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NATO to keep staying in Afghanistan after 2017

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(Last Updated On: October 25, 2022)

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The NATO alliance agreed on Wednesday to hold onto its broad geographic layout of bases in Afghanistan, a move that could make it easier for the United States to keep more troops there as Kabul struggles with a resurgent Taliban threat.

President Barack Obama has planned to slash the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan from about 9,800 to 5,500 before he leaves office in 2017, despite calls from former commanders and envoys to halt the drawdown.

British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said “Carter told us the troop numbers and the dispositions are being looked at again.”

Carters’ comments came as NATO allies agreed to extend the Afghanistan training mission and keep troops in all four sections of the country in 2017.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the allies “will have what we call a flexible regional approach, meaning that we will continue to be of course in Kabul but also out in the different regions.”

The alliance also is “now working on the final decisions for our exact force numbers into 2017. So that’s something we will decide later on this year,” Stoltenberg said.

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NATO’s so-called hub-and-spoke model for troops training and advising Afghan forces extends well beyond the capital Kabul to allow an international military presence at regional hubs. But NATO policymakers had been examining whether it was possible to keep those posts open, even as force levels fall.

Obama granted U.S. forces in Afghanistan the ability to engage more with the resurgent Taliban last week, allowing them to now accompany conventional Afghan forces into the field, rather than only special operators, and proactively provide close air support to strike Taliban targets.

The White House said that the broader military authorities will not influence the drawdown plan.

Defense ministers of the 28 nations comprising NATO are set to meet to continue to the conversation and make final decisions on their presence in Afghanistan in Warsaw in early July.

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Three road construction projects launched in Kabul

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(Last Updated On: April 27, 2024)

Three road construction projects worth about one billion Afghanis started in capital Kabul on Saturday.

The projects were inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

The projects are: the second phase of Kotal Khairkhane road, the first part of the Shahid square to Qasaba, and the Airport road to Gumruk.

In the inauguration ceremony, Mullah Baradar said that Kabul municipality is working hard to beautify and regulate the city, and people should cooperate with the government in protecting public benefit projects.

He directed the officials of Kabul municipality to complete the mentioned projects on time and with good quality.

The second phase of Kotel Khairkhaneh road is 2.5 kilometers long and 60 meters wide. Thie road will cost 364 million Afghanis and will be completed in 20 months.

The Shahid square-Qasaba road is 1.8 kilometers long and 45 meters wide, which will be built at a cost of 175 million Afghanis in one year.

The Airport-Gumruk road is 2.7 km long and 60 meters wide, which will be completed at a cost of 407 million Afghanis in 20 months.

The projects are funded by Kabul Municipality.

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Russian defense minister says main threat for SCO countries emanates from Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: April 27, 2024)

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said on Friday that the main threat for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members emanates from Afghanistan where international terrorist groups find shelter due to unstable and indefinite political situation.

Speaking at a meeting of the SCO defense ministers in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, Shoygu said Washington has stepped up efforts to restore its positions in Central and South Asia that were lost after the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan, Anadolu Agency reported.

The military chief called “unacceptable” the deployment of the American military infrastructure in the region, arguing that intentions should be regarded as “a direct threat to stability in the SCO space.”

According to him, the US is trying to impose a new security system in the Asia-Pacific region for dominance.

This comes as the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly emphasized that it does not allow anyone to pose threats to any other country from Afghanistan soil.

Recently, Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan,

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IEA calls Mujahideen Victory Day ‘freedom day’

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(Last Updated On: April 27, 2024)

In a statement on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the victory of the Mujahideen against the then communist government, the Islamic Emirate said that it is a day of freedom of the Afghan nation.

The Islamic Emirate described the coup by People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan on 27th April 1978 as a dark day in history, as a result of which the people of Afghanistan suffered severe human and financial losses.

The statement said that the Afghan nation suffered huge casualties in their 14-year struggle against the thoughts and actions of the communists, as 1.5 million people died and millions more faced various hardships.

“After 20 years of Jihad, our country was freed from another occupation and the Islamic system was established, so the Islamic Emirate will make its utmost efforts so that the fruits of decades of sacrifice and struggle of this nation are not wasted,” the statement said.

“It was the wish of the martyrs to fully implement the Islamic system in the country, and therefore, the Islamic Emirate is trying to facilitate development and prosperity under the shadow of the Islamic system in order to realize the goals of the Afghan people’s jihads,” it added.

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