Taliban Leaders Visit China to Discuss ‘Dead’ US Talks

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china_flagAyaz Gul
VOA News
September 22,, 2019

ISLAMABAD – A visiting Afghan Taliban delegation held talks with senior officials in China Sunday to discuss the Islamist insurgent group’s now defunct peace negotiations with the United States.

The insurgent visit comes two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump had abruptly called off his administration’s months-long peace talks, citing ongoing Taliban deadly attacks in Afghanistan.

The two adversaries were believed to be on the verge of signing an agreement to end the 18-year-old Afghan war before Trump declared the peace process as “dead.”

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the nine-member delegation has traveled to Beijing under the leadership of Mullah Baradar, the head of the group’s political office in Qatar, which hosted the U.S.-Taliban talks.

The visitors’ opened their tour with a meeting Sunday with Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, Deng Xijun, the Taliban spokesman said.

“The Chinese special representative said the U.S.-Taliban deal is a good framework for the peaceful solution of the Afghan issue and they support it,” Shaheen noted.

He quoted Baradar as telling the Chinese host the Taliban had initiated the talks with the U.S. and a “comprehensive deal” was also concluded.

“Now, if the American president cannot uphold his words and promises, then the responsibility for further destruction and bloodshed in Afghanistan rests on his shoulders,” Baradar said.

There were was no immediate comments available from Chinese officials about their meetings with the Taliban delegation.

On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman while addressing his regular news conference in Beijing had called for restarting the stalled U.S.-Taliban peace process.

“We stand ready to enhance coordination and cooperation with all parties concerned to contribute to the national reconciliation, peace and stability in Afghanistan at an early date,” said Geng Shuang.

Prior to their visit to China, the Taliban had sent its political representatives to Russia and Iran to discuss developments that had stemmed from President Trump’s cancellation of the talks with insurgents.

Shaheen, who is part of the delegation visiting Beijing, said that Moscow and Tehran both have also supported the Taliban’s efforts for promoting peace and security in Afghanistan.

The insurgent group’s diplomatic efforts come as Afghanistan is set to hold its fourth presidential election later this week, amid allegations incumbent President Ashraf Ghani, who is seeking reelection, is using state resources to run his campaign. Ghani’s campaign team has rejected the charges.

The Taliban has threatened to launch violent attacks on election-related activities to disrupt the September 28 vote. An insurgent suicide bomber targeted an election rally Ghani was addressing last week in the northern Parwan province that killed around 30 people and injured many more.

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Two Killed In Roadside Blast In Southern Afghanistan

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kandahar_aq

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 21, 2019

Two civilians have been killed in a roadside bomb attack in southern Afghanistan, officials said on September 21.

Five people were also wounded in the September 20 attack in southern Kandahar Province, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the Spin Boldak district, but the Taliban are active in the province.

Elsewhere, two blasts rocked the capital, Kabul, late on September 20, police said, adding no casualties were reported.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for those attacks.

Across Afghanistan, militant attacks have continued as the country prepares for presidential elections later this month, while U.S.-Taliban talks over a peace deal have collapsed.

Casualties since the talks fell apart less than two weeks ago are now at least 331, including 96 killed, according to a count from Reuters.

A Taliban truck bombing destroyed a hospital in southern Afghanistan on September 19. Afghan officials on August 20 said 39 people had died in the attack, nearly double the original figure given, with 140 wounded.

The Taliban said the target of the attack in Qalat, the capital of Zabul Province, was a nearby building housing the government’s intelligence department.

President Ashraf Ghani promised measures on September 20 to prevent civilian casualties in the war against militants, a day after at least 30 civilians were killed in a U.S. drone strike in eastern Nangarhar Province.

Ghani said he had introduced “checks and balances” to stop night raids and attacks leading to the loss of innocent lives.

He was speaking at an election rally in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar Province.

Ghani said he had ordered investigations into recent incidents in which the Afghan forces accidentally targeted civilians. He did not comment directly on the U.S. drone strike.

U.S. security officials in Afghanistan said the drone strike was intended to destroy a hideout used by Islamic State fighters.

With reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan, AP, and Reuters

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.

Afghan Officials Cause Stir at Torkham Crossing Ceremony

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Durand Line

Durand Line

Tolo News: The opening ceremony of the 24-hour crossing at Torkham was held on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Imran Khan and a number of Afghan government officials, including Nangarhar governor Shah Mahmoud Miakhail and acting Minister of Public Works Yama Yari, in attendance. The presence of Afghan officials at the 24-hour Torkham Crossing ceremony has caused a controversy, because Torkham is on the Durand Line, which Pakistan claims as its border and Afghanistan does not.  Former national security chief and presidential candidate Rahmatullah Nabil says he has information that President Ghani has recognized the Durand Line as a border between Afghanistan and Pakistan for his own personal interests. Click here to read more (external link).

