Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

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Baikul
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Baikul »

Gunmen storm Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/g ... 29710.html
Gunmen have attacked a major luxury hotel in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, security sources have told Al Jazeera.

Four attackers armed with automatic weapons on Saturday stormed Inter-Continental Hotel, one of the largest such facilities in Kabul.....
Philip
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Philip »

Massive attack by ungodlies at the Kabul Intercon. Hotel.Over 11 killed.Sadly the hotel was earlier attacked in 2011 too where there were many casualties as well.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by anupmisra »

Philip wrote:Massive attack by ungodlies at the Kabul Intercon. Hotel.Over 11 killed.Sadly the hotel was earlier attacked in 2011 too where there were many casualties as well.
Paki connection? Damn! what am I saying? Of course not.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Philip »

Pakis involved? No way.Those law abiding outlaws and peaceful terrorists ,viciously fighting terrorism with maximum savagery and copious bloodletting , cannot be responsible for such acts which bear their fingerprints all over the scene of the crime.It's feku news by the Indian media!
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by ArjunPandit »

^^might be a way of messaging from pakis to to show who's in control
Prem
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Prem »

NO doubt They are Paki
Ehsanullah Amiri
‏@euamiri: A man who has escaped the attack told me attackers were throwing guests from 3rd & 4th floors of Kabul Intercon Hotel. He saw four dead bodies outside the hotel. While firing and throwing people from windows of upper floors, assailants were shouting 'Allah-u Akbar', he added
Last edited by Prem on 21 Jan 2018 11:20, edited 1 time in total.
Guddu
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Guddu »

This Afghan hotel attack reminds me of the Taj hotel attack in Mumbai. That suggests paki involvement. If many die, it may change the discussion in Afghanistan, just like it did in India.
Philip
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Philip »

As I pointed out, the same hotel was attacked 7 year earlier.The only ungodly species in Afghanistan conducting such terror attacks are the Paki proxies of the Taliban and their like.The Taj and Intercom. attacks are indeed related, schemed by the ISI.It is most appallng that the US continues to look at the IS I with a nelsonian eye- despite its protestations about Paki doublecrosses ad nauseam any not drop a B-52 bombload upon the ISI HQ! If the US is truly interested in finishing off terrorism and the Taliban in Afghanistan, then it must destroy the centre of evil, the Paki military elite in Pindi/ Islamabad.Some call it Mordor, well put.
JE Menon
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by JE Menon »

This attack is just the Pak military establishment telling the US that it has failed in Afghanistan, and rubbing it in. They are signalling victory, at least that's how they see the current situation in their minds.

The American response is actually what's going to be interesting.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Amber G. »

Image
Paki's (their terrorist outfit) have taken credit for the attack.
>>>Taliban assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Afghanistan's capital killed at least 18 people, including 14 foreigners, and pinned security forces down for more than 13 hours before the last attacker was killed on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry Najib Danish said that 11 of the 14 foreigners killed were employees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline.

He added that 10 others were wounded including six security officers and four civilians.
>>>
Taliban Claims Responsibility After Gunmen Attack Luxury Hotel In Kabul
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying five people took part,
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul had put out an alert on Thursday saying it was "aware of reports that extremist groups may be planning an attack against hotels in Kabul,"
VOA DEEWA‏Verified account
@voadeewa
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Afghanistan's Interior Ministry says attack on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel was orchestrated by the Haqqani network, which Afghan and U.S. say has bases inside Pakistan
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Neshant »

JE Menon wrote: The American response is actually what's going to be interesting.
Perhaps they will bomb a few areas inside Pakistan's border region but not much else.

Or they may bomb up some infrastructure in Pakistan at worst and get themselves kicked outta Pakistan.

Put a naval blockaid on Pakistan and bomb up obor highways from China so no relief supplies flow in perhaps?

Odds favor them doing little if anything.

US is losing it's super power ability to influence change globally as a result of China's rise.
Akshay Kapoor
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Akshay Kapoor »

JE Menon wrote:This attack is just the Pak military establishment telling the US that it has failed in Afghanistan, and rubbing it in. They are signalling victory, at least that's how they see the current situation in their minds.

The American response is actually what's going to be interesting.
No westerners have died. Hence there will be little response.

