Top US diplomat accuses Afghanistan’s government of corruption

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Pompeo (front-left), and Ghani (back-right).

Pompeo (front-left), and Ghani (back-right).

Press TV
September 19, 2019

The administration of US President Donald Trump has accused Afghanistan’s government of corruption and financial mismanagement, and said it would cut more than $160 million in direct funding to the war-torn country.

“We stand against those who exploit their positions of power and influence to deprive the Afghan people of the benefits of foreign assistance and a more prosperous future,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Thursday.

“Due to identified Afghan Government corruption and financial mismanagement, the US Government is returning approximately $100 million to the US Treasury that was intended for a large energy infrastructure project,” he added.

The top US diplomat said the United States was taking back $100 million committed for a major energy project, saying that Washington would instead fund it directly rather than sending the money to Afghan authorities.

He also said the United States would withhold $60 million in planned assistance to Afghanistan’s procurement authority.

“We expect the Afghan government to demonstrate a clear commitment to fight corruption, to serve the Afghan people and to maintain their trust,” Pompeo said.

“Afghan leaders who fail to meet this standard should be held accountable.”

Washington has repeatedly complained of graft in Afghanistan, but the latest criticism comes after new tensions with President Ashraf Ghani over US talks with the Taliban militant group.

Ghani, who is up for re-election on September 28, has voiced strong concern about the talks between the US and Taliban because it has excluded the Afghan government.

The militant group, which now controls or has influence in about half of Afghanistan’s territory, says it does not recognize the government in Kabul.

The Taliban have held several rounds of direct talks with US officials in the Qatari capital Doha since October to pull out American forces in exchange for concessions.

Last week, Trump abruptly canceled secret talks with the Taliban at his Camp David retreat that were planned for September 8 and has since said the talks are “dead”.

Trump called off the negotiations after a US soldier and another NATO service member from Romania were killed in a bombing Thursday in Kabul that was claimed by the Taliban.

Trump has repeatedly advocated for bringing US troops back from Afghanistan. He said last month that the US plans to reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan from 14,000 to 8,600 and then will determine further drawdowns.

US troops were first sent to Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks to overthrow a ruling Taliban regime.

At Least 50 people Killed In Air Strike, Car Bombing In Afghanistan

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nangarharRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 19, 2019

At least 50 people have been killed in an air strike and a car bombing in Afghanistan, as U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad prepares to brief U.S. lawmakers on his peace talks with the Taliban.

The September 19 incidents come after the collapse of negotiations between Washington and the militants and just days ahead of a presidential election.

Officials said at least 30 civilians were killed and 40 wounded in an air strike conducted by the Afghan security forces, backed by U.S. air support, in eastern Afghanistan, while at least 20 people were killed and almost 100 wounded in a car bombing in the war-wracked country’s south.

The air strike was aimed at destroying a hideout used by Islamic State militants, but it accidentally targeted farmers near a field, three government officials said.

Sohrab Qaderi, a provincial council member in eastern Nangarhar Province, said a drone strike killed 30 workers in a pine-nut field and at least 40 others were injured.

Attullah Khogyani, a spokesman for Nangarhar’s governor, told RFE/RL the air strike occurred in the Khogyani district. “There are fears civilians are among the dead, and we are carrying out an investigation to identify the bodies,” he said.

The Afghan Defense Ministry confirmed the strike, but refused to share casualty details immediately. U.S. forces were not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, officials said a Taliban car-bomb attack in Zabul Province killed at least 20 people and wounded 97 on September 19.

The attack targeted an intelligence-services building in the city of Qalat and also hit the city hospital, Rahmatullah Yarmal, the provincial governor, told RFE/RL.

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Taliban, said his group was responsible for the attack.

Officials told Tolo News that “ambulances have also been called from Kandahar city to transfer the wounded to hospitals in Kandahar Province. Most of the victims have been taken to private hospitals.”

Two recent attacks claimed by the militants killed at least 48 people in Afghanistan, although Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s chief negotiator, told the BBC on September 18 that the “doors are open” to a resumption of talks to end the 18-year war.

