Escalating terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghanistan spark concerns: Tajikistan

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Tajik President Emomali Rahmon

Khaama: According to Sputnik News, Imam Ali Rahman reported that Tajik security forces thwarted a terrorist attack on the eve of Tajikistan’s Independence Day, launched from the Afghan border. Tajikistan’s state news agency, Khovar, reported earlier this month that three “Jamiat Ansarullah” armed group members launched an attack equipped with advanced weaponry from the Badakhshan border in Afghanistan but were neutralized by Tajik security forces. Click here to read more (external link).

Uzbek President Concerned by Construction of Qush Tepa Canal

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Tolo News: “You are well aware that Afghanistan is constructing a canal. The commissioning of this canal may change the balance of the water in Central Asia,” he said. “We believe it is necessary to set up a joint working group to study all aspects of the construction of the Qush Tepa canal and its impact on the water regime of the Amu Darya with the involvement of research institutes of our countries.” Click here to read more (external link).

‘They Deserve Some Peace’: U.S. Envoy Rejects Support For Anti-Taliban Factions In Afghanistan

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Decker

By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
September 15, 2023

A top U.S. diplomat to Afghanistan has categorically ruled out Washington’s support for a new war in the nation, saying Afghans “deserve some peace” after more than four decades of international conflict ended two years ago when American and international troops left as Taliban militants seized power.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, Karen Decker, the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. mission to Afghanistan, dismissed any support for anti-Taliban armed factions such as the National Resistance Front (NRF) and the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF), saying Afghans themselves have been adamantly against the launch of any new conflict.

“No. Absolutely not! We do not support renewed conflict in Afghanistan. Full stop,” she said in response to a question about whether Washington would support these groups.

“The one overwhelming message I hear from Afghans inside the country is no more war,” she said, adding that Washington would “support” and “promote” a dialogue among Afghans.

Most of its neighbors have resisted supporting another round of war in Afghanistan after the hard-line Islamist Taliban swept to power in the wake of the final withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO troops two years ago.

After the pro-Western Afghan republic collapsed on August 15, 2021, some defunct Afghan security force members joined the NRF and other smaller groups to attack Taliban forces in the northern provinces of Panjshir and Baghlan. This raised the possibility that four decades of war in Afghanistan could enter a new phase.

Ahmad Massoud, the NRF’s leader in exile, recently visited Moscow in what was seen as an effort to win support for the NRF and pressure the Taliban, which has marked its two years in power so far by severely restricting rights and freedoms, especially for women.

Decker, however, questioned whether the Kremlin could support a new Afghanistan conflict.

“The Russians are kind of busy right now doing something else in Ukraine, so I don’t know if that is a realistic scenario,” she noted in a thinly veiled reference to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which continues to take a heavy toll on its military resources.

“Any proxy warfare? Absolutely not,” she said. “The Afghan people have had more than 40 years of war. They deserve some peace.”

Decker said that Washington supports a dialogue among Afghans to work out the future of their country, including forming an inclusive government.

After returning to power, the Taliban’s internationally unrecognized government has refused to share power with other Afghan political groups and armed factions.

Instead, it has recreated its extremist Islamic emirate. Exclusively led by senior Taliban leaders, the de facto government has banned women from education, work, and public life. The Taliban has also denied Afghans many fundamental rights and freedoms.

Taliban officials, however, point to a commission as evidence of their willingness to embrace reconciliation among citizens in the country.

The commission has invited former senior government members and state officials to come back to the country as long as they do not participate in politics.

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Taliban Governor’s Bodyguard in Kohistanat District of Faryab Province Arrested for Attempting Sexual Assault

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8am: According to reports supported by video footage, the incident occurred when Qari Hemad, the bodyguard of the district governor in Kohistanat, entered a residential house with the intent of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl on the night of Wednesday, September 13, around 11:00 PM. Following his arrest and subsequent restraint by local citizens, Hemad was handed over to the Taliban. However, sources suggest that he has since been released. Residents of the area rushed to the scene upon hearing the cries for help from the girl’s mother and ultimately detained the accused individual. Recently, cases of sexual assault involving Taliban members have garnered increased attention. Over the past month, several instances of sexual misconduct committed by members of this group have come to light. Click here to read more (external link).

Torkham crossing border reopens after 9-day closure

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Khaama: The main Afghanistan-Pakistan land crossing border reopened on Friday after a nine-day closure, as Nangarhar’s Department of Information and Culture confirmed. On Friday, the Nangarhar Information and Culture Directorate reported that the Torkham border crossing was reopened for all types of traffic around 7:00 AM local time today. A series of talks between Pakistani and Afghan officials successfully resolved the issue, leading to the reopening of the border, according to a security official in Torkham who spoke anonymously due to the matter’s sensitivity, as reported by Reuters. Click here to read more (external link).