Nesahant it has nothing to do with China’s. US can respond in a big way but they still don’t see Pak terror as a threat to them. Simple.
Akshay Kapoor
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Akshay Kapoor »

Though a kinetic response is essential I’ll give you one simple non kinetic response just for a thought experiment - release all the details of the riches of the Pak generals and Pak Army (the biggest commercial enterprise in Pak ) to the Pak people.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by KrishnaK »

Akshay Kapoor wrote:Though a kinetic response is essential I’ll give you one simple non kinetic response just for a thought experiment - release all the details of the riches of the Pak generals and Pak Army (the biggest commercial enterprise in Pak ) to the Pak people.
Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Prem »

WASHINGTON (AP) — Multiple American citizens were killed and injured in the Taliban's 13-hour siege of an upscale hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, the State Department said Tuesday.No exact figures were immediately available for either the U.S. fatalities or injuries. In total, 22 people were killed in the attack including 14 foreigners, Afghan officials have said. Eleven of the 14 foreigners had been previously identified as working for the private Afghan airline KamAir."We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed and wish for the speedy recovery of those wounded," the State Department said. "Out of respect for the families of the deceased, we have no further comment.?"The American deaths were the latest reminder of the continuing toll paid by the United States in Afghanistan, where local forces have struggled to fight the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally ended their combat mission in 2014.President Donald Trump has pursued a plan that involves sending thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan and envisions shifting away from a "time-based" approach to one that more explicitly links U.S. assistance to concrete results from the Afghan government. Trump's U.N. envoy, Nikki Haley, said after a recent visit to Afghanistan that Trump's policy was working and that peace talks between the government and the Taliban are closer than ever before.The six Taliban militants who stormed Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel on Saturday in suicide vests were looking for foreigners and Afghan officials to kill. Afghan security forces have said the standoff ended Sunday when they killed the last of the militants. More than 150 people were rescued or escaped during the siege, including 41 foreigners. Some hid in bathtubs or under mattresses as the attackers roamed the hotel's hallways killing people.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/official-ame ... itics.html
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by arun »

X Posted from the Pakistani Role In Global Terrorism thread.

A case of “Good Terrorists” being plausibly deniably backed with COTS explosives by the Inter Services Intelligence Directorate aka ISID aka ISI, the notorious intelligence arm of the Uniformed Jihadi’s of the Military of the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Afghanistan’s Tolo News reports that Afghan intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), have announced that initial investigations show that the explosives used by Mohammadden belief motivated group, Taliban, in the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul on Saturday unsurprisingly came from the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
Explosives Used in Hotel Attack Traced Back To Pakistan: NDS

National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Tuesday announced that initial investigations show that the explosives used by Taliban insurgents in the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul on Saturday came from Pakistan.

The NDS also recovered the vehicle that attackers used to enter the hotel compound.

“The explosive materials seized in the vehicle shows that the material is made in Pakistan,” said the NDS in a press release.

According to the NDS statement, the explosive chemical used by the insurgents was produced by a company in Islamabad called Biafo Industries Limited.

According to Biafo’s website, the company is a modern state of the art explosive manufacturing company. It states it is highly automated and can produce more than 2,500 metric tons of explosives per shift annually.

Saturday’s deadly attack left at least 43 people dead and many more wounded. However, government has only confirmed the death of 29 people so far.
From Tolo News here:

Explosives Used in Hotel Attack Traced Back To Pakistan: NDS
ramana
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by ramana »

Pak offered up a couple of terrorists to appease US anger and these were droned today.

Band goes on.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by A Deshmukh »

dnivas
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by dnivas »

100 plus now
ramana
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by ramana »

One more attack today that killed 11 and injured 16 more.

Link: https://www.wortfm.org/afghanistan-conf ... tary-base/

All these attacks how Afghan forces are not serious about defeating the terrorist threat from Pakistan.
Blaming Pakistan is part of the problem.
Regularly attackers get thru security cordon and blow themselves up.

Afghans need to think of new ways to stop this violence.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by SSridhar »

Life in the Wakhan Corridor - AFP

We know little about Wakhan Corridor; this might help a little.

“Taliban — what’s that?” asks Sultan Begium shyly from her freezing home in Afghanistan’s mountainous Wakhan Corridor, a region so remote that its residents are untouched by the decades of conflict that have devastated their country.

