MPs Make No Progress To End Rift On House Speaker
Mir Rahman Rahmani
Tolo News: The disagreements between two groups of MPs over the election of the speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, the Lower House of Parliament, are still evident eight days after they attended controversial voting on May 18. The MPs voted for two candidates – Mir Rahman Rahmani, an MP from Parwan, and Kamal Nasir Osuli, an MP from Paktia – for the seat of the speaker. After the voting, the former acting speaker of the house Atta Mohammad Dehqanpoor announced Rahmani as the new speaker as he got 123 votes and his rival got 55 votes. However, the result was not accepted by Osuli and his supporters. Click here to read more (external link).
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Afghans Detained For Greeting With Gunfire National Team’s Victory
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
May 25, 2019
ISLAMABAD — Authorities in Afghanistan have detained around 100 people, including policemen, in connection with Friday night’s prolonged volleys of celebrity gunfire following their national team’s rare victory over Pakistan in a warm-up match for the Cricket World Cup, which starts next week.
An Interior Ministry spokesman Saturday confirmed the security action, saying the gunfire injured at least 10 people. Nasrat Rahimi said the suspects were rounded up in the capital Kabul, as well as in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Khost, both located close to the Pakistani border.
The Afghan team, which includes players who grew up in refugee camps in Pakistan, chased down the Pakistani team’s total of 262 runs to win the match. The victory is a timely boost for Afghanistan, which goes into the World Cup in England as the 10th-placed team in international rankings and considered a big outsider.
For a country torn by years of conflict, the rare triumph against Pakistan, a former world champion, meant a lot for Afghans because many of them often accuse the neighboring country of being behind the Taliban-led hostilities in Afghanistan, charges Islamabad rejects as unfounded.
As soon as the match ended, gunfire rattled Kabul and other cities, with cricket fans storming into city streets and dancing to celebrate the success. Afghans, including top politicians and government officials, took to social media to congratulate their team, setting aside ethnic and political differences.
“A wonderful win. Congratulations to all Afghan and a strong message to every one. If we stay united, we can win in every field and bring happiness to the nation. Let’s stop fighting and make a united and heroic nation and a peaceful country,” tweeted one Afghan fan.
The Afghan cricket team is one of the success stories in a country where continued war has killed tens of thousands of civilians, undermining efforts aimed at promoting outdoor sporting activities.
But others were critical of the celebrity gunfire.
“Shameful to see celebrations with gunfire in Kabul and elsewhere. Security forces seen firing shots. “What goes up must come down,” lamented Bilal Sarwary, a well-known Afghan journalist with nearly 100,000 Twitter followers.
Pakistan’s military, which is often accused of covertly maintaining ties to the Taliban, also praised the Afghan cricket team for winning the match. “Well Played Afghan Cricket Team,” tweeted army spokesman Major-General Asif Gahoor in English and Pashto, a major Afghan language.
Pakistan, a major cricket playing nation, has and continues to host millions of Afghan refugees, and is where many players currently part of the national team of Afghanistan learned the sport.
Afghanistan Shock Pakistan By Three Wickets In Warm-Up Match
Tolo News: The first warmup match of the ICC World Cup 2019 between Afghanistan and Pakistan saw the Afghan team register a three-wicket win after what was a disappointing performance from Sarfaraz Ahmed’s men. Every team is due to play two warm-up matches before the World Cup begins on May 30. Click here to read more (external link).
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Peace With Honor: What Vietnam Can Teach Us About How to Leave Afghanistan
TIME: President Richard Nixon promised Americans that the Paris Peace Accords ending the Vietnam War would bring “peace with honor.” They brought neither, and it now appears that the Afghan War is headed for a similar denouement. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – May 24, 2019
Zarif says ready to connect Pakistan’s Gwadar to Iran’s Chabahar
A ship at Chabahar Port (file photo, Press TV)
Press TV
May 24, 2019
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says he is putting forward a “proposal” during his ongoing trip to Islamabad for connecting Pakistan’s Gwadar port to its “complementary” port Chabahar in southeastern Iran.
“We believe that Chabahar and Gwadar can complement each other,” Zarif said upon arrival in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Thursday.
“We can connect Chabahar and Gwadar, and then through that, connect Gwadar to our entire railroad system, from Iran to the North Corridor, through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and also through Azerbaijan, Russia, and through Turkey,” he noted.
“I’ve come here with a proposal for the government of Pakistan for connection between Chabahar and Gwadar.
Pakistan’s arch-rival India is trying to develop the port of Chabahar as a way to gain access to the markets of central Asia as well as Afghanistan by bypassing Pakistan. The port is about 72 km from its Pakistani counterpart Gwadar, which is being developed by China.
The strategic Iranian port city created a unique opportunity for India to send its goods to landlocked Afghanistan through a safe new route. It would to the same effect enable Afghan merchants to export their commodities – mainly fruits and vegetables as well as nuts and minerals – to global markets through Chabahar.
Considering the strategic importance of the Iranian port for Kabul, the US government was forced in November to approve a sanctions exemption for Chabahar in a bid to economically stabilize Afghanistan.
India hopes to utilize Iran’s transit potentials to embolden its connectivity footprints, with Chabahar being the stepping stone to those ambitions.
Located on the confluence of the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Oman in southeastern Iran, Chabahar is India’s first foreign port project. Once completed, the project would enable India to send its goods Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond.
On December 3, 2017, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani officially launched the first phase of Shahid Beheshti International Port in Chabahar.
The project to develop Shahid Beheshti Port started in 2007 through an investment that officials previously said already amounted to $1 billion.
The annual cargo tonnage of Shahid Beheshti Port – Iran’s only oceanic port – has now almost tripled to reach as high as 8.5 million tons.
It can also accommodate 100,000-ton ships – what officials say can help promote the country’s international trade activities.
The overall development project is planned in four phases and is expected to bring the port’s total annual cargo capacity to 82 million tons.
Minaret Of Jam On Verge Of Collapse Due To Floods
Tolo News: The recent floods have destroyed the protection walls around Minaret of Jam in Ghor province and have faced the endangered monument with the possibility of collapse. The minaret is located in Ghor, around 200 kilometers east of Herat, at the confluence of the Hari Rud and Jam Rud rivers. The Minaret of Jam’s isolated location may have prevented the monument from intentional destruction over nearly 900 years. The minaret is believed to have been built between 1163 and 1203 during the reign of the Ghurid sovereign Ghyias-ud-Din. Click here to read more (external link).
Three Dead, Including Senior Cleric, In Kabul Mosque Blast
Mawlawi Raihan
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
May 24, 2019
Three people, including a senior cleric, were killed and at least 20 wounded in an explosion during prayers at a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told RFE/RL’s Afghan Service that among the dead was prayer leader Mawlawi Raihan, a supporter of the Western-backed government, in the May 24 explosion.
Jan Agha, a district police official, was quoted by the AP news agency as saying the bomb was apparently planted in the microphone used by the mosque leader during Friday Prayers.
No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group regularly stage attacks in the country’s capital.
“Our initial information on the incident shows that the Taliban terrorist group was behind the attack,” Rahimi said.
The Kabul neighborhood where the bombing took place is dominated by ethnic Pashtuns, most of whom are Sunni Muslims.
The attack rattled the community, which was in the midst of celebrating the 19th day of Ramadan.
“No Muslim is allowed to kill another Muslim, especially during Ramadan. This is a great sin,” said Kabul resident Ghulam Haidar.
Raihan was relatively well-known in Kabul, as he appeared frequently on religious shows broadcast on local TV.
With reporting by AP 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.
More Security News
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – May 23, 2019