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Toofan Harirod Wins APL Cup For Third Time

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soccerTolo News: Toofan Harirod F.C. won the Afghanistan Premier League’s (APL) Cup for the second year in a row and for the third time in its career after beating Shaheen Asmayee F.C. which has won the title four times. The only goal of the match was scored by Toofan’s Hatam Shirdil at 95th minute of the match. Click here to read more (external link).

Other Sports News

Rabbani Accuses “Presidential Palace” Of Monopolizing Power

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Salahuddin Rabbani

Salahuddin Rabbani

Tolo News: Acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, during Friday’s eight-year anniversary of the death of former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, said that the Presidential Palace’s efforts to monopolize power in the last five years have weakened the system. Speaking in the ceremony at the Loya Jirga tent Rabbani warned that the election commission will be responsible for any tragedy that occurs due to electoral fraud. Click here to read more (external link).

CIA behind US drone strike on Afghan civilians: Analyst

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ciaPress TV
September 20, 2019

US drone strikes that have left a host of innocent civilians dead or injured over the past years in Afghanistan have not been conducted as Americans claim on wrong intelligence or a “mistake” but are coordinated by the CIA, a political analyst and former US intelligence officer says.

“Unfortunately a lot of the casualties that are civilians are not a mistake; these are just the decisions that are made at the CIA, that we are going to go ahead and sacrifice these civilians in order to target these particularly high value targets,” said former American intelligence linguist, Scott Rickard, during an interview with Press TV’s The Debate program on Thursday, referring to militant hideouts the US military claims to target via its indiscriminate drone attacks.

“So there are many situations in which the Americans do knowingly target civilians,” Rickard added.

The American political analyst also went on to say that the CIA was “very much in charge” of deciding whether or not Washington would withdraw troops from Afghanistan and that US President Donald Trump had “no say” in troop withdrawals since Washington enjoyed financial gains from the opium trade rampant in and out of the war-inflicted country.

“The elephant in the room not being discussed is the tremendous financial gain that is being made by the opium and heroin industry and the involvement of not only the Americans but other players in the region that have made tremendous amounts of cash and revenue off of this opium industry for decades now… The Americans are seen as occupiers and they are absolutely gaining the most from the opium industry, from both illicit drugs and the pharmaceutical industry,” Rickard said.

About 14,000 US troops are in Afghanistan, allegedly to train and advise Afghan security forces and prepare them to take on the Taliban and Daesh.

The Taliban’s five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistan came to an end following the US invasion in 2001, but 18 years on, Washington is seeking a truce with the militants, who still control large swathes of territory.

The Taliban has so far rejected a proposal to lay down arms and instead called on the US to end the use of force in Afghanistan. It also insists that talks cannot move ahead until foreign forces leave the country.

Trump ended the talks and canceled a possible meeting with Taliban leaders in the US after finding out that an American soldier had been killed in a Taliban attack that killed 12 people in the capital Kabul on the same day as talks were to take place.

According to the United Nations, nearly 4,000 civilians were killed or wounded in the first half of the year.

Afghan President Vows Steps To Prevent Civilian Casualties After Deadly Attacks

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Ghani

Ghani

By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
September 20, 2019

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has promised to take steps to prevent civilian casualties in the war against militants, a day after at least 30 civilians were killed in a U.S. drone strike in eastern Nangarhar Province.

Ghani said on September 20 that he had introduced several “checks and balances” to stop night raids and attacks leading to loss of innocent lives, and added that new measures to protect civilians were being implemented.

He made the pledges while addressing an election rally in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar Province, ahead of presidential polls scheduled for September 28.

The September 19 drone strike in Nangarhar killed at least 30 people who were working in a pine-nut field and wounded at least 40.

The Afghan Defense Ministry and a U.S. military spokesman confirmed the strike.

The drone strike came despite village elders from the Wazir Tangi area having warned the local governor in a letter about their plans to recruit 200 workers and children to pluck the pine nuts.

The letter, dated September 7, was sent in an effort to help protect workers from getting caught in clashes between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and Islamic State militants in the mountainous region.

Meanwhile, a local official said on September 20 that a Taliban suicide bombing of a hospital in southern Afghanistan the previous day killed 39 people, almost doubling the initial death toll of 20.

Gul Islam Syaal, a spokesman for the governor of the southern Zabul Province, said the number of wounded in the attack in the provincial capital of Qalat also rose to 140.

“Only two of those killed were security force members, and the rest of them are civilians, including women, children, patients, and visitors,” he said. “The hospital is completely destroyed.”

The attacks, which came after the collapse of peace negotiations between Washington and the militants, occurred the same day U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad briefed U.S. lawmakers in a closed-door session on his talks with the Taliban.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and dpa

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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Team Kabul Conquers Women’s Quadrilateral Football Tournament

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soccerballTolo News: The final match of the Afghanistan Women’s Quadrilateral Football Tournament was held on Thursday in the Football Federation stadium in Kabul. The final match pitted Kabul against Herat and Kabul was victorious, 1-0. Women’s teams from Balkh, Kabul, Bamyan and Herat provinces participated in the tournament. Click here to read more (external link).