The frail-looking grandmother is a woman of the Wakhi, a tribe of roughly 12,000 nomadic people who populate the area.

‘Roof of the world’


Known to those who live there by its Persian name Bam-e-Dunya, or “roof of the world”, it is a narrow strip of inhospitable and barely accessible land in Afghanistan bordered by the mountains of what is now Tajikistan and Pakistan, and extending all the way to China. Few venture out, even fewer venture in — but this isolation has kept the Wakhi sheltered from almost forty years of the near constant fighting that has ravaged their fellow Afghans.

“War, what war? There has never been a war,” Ms. Begium says, though she remembers people speaking of Russian soldiers dispensing cigarettes on the border at the other end of the corridor.

The civil war following the Russian invasion, in which tens of thousands more people were killed and uprooted, and the rise of the extremist Taliban regime seem to them like folklore.

“Taliban are very bad people from some other country who rape sheep and slaughter humans,” says Askar Shah, Ms. Begium’s eldest son, who has heard stories about them from Pakistani traders. There is little knowledge of the U.S. invasion or the bloody resurgence of the Taliban, and more recently the emergence of the Islamic State group.

Created in the 19th century as a Great Game buffer zone between tsarist Russia and British India, the corridor has since remained untouched by any kind of government. It can be reached from surrounding countries, but only via treacherous journeys by horse, yak or on foot through the “Pamir Knot”, where three of the highest mountain ranges in the world converge.

Known in Afghanistan itself as Pamiris, the Wakhi form the bulk of the corridor’s population — the nomadic Kyrgyz tribe, which numbers just 1,100 people, live separately at its northern end. Their life, largely free from crime and violence, revolves around yaks and cattle, which they barter for food and clothes from the few traders who visit the remote region.

But change may be coming: the Afghan government says it’s conducting aerial surveys to assess potential routes to connect Wakhan to the rest of Badakhshan by road. If it all comes to fruition, it could bring more trade, tourism, and much-needed medical facilities. It could also spell the end of the Wakhi’s protection from the brutality of war.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by arun »

X Posted.

Afghan diplomat Ahmad Shah Katawazai calls for “Redrawing the {Durand} line, to merge FATA, Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Balochistan into Afghanistan”.

Our Government should provide 800% diplomatic and moral support to support this dream of Afghanistan to liberate Pathan’s aka Pushtun’s suffering under the oppression of the Uniformed Jihadi’s of Punjabi Military dominated Deep State of the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan in FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Pashtun Spring: Time to redraw the boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan:
……………. it would be in the best interest of the United States, NATO and Afghanistan to redraw the Durand Line.

The Afghan government never has accepted the Durand Line as a true international border. The government and people of Afghanistan have consistently asked for the territory to be re-incorporated into Afghanistan. People who live along the Durand Line don’t consider it to be a border. They cross the border freely and, in many places, the line is unclear. Pashtun inhabitants along the line take pride in asserting their autonomy and proudly assert that their Pashtunwali traditions and tribal codes of conduct supersede the Pakistani laws and courts.

Redrawing the line, to merge FATA, Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Balochistan into Afghanistan could help to end the blood spilled in this region. This would eliminate the safe-haven status of the region for terrorists by bringing the lawless territory under the control of Afghanistan, where U.S. forces are operating. Eliminating the arbitrary, artificial border would be a great legacy for the United States and international community — winning over the hearts and minds of the region’s inhabitants by bringing together people who were forcefully divided more than a century ago. …………
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Parasu »

https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/fi ... -economies
The Five Nations Railway Corridor aims to increase regional commerce and spur job creation along with larger trade volumes. This project connects China on one end and Iran on the other over a total distance of 2,100 kilometers, traversing the countries of the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan in the process. Over one thousand kilometers of the rail corridor will stretch through the Afghan provinces of Herat, Badghis, Faryab, Jawozjan, Balkh and Kunduz.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by nithish »

Afghanistan's Ghani offers talks with Taliban 'without preconditions'
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate political group on Wednesday as part of a proposed political process that he said could lead to talks aimed at ending more than 16 years of war.

