that Pakistan’s covert support and shelter for Taliban insurgents came in the way of U.S. military success in Afghanistan. He recounted how his country has suffered unprecedented human and financial losses since joining Washington’s war on terror in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror strikes against the United States.
He told the Council audience that Pakistan still hosts 2.7 million Afghan refugees, with 500,000 thousands of them living in temporary camps. Thousands of them move across the border every day, and Pakistani authorities are not able to determine whether or not insurgents are also among them.
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1TV Afghanistan Dari News – September 23, 2019
Afghan election: US ‘disturbed’ by complaints about security, fraud
1TV: As Afghan presidential election is due to be held on coming Saturday, US Embassy in Kabul said on Monday it was “disturbed by so many complaints about security, lack of an equal playing field and fraud.” “We urge all candidates to adhere to the IEC Code of Conduct and respect Afghanistan’s democratic process,” the embassy said on Twitter. Click here to read more (external link).
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40 Civilians Killed in Military Operation in Afghanistan
Ayesha Tanzeem
VOA News
September 23, 2019
KABUL – At least 40 members of a wedding party, including women and children, were killed and another 13 wounded in an airstrike in southern Afghanistan Sunday night, according to a provincial council member from Helmand province.
Haji Abdul Majed Akhund told VOA that the residents of Musa Qala district, the site of the attack, had informed provincial authorities of the wedding ceremony in advance.
“We brought 13 members of our family to the Emergency hospital in Lashkargah city last night,” a man named Abdullah told VOA.
Helmand health officials confirmed that 13 civilians were shifted from the site of the attack to provincial capital Lashkargah. Abdul Ahad Hazem, the Helmand provincial health director, told VOA that one of them, a woman had since succumbed to her wounds.
Omar Zawak a spokesman for the Helmand provincial governor, confirmed the strike but said reports of civilian casualties were not confirmed and the government was investigating. He added that the strike, which was accompanied by a night raid on militants operating in the area, had killed 13 Taliban.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Defense Ministry said at least 22 Taliban were killed, including 5 Pakistanis and one Bangladeshi, and 14 militants were arrested, in an Afghan forces’ operation in Musa Qala.
A separate statement from the office of the governor of neighboring Kandahar province said the target was al-Qaida.
“Last night, Afghan special forces conducted an air and ground operation in Takht Put village in Musa Qala district of Helmand province, killing five key members of the al-Qaida network and arresting three key female members,” the statement read, adding that all these members were from Karachi, Pakistan.
The accusation of civilian casualties comes days after a United States drone strike in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians, according to local officials. The civilians, mostly laborers had gathered to harvest pine nuts and had informed provincial authorities of their plans ahead of time.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict in Afghanistan, with the United Nations recording record high numbers in the last few years. A recent BBC investigation revealed that “an average of 74 men, women and children were killed every day in Afghanistan throughout the month of August.”
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Officials: National Procurement Authority (NPA) “Heart of Corruption”
Ashraf Ghani
Tolo News: Afghan president Ashraf Ghani on Sunday defended the performance and integrity of the National Procurement Authority (NPA) days after the US State Department announced that Washington was withdrawing about $100 million earmarked for an Afghan energy project, and would withhold another $60 million in planned assistance, because of corruption. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo specifically cited the NPA, and its “lack of transparency.” A number of officials in Afghanistan’s parliament have declared that the NPA is “the heart of corruption” in the government. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Ghani and Corruption News
- Ghani Approved $41,000/Month Salary For German Advisor: MoCI – “Every day we are begging to others for help, but Mr. Ghani hires an advisor and gives him a $41,000 salary,” said a resident in Kabul
- Ghani Confesses About Removing a Senator to Help His Election Ally
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – September 22, 2019
Afghan Officials: Taliban Suffers Heavy Casualties In Several Provinces
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
September 22, 2019
Afghan authorities say Taliban militants have suffered heavy casualties in the latest security operations in several provinces across the country.
A Taliban commander and six other militants were killed in clashes in Parwan Province north of the capital, Kabul, provincial police chief Muhammad Mahfooz Walizada said on September 22.
Walizada identified the Taliban commander as Mullah Qudus. He said the militants were killed in an operation near the provincial capital, Charikar, late on September 21.
Military officials in Ghazni Province said at least 16 Taliban fighters were killed and more than 25 others wounded in overnight operations in Muqur, Rashidan, and Waghaz districts.
A Taliban shadow district chief was killed in the northern district of Zari in Balkh Province, Afghan officials said in a statement.
Mawlawi Gul Ahmad and other eight other Taliban militants were killed in clashes late on September 21, the statement added.
It said the clashes began after a group of militants led by Gul Ahmad attacked security forces deployed in the area. The troops, backed by air strikes, repelled the assault, the statement said.
Two pro-government militia fighters were also killed and four soldiers were wounded in the clashes.
There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.
After heavy fighting in early September, the Taliban announced that it had overran Zari, but Afghan officials rejected the claim, saying the district remained under government control.
The situation in Afghanistan remains precarious as the country is set to hold this month its fourth presidential election since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban from power in 2001.
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.
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