Taliban negotiators have refused to talk directly with the government in Kabul, labeling them as “puppets” of the West.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, is due to brief a House of Representatives committee on peace negotiations.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee said that Khalilzad will hold a classified briefing for the entire panel early on September 19.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, 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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U.S. Afghan Special Envoy Agrees To Brief House Committee

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Khalilzad

Khalilzad

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 19, 2019

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, will brief a House of Representatives committee on peace negotiations in a compromise after the panel subpoenaed him in frustration over his refusal to meet with its members.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee said that Khalilzad will hold a classified briefing for the entire panel early on September 19.

The closed session will be followed by a public hearing on the U.S. administration’s Afghanistan policy with Alice Wells, the acting assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs. Karen Freeman, assistant to the administrator in the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development, will also testify.

Democrat Eliot Engel, the committee’s chairman, said in a statement on September 18 that “while I would have preferred to hear from Ambassador Khalilzad in an open setting, I’m glad our members will have this long overdue opportunity to press for answers on the peace plan.”

The Democrat-led House committee said it had been frustrated over the Trump administration’s failure to allow briefings by Khalilzad. Khalilzad has briefed members of the Senate, which is controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans, but he had declined three requests to appear before the House committee.

The panel had issued a subpoena on September 12, ordering Khalilzad to testify on September 19.

“It shouldn’t have taken a subpoena to get the State Department to work with this committee and allow us to perform our oversight duties,” the congressman added.

Khalilzad has held nine rounds of talks with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, but has said little in public about the negotiations to end the 18-year war. The Taliban negotiators have refused to talk directly with the Afghan government.

Khalilzad reported that he had reached an agreement in principle with the Taliban in which Washington would pull out troops and the militants would promise to break with Al-Qaeda and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists.

However, the peace talks collapsed last week after President Donald Trump cited an attack that killed a U.S. soldier as his reason for calling off negotiations.

Trump proclaimed the negotiations “dead” and he scrapped planned secret talks with the group at Camp David.

The Taliban on September 18 said “doors are open” to resuming talks with the United States despite continuing violence ahead of a presidential election in Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, made the statement after two recent attacks claimed by the militants killed at least 48 people in Afghanistan.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

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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Ghani Holds Campaign Rally Inside Presidential Palace

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Ashraf Ghani

Ashraf Ghani

Ariana: The state-builder electoral ticket held a campaign rally inside the presidential palace on Wednesday. The fortified compound hosted thousands of Ghani’s supporters. The participants of the gathering entered into the palace through the building of the Administrative Office of the President.  Rival candidates have always accused President Ghani of misusing government resources.  Click here to read more (external link).

Other Election News

Pakistan PM Will Urge Trump To Resume Talks With Taliban

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Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Ayaz Gul
VOA News
September 18, 2019

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan says he will urge U.S. President Donald Trump to resume talks with the Taliban to help bring peace to Afghanistan when he meets with him next week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Khan told reporters Wednesday his country had played a central role in arranging the yearlong U.S.-Taliban dialogue before Trump declared the process as “dead” nearly two weeks ago. The Pakistani prime minister said he was surprised when he learned through the media that the talks broke down.

“The tragedy is that the [peace] deal between the Taliban and the U.S. was about to be signed,” Khan noted. He explained that Islamabad had arranged the peace process by helping Taliban leaders reach Qatar, which hosted the dialogue.

“I believe it would be a massive tragedy if these talks could not move forward. I have a meeting with President Trump on Monday in New York where we will insist … and we will make maximum efforts to help restart the talks because they are important for ending 40 years of sufferings of the people in Afghanistan,” Khan said.

Trump called off the talks with the Taliban citing continued insurgent attacks and the death of a U.S. soldier in a Kabul bombing claimed by the insurgents. Trump also has vowed to intensify military operations against the Taliban.

The Taliban, however, has rejected Trump’s assertions, saying their attacks have been in response to stepped up battlefield attacks by U.S. and Afghan security forces.

Torkham border crossing

Prime Minister Khan spoke Wednesday at the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan where he inaugurated the first round-the-clock bilateral and transit trade services.

For decades, trade convoys could move across the northwestern Torkham post only between sunrise and sunset amid persistent complaints from traders on both sides that the limited duration was not enough to ensure the timely transportation of commercial goods to and from landlocked Afghanistan.