The offer, made at the start of an international conference aimed at creating a platform for peace talks, adds to a series of signals from both the Western-backed government and the Taliban suggesting a greater willingness to consider dialogue.

Ghani proposed a ceasefire and a release of prisoners as part of a range of options including new elections, involving the militants, and a constitutional review as part of a pact with the Taliban to end a conflict that last year alone killed or wounded more than 10,000 Afghan civilians.

“We are making this offer without preconditions in order to lead to a peace agreement,” Ghani said in opening remarks to the conference attended by officials from around 25 countries involved in the so-called Kabul Process.
The comments, a month after a suicide attack in central Kabul killed around 100 people, represented a change in tone for Ghani, who has regularly called the Taliban “terrorists” and “rebels” although he has also offered to talk with parts of the movement that accepted peace.
However Ghani, who recently helped launch the latest stage in a major regional gas pipeline from Turkmenistan, said the momentum for peace was building from neighbouring countries that increasingly saw the necessity of a stable Afghanistan.
In return for Ghani’s offer, the Taliban would have to recognise the Afghan government and respect the rule of law, including the rights of women, one of the priorities for Afghanistan’s international partners.

In addition, Taliban prisoners could be released and their names removed from international blacklists, while security arrangements could be made for Taliban agreeing to join a process of reconciliation. Former fighters and refugees could be reintegrated and provided with jobs.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Falijee »

"Made In Afghanistan Donald Trump"

Baby Donald Trump causes a stir in Afghanistan
AFP
KABUL: Donald Trump flops over his pink and white baby walker and rolls it around his family´s modest home in Kabul, blissfully unaware of the turmoil his "infidel" name is causing in the deeply conservative Muslim country.The rosy-cheeked toddler´s parents named him after the billionaire US President in the hope of replicating his success. But now he is at the centre of a social media firestorm in Afghanistan after a photo of his ID papers was posted on Facebook.
A self-confessed fan of the American tycoon turned leader of the free world, Sayed Assadullah Pooya said he and his wife have been inundated with "vulgar and insulting" comments attacking their choice of name for their third child.
Some Facebook users have gone as far as threatening to kill Sayed for giving his son an "infidel name", while others have accused him of endangering the boy´s life. But this Donald Trump is Malsic !
There are even suggestions Sayed is using the moniker to wangle asylum in the United States -- a charge the 28-year-old teacher vehemently denies."I didn´t know at the beginning that Afghan people would be so sensitive about a name," Sayed told AFP, as Donald played with a music app on his father´s Samsung smartphone in their carpeted room.Sayed says someone posted the picture online, sparking the controversy that forced him to close his Facebook account. Is POTUS aware of this . Someone in his "inner circle" should make him aware . !
Even Sayed´s neighbours in Kabul have threatened the family and told them to leave.
"When I go out of the house I feel intimidated," he said.
Donald was born in the central province of Daikundi, a few months before the 2016 US presidential election, on the farm where Sayed´s parents and grandparents grew almonds, wheat and corn.Sayed was inspired to call his son Donald Trump after reading the Persian language versions of the businessman´s books, including "How to get rich", which he borrowed from the local library."I did a lot of research about him and that motivated me to choose his name for my son," he explained.He hopes his son will "be as successful", adding that photos of the older Trump already make his younger namesake "happy". Hope the Taliban do not come knocking on his doors. :mrgreen:
But bemusement turned to anger when Sayed´s parents realised the couple were serious about the name. As relations broke down the young family moved to Kabul, and they are now estranged from their relatives.Their life could not be more different from the one enjoyed by their son´s namesake, who divides his time between the White House and his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The family of five is squeezed into a spartan room overlooking a small courtyard and outdoor bathroom, which they rent for 2,000 Afghanis ($30) a month.
While Sayed is worried about his family´s safety, particularly Donald´s, he remains stubbornly unrepentant."It´s likely... that he will be harassed or beaten by his classmates," he said matter of factly."I won´t reconsider (his name). To hell with the other people. Contacting the US Embassy or the US Television Media , IMO, may bring some (financial) relief :mrgreen:
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Austin »

India will provide 4 Mi-24 choppers to Kabul, says Afghan envoy

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-ne ... BwPMO.html
India will underwrite the delivery of four gunship helicopters by Belarus to Afghanistan ahead of the war-torn country’s spring fighting season, the second time New Delhi has supplied lethal military equipment to Kabul.