Officials: Pakistan Gets Taliban Security Assurances, Will Reopen Afghan Border Gate

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Torkham border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan

Ayaz Gul
VOA News
September 14, 2023

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan is set to reopen the main Torkham border crossing with landlocked Afghanistan on Friday following a nine-day closure because of terrorism and other security concerns, according to officials in both countries.

The development came after the Taliban’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, promised during a meeting Thursday with Islamabad’s acting ambassador in Kabul that the group would not permit the use of Afghan soil to carry out acts of terrorism against Pakistan, a Pakistani official told VOA on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to interact with the media publicly.

Muttaqi’s office said that in the meeting with the Pakistani envoy, Ubaid Nizamani, they discussed the border closure and problems facing Afghan refugees and traders in Pakistan. The statement said both sides emphasized the need for addressing these issues, but it gave no other details.

Late Thursday, the Taliban state news agency quoted a senior border official, Esmatullah Yaqoob, as announcing to Afghan travelers, including patients seeking medical treatment in Pakistani hospitals, that the Torkham gate “will open for passengers and transit on Friday morning.”

A Pakistani border security official confirmed that all immigration and security personnel have been instructed to return to duties early Friday to facilitate pedestrian and vehicular traffic through the Torkham gate.

Pakistan temporarily closed the busy transit point for trade and travelers on September 6 after security forces from the two countries exchanged fire. The clashes killed two Afghans, including a Taliban guard. The incident occurred shortly after militants had staged a deadly cross-border assault on Pakistani outposts elsewhere along the 2,600-kilometer frontier separating the two countries.

The Torkham closure has stranded hundreds of trucks carrying commercial goods, mostly fresh Afghan fruits and vegetables, and thousands of travelers on both sides of the border.

Earlier Thursday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson indicated at a weekly news conference that Islamabad could soon open the Torkham crossing.

“I must underline that the closure of the border is temporary. And we will make the decision regarding its opening in view of the developments that take place in the coming hours and days,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said without elaborating.

Islamabad defended its decision to shut the Torkham transit point, saying Taliban authorities were trying to build “unlawful structures” on its territory and opened fire when challenged by Pakistani security forces.

Pakistani officials said the attack on the same day against two outposts in the northern Chitral border district was carried out by hundreds of heavily armed militants from bases on the Afghan side. The Pakistani military said four soldiers and 12 assailants died in the raid.

“Pakistan is concerned about the security threat emanating from Afghanistan … and that is why it is important for the Afghan interim authorities to ensure that Afghan territory is not used to threaten Pakistan,” Baloch said Thursday.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for the Chitral attack. The banned militant group has for years been plotting bombings and other terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

Islamabad says TTP leaders and fighters have increased cross-border raids from Afghan soil since the Taliban seized power in Kabul two years ago. Taliban authorities reject the charges.

Pakistani security sources asserted that scores of Afghan Taliban fighters had joined TTP in the Chitral raid, saying Islamabad shared the evidence with Kabul to substantiate its claims.

TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, is listed as a global terrorist organization by the United States. It is an offshoot and close ally of the Afghan Taliban.

Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, said Tuesday that TTP “is posing the greatest threat” to regional stability. “We see a very significant increase in [TTP] attacks directed at Pakistan,” he told a seminar in Washington.

West said the militant group had helped the Taliban mount insurgent attacks against American and NATO troops, which left the country in August 2021 after nearly 20 years of involvement in the Afghan war.

“They became allies of the Taliban during the war. They were financial supporters, logistical supporters and operational allies, as well. I think the ties between them are quite tight,” the U.S. envoy noted.

The United Nations estimated in its latest assessment that at least 4,000 TTP operatives are based in Afghanistan.

More than 100 Afghan refugees freed from Pakistani prisons

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Ariana: Over the past five days, 120 Afghan refugees have been released from Pakistani prisons due to the efforts of the Ministry of Refugee Affairs in Quetta, the ministry of Refugees said. According to a statement, more than 500 documented and undocumented Afghan refugees have been arrested and imprisoned by Pakistan’s security agencies in the past seven days. Click here to read more (external link).

Related

Afghanistan headed to a civil war with Taliban splitting into various factions, says former Afghan commander

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Taliban militants (file photo)

PTI: There are four factions in Taliban: Kandhari Taliban, Helmandi Taliban; Haqqani group and those that went to Doha and did the negotiation with the US. “Everyone is claiming power and some of the groups inside Taliban are not happy with the decisions that Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada is taking and how he is personalising everything for himself and just his own circle,” he said. Click here to read more (external link).