Khan said the newly established integrated trade and immigration operation at Torkham was informally opened two weeks ago, leading to a 50% increase in cross-border trade activities. He said he had invited Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to attend Wednesday’s ceremony but he could not make it because of a deadly attack on his campaign rally the previous day.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have long suffered from mutual mistrust and suspicion stemming from accusations that security institutions on both sides are supporting militant attacks on each other’s territory.

The two countries share a nearly 2,600 kilometer border that until recently had several hundred  informal entry points in addition to five regular crossings, including Torkham and Chaman in southwestern Pakistan.

However, Pakistani authorities have recently tightened controls at all regular Afghan border posts and the military has been building a robust fence for more than two years to plug illegal entries vulnerable to militant infiltration and smuggling in either direction.

The massive border management and security plan, army officials say, will be in place by the end of 2020 at an estimated cost of around $500 million and will help address mutual concerns.

Taliban ‘Open’ To Fresh Talks With U.S. After Deadly Afghan Bombings

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Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 18, 2019

The Taliban has said the “doors are open” to resuming talks with the United States despite continuing violence ahead of a presidential election in Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s chief negotiator, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, made the statement after two recent attacks claimed by the militants killed at least 48 people in Afghanistan.

Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban meant to reach a deal on the withdrawal of thousands of U.S. troops collapsed last week after President Donald Trump cited an attack that killed a U.S. soldier as his reason for calling off negotiations. The talks did not include the Afghan government.

Stanikzai told the BBC that the insurgents had done nothing wrong by continuing to fight throughout the talks. Stanikzai said the Americans had also admitted to killing thousands of Taliban during the discussions.

“From our side, our doors are open for negotiations,” he was quoted as saying.

On September 18, at least one suicide bomber and several gunmen attacked a government building in eastern Afghanistan, wounding 12 people, including a child and a woman.

Attackers detonated explosives outside the building in Jalalabad, the capital of the eastern province of Nangarhar, said Ataullah Khogyani, the provincial governor’s spokesman and a provincial-council member.

“Security forces are in the area to rescue the staff” at the electronic identification registration center, Khogyani said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both Taliban and Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan.

The attacks of the previous day, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility, left at least 26 people dead at a rally for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in the central province of Parwan, while 22 were killed in a blast in Kabul just over an hour later.

They were the bloodiest attacks to hit Afghanistan since the talks fell apart. Dozens more were wounded in the blasts, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the attacks that occurred 11 days before the country is set to hold a presidential election the Taliban militant group has vowed to disrupt.

“Through these attacks, the Taliban demonstrate blatant disregard for the people and institutions of Afghanistan,” Pompeo said in a statement.

“For Afghans to truly reconcile, the Taliban must begin to demonstrate a genuine commitment to peace rather than continue the violence and destruction that causes such inordinate harm to the Afghan people and the future of their country.”

Pompeo warned the Taliban must show a “significant commitment” if talks are to resume.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, BBC, 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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Government Compound In Eastern Afghanistan Attacked

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nangarharRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 18, 2019

At least one suicide bomber and several gunmen have attacked a government building in eastern Afghanistan, wounding 12 people, including a child and a woman, officials say.

Attackers detonated explosives outside the building in Jalalabad, the capital of the eastern province of Nangarhar, said Ataullah Khogyani, the provincial governor’s spokesman and a provincial council member.

Khogyani added that fighting was ongoing.

“Security forces are in the area to rescue the staff” at the electronic identification registration center, said Khogyani.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both Taliban and Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan.

Militant attacks have continued as Afghanistan prepares for a presidential election later this month, while U.S.-Taliban talks over a peace deal have collapsed.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and 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.

ICC Judges Authorize Appeal Against Afghanistan Rejection

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icc_logoAssociated Press: International Criminal Court judges said Tuesday that the court’s prosecutor can appeal against the rejection of her request to open an investigation into crimes linked to the long-running conflict in Afghanistan. In April, a panel of judges rejected the proposed investigation, saying it would not be in the interests of justice because an investigation and prosecution were unlikely to be successful as those targeted — including the United States, Afghan authorities and the Taliban — are not expected to cooperate. Click here to read more (external link).