Afghanistan, Belarus and India inked a trilateral pact for the refurbished Mi-24 helicopters earlier this month, Afghan ambassador Shaida Abdali said in an interview on Monday. “We recently were able to sign a trilateral MoU…India will be paying for the four Mi-24s (which will be delivered) in the next few months. All the four helicopters (will be) paid (for) by India,” he said.

Afghanistan has a four-year military transition plan backed by the US to modernise its air force, but the country reached out to India for assistance in acquiring some helicopters needed immediately for counter-terrorism operations. “India has been kind enough to agree to that request… Afghanistan will have ready helicopters that will be used in the coming season,” Abdali said.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Rudradev »

https://www.theatlantic.com/internation ... ce/556508/

Is Peace on the Horizon for Afghanistan?

An offer of talks by the Ghani government was met with silence from the Taliban. That, in itself, could be a good sign.
Krishnadev Calamur

Is it time for optimism in Afghanistan?

On February 28, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered the Taliban peace talks without preconditions as a way to end the nearly two-decade-long conflict in his country. A month later, as delegates from more than 20 countries gathered in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, to discuss ways to restore stability to Afghanistan, there still hasn’t been a formal response from the Taliban. Officials, meanwhile, have held out hope that the absence of a reply is cause for optimism. “[W]e have not seen them reject the proposal, which … is in itself a positive sign,” Alice Wells, the U.S. State Department official who oversees South and Central Asia, said earlier this month at the U.S. Institute for Peace. “And I would underscore our hope and expectation that the Taliban leadership will analyze the proposal seriously and carefully.”

Ghani’s unprecedented overture to the Taliban includes the offer of talks without preconditions. It would also allow its members to run for government, release Taliban fighters from prison, and require foreign forces to leave Afghanistan. The Taliban, who ruled the country until the U.S.-led invasion in retaliation for the attacks of September 11, 2001 (which was conceived and executed by al-Qaeda, a group granted refuge in Afghanistan by the Taliban regime), is reportedly considering the offer. That has not prevented it from carrying out attacks across the country—nor does it mean its leaders will accept the proposal.

Barnett Rubin, an expert on the region at NYU, told me that Ghani’s offer is significant in that it addresses many of the Taliban’s major concerns. But, he said, it doesn’t address its main concern: its belief that Ghani lacks the legitimacy to make such an offer. “The Afghan Taliban were not overthrown by the Afghan government. They were overthrown by the United States,” Rubin said. “And they want to talk to the United States. If they talk to the Afghan government, to them, it’s like surrendering—because, to them, it means that it was legitimate to overthrow them.”

And yet, as The New York Times reported Tuesday, the mood at the Tashkent conference, the latest international effort to bring peace to Afghanistan, was “unusually optimistic.” Ghani’s offer to the Taliban came at a similar conference in Kabul bringing together 20 countries. There are also several other mechanisms in place working towards peace in Afghanistan; many involve a combination of its neighbors and either the United States or Russia. Most, but not all, include the Afghan government. None include the Taliban.
...

What all these international efforts underscore is that while the international community wants a reconciliation process between the Afghan government and the Taliban, many global powers who have meddled in the country for decades—if not centuries—still influence what happens within its borders. U.S. Army General John Nicholson, the senior-most U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told the BBC last week that weapons seized from Taliban fighters were allegedly supplied by Russia.(Russia, whose painful history in Afghanistan dates back to the 19th century, has denied this.) Russia is reportedly backing the Taliban in order to fight the Islamic State, which has gained a foothold in the country. Hanif Atmar, Afghanistan’s national-security adviser, said last week in Washington that Kabul disagreed with Moscow’s distinction “between good and bad terrorists.”

“Of course, we’ve been provided assurance that [the] Taliban will not be provided with weapons and resources,” he said. “We will welcome that assurance and we would like to see that in practice.”

Afghanistan’s other neighbors have their own interests—interests that are often at odds with one another, as well as with the Afghan government. Pakistan, the Taliban’s ally and major benefactor, is afraid of being hemmed in between two unfriendly neighbors, India and Afghanistan. India, in turn, is nervous about the prospect of the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan because they provide a semblance of stability to the region. Iran, which borders Afghanistan in the west, is also supporting the Taliban. China sees stability in the country as a major necessity if the belt-and-road initiative, its massive infrastructure project, is to succeed. China is also nervous about the presence of Uighur separatists inside Afghanistan; ditto for Uzbekistan, which is battling its own Islamist militancy.

Atmar said the number of foreign fighters had increased in the country, as the number of international forces fell over the past four years. The government’s goal, he said, was to “separate the Afghan Taliban from the foreign fighters. And we can make peace with them because they are Afghans—if they are interested in peace.”

If the Taliban accepted Ghani’s offer of talks (a big if), it would mark the first time since 2010 that the group’s leadership met with Afghan government officials. That earlier attempt failed after Pakistan played spoiler by arresting a key member of the Taliban leadership. Subsequent efforts faltered as well. Hamid Karzai, the previous Afghan president, tried in 2014 to talk secretly to the Taliban, but the Obama administration blocked his attempts. Karzai himself had opposed previous U.S. attempts to negotiate with the insurgents. The U.S. role in Afghanistan itself has changed since 2001. At the height of the war on terrorism, there were about 100,000 U.S. troops in the country. Today, that figure is down to about 15,000 troops who work with the Afghan military to fight the Taliban and international terrorist groups, including ISIS.

Atmar, the Afghan national-security adviser, cast doubt over whether the Taliban were still monolithic, arguing that because it lacks the strong leadership it once had, it is brought together by foreign influence. “There are leaders now among the Taliban … that question the continuation of the conflict,” he said. “And they are certainly in contact with our peace council and with the government, and they are asking for a process whereby they and their families are protected to engage in peace.” But, he said, there are also elements that are irreconcilable. The Afghan government, he said, would engage with one group and fight the other.

But Rubin, who previously worked as a U.S. diplomat and talked to the Taliban, said the militants are less fragmented than they are perceived to be. “There’s a stereotype about the Taliban that they’re a bunch of fractious tribesmen, but it’s not true,” he said. “They do speak with one voice. In fact, they are much more consistent in their policy positions than either the U.S. or Afghan governments. This Barnett Rubin seems to be an ISI apologist par excellence. He would like everyone to accept that the faction of Taliban which dutifully echoes Paki/ISI policy positions is the official "one voice", and anyone else (such as Mullah Baradar) is an inconsequential splittist.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Austin »

Russia's FSB reports about 8,000 militants moved to Afghanistan from Syria
About 8,000 militants from Syria have moved to northern Afghanistan, the first deputy director of Russia’s federal security service FSB, Sergei Smirnov, said on Thursday.

"One of today’s decisions concerned this issue. We took note of Tajikistan’s warning of the threat coming from the territory of Afghanistan for the SCO countries which border on Afghanistan, directly or indirectly," Smirnov said. "In the territory of Afghanistan there are about 8,000 persons (militants), who, according to Tajikistan, had been forced to leave Syria," said Smirnov, who leads Russia’s delegation at a meeting of the Council of the SCO Anti-Terrorist Structure.

"Successful operations by our Aerospace Force in Syria have brought about a situation where militants, including those belonging to the Islamic State (international organization outlawed in Russia) crossed Iran and Turkey into Afghanistan to have reached its northern regions. This is clear to the law enforcement authorities of all countries involved," he said.


More:
http://tass.com/defense/998013
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by pankajs »

The Jerusalem Post
‏Verified account @Jerusalem_Post

BREAKING Death toll from Afghan blast reaches 48 http://dlvr.it/QQNL8W
arun
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by arun »

X Posted from the Pakistani Role In Global Terrorism thread to the Terroristan and Afghanistan threads.

NATO Foreign Ministers call on the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan “to close terrorist sanctuaries and to work to prevent terrorist financial flows and cross-border attacks, including by working with its neighbours”.

All very well but when are NATO members going to impose real and materially significant punishment upon the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic :?:

Weblink for NATO Foreign Ministers Statement of April 27, 2018:

Statement by Foreign Ministers on Afghanistan
Neshant
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Neshant »

Hard to believe 8000 terrorists can cross heavily guarded Iran without notice.

If they are there , they must have been moved in by foreign powers through other routes at great expnse.
Mukesh.Kumar
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Mukesh.Kumar »

Indian engineers captured in Afghanistan.

Seven Indian engineers have been kidnapped in Afghanistan along with their Afghan driver, police say.

Gunmen grabbed them from a vehicle on the outskirts of the Baghlan provincial capital, Pul-e Khomri, on Sunday.

No group has said it carried out the kidnapping. However, provincial governor Abdul Hai Nemati told Tolo TV that the Taliban was responsible.

Kidnappings are a serious problem in Afghanistan where large areas are blighted by gangs or militant groups.

Provincial council chairman Mohammad Safdar Mohseni said the group had ignored warnings to take a police escort through an area largely controlled by the Taliban.

Indian officials in Kabul said the engineers worked for the Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat company that operates a power station in northern Baghlan.

"We are in contact with the Afghan authorities and further details are being ascertained," a spokesman for Indian external affairs said
Varoon Shekhar
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Varoon Shekhar »

Absolutely top priority to obtain the release and freedom of these Indians. Should be round the clock coverage. What the ... is wrong with the Indian media, and international media. What if this were Americans, Brits, Israelis or French?
Prem
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Prem »

Paki are going to keep them as hostages to negotiate with Indians as IMHO Baki Bajwa have decided to do judicial murder of Kusbhushan.
chanakyaa
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by chanakyaa »

For those who have access to Netflix. Watched an interesting movie on fictional life of kids/people in the border areas of war torn Afg/Tajik. Not sure how politically correct the messaging is but worth the time. My apologies if already posted.

Image

The Land of the Enlightened
Falijee
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Falijee »

"Paki Sponsored" Blast In Jalalabad :roll:

Eight dead, 45 injured in multiple blasts at Afghan cricket stadium
KABUL – A series of explosions at a cricket stadium in the Jalalabad City of Afghanistan killed at least eight people, 45 others injured, local officials confirmed on Saturday. The back to back blasts occurred as a number of spectators were busy in watching a cricket match at a local stadium in the city, reported Tolo News. It is the first attack since the holy month of Ramazan began
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday condemned the attack in Jalalabad. “The terrorists did not stop killing our people even during the holy month of Ramadan … by carrying out a terrorist attack in a populated sport stadium, once again they have proved that they are not bound to any creed or religion, and they are the enemy of humanity,” a statement from his office said.
Falijee
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Falijee »

CROSS POSTED FROM TERRORISTAN THREAD

Something "Brewing" Between Pakistan And Afghanistan :roll:

Atmar To Meet Bajwa Over Security In Pakistan
Mohammad Hanif Atmar, the National Security Adviser (NSA) to President Ashraf Ghani, will leave for Pakistan on Sunday with a delegation of officials to discuss security issues with Pakistani officials. The Presidential Palace on Saturday evening said in a statement that Atmar and his accompanying delegation will meet with Pakistan's chief of army staff general Qamar Javed Bajwa in Islamabad on Sunday. The Afghan delegation was invited by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to visit Pakistan and discuss with the Pakistani officials the security problems in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region, the statement read.
Not sure what is Pakistan's ultimate game in all of this is ? probably drive some sort of a wedge between the Pashtuns and the Tajiks so as to threaten the unity of NUG ?
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by sum »

Any news on the abducted Indian engineers?
Prem
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

Post by Prem »

U.S. drone kills Pakistan Taliban chief, Afghan official says
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nat ... story.html
U.S. drone strike in northeastern Kunar province killed Pakistan Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah, the insurgent leader who ordered the assassination of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman said Friday.In a telephone interview, Mohammad Radmanish said Fazlullah and two other insurgents were killed early Thursday morning, just hours before Afghanistan's Taliban began a three-day cease fire to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The three-day holiday follows the end of Islam's holy month of Ramadan when devout adherents fast from sunrise to sunset.According to a statement attributed to U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Lt. Col Martin O'Donnell, the U.S. carried out a "counterterrorism strike" Thursday in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan targeting "a senior leader of a designated terrorist organization."The statement did not say whether the strike had killed anyone and did not identify Fazlullah as the target. However, the statement did note that the drone attack did not violate a cease-fire announcement made June 7 by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The Taliban's promise of a temporary truce came on Monday.
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