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Dozens of Afghan Troops Vanished From Military Training in US Bases
Forty-four Afghan troops visiting the United States for military training have gone missing in less than two years, presumably in an effort to live and work illegally in America, Pentagon officials said.
Although the number of disappearances is relatively small — some 2,200 Afghan troops have received military training in the United States since 2007 — the incidents raise questions about security and screening procedures for the programs.
They are also potentially embarrassing for U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, which has spent billions of dollars training Afghan troops as Washington seeks to extricate itself from the costly, 15-year-old war. The disclosure could fuel criticism by supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has accused the Obama administration of failing to properly vet immigrants from Muslim-majority countries and has pledged a much tougher stance if he wins.
While other foreign troops on U.S. military training visits have sometimes run away, a U.S. defense official said that the frequency of Afghan troops going missing was concerning and “out of the ordinary.”
Since September alone, eight Afghan troops have left military bases without authorization, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump told Reuters. He said the total number of Afghan troops who have gone missing since January 2015 is 44, a number that has not previously been disclosed.
“The Defense Department is assessing ways to strengthen eligibility criteria for training in ways that will reduce the likelihood of an individual Afghan willingly absconding from training in the U.S. and going AWOL (absent without leave),” Stump said.
Afghans in the U.S. training program are vetted to ensure they have not participated in human rights abuses and are not affiliated with militant groups before being allowed into the United States, Stump said.
The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added there was no evidence any of those who had absconded had carried out crimes or posed a threat to the United States.
The Afghan army has occasionally been infiltrated by Taliban militants who have carried out attacks on Afghan and U.S. troops, but such incidents have become less frequent due to tougher security measures.
Trump, whose other signature immigration plan is to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, has proposed a temporary ban on Muslims seeking to enter the country, and has said that law enforcement officers should engage in more racial profiling to curb the threat of attacks on American soil.
After Omar Mateen, whose father was born in Afghanistan, killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando in June, Trump said an immigration ban would last until “we are in a position to properly screen these people coming into our country.”
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Ghori State Cement in Baghlan increases production
Officials at Ghori State Cement in Baghlan province say the amount of cement produced at this plant has increased compared to the past.
According to company officials, 150,000 tons of cement was produced in 1402 [solar year] and they are trying to increase the amount to 180,000 tons this year.
“Last year, we successfully produced 150,000 tons of cement and sold it to the market. Fortunately, in 1402, we had more than 200 million afghanis in revenue,” said Abdul Wakil Qayumi, financial and administrative deputy of the company.
The plant officials stated that efforts are underway to increase the production capacity, and with the increase of the production capacity, they will produce 1000 bags of cement per day.
“Currently, our four ovens are active, and we produce approximately 1,000 to 1,200 tons of cement in twenty-four hours,” said Mohammad Tahir, packaging manager for the company.
In this company, jobs are created for 750 individuals, and some workers have asked the traders to invest in the country and provide work for young people.
“Some more factories should be built in our country so that less foreign cement is imported into the country and we use our own products,” said one of the company workers.
Ghori Baghlan Cement Company was established about 40 years ago and is considered one of the largest cement production companies in Afghanistan.
The management of this company is carried out by the National Development Corporation (NDC).
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Regional countries should jointly expand stability and development: Deputy PM
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, Political Deputy Prime Minister, has said in a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan in Kabul that regional countries should play their role in the implementation of large regional projects.
Kabir also invited Kazakh businessmen to invest in Afghanistan, his office said in a statement.
He added that the Islamic Emirate fully controls Afghanistan’s borders, has eliminated drugs and corruption, and restored national sovereignty.
According to the statement, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin appreciated the progress made by the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan and said that his country is ready for long-term trade, transit and investment relations with Afghanistan.
Zhumangarin expressed his country’s readiness to grant scholarships to Afghan youth and added that Afghanistan is currently an example of a peaceful country in the region, and due to this, the world wants to establish relations with the Islamic Emirate in various fields.
He also called for the start of direct flights between Kabul and Almaty and said that his country is ready for bilateral cooperation with the Afghan government in the cultural field.
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Red Cross official seeks ‘staggered’ return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan
A senior Red Cross official has called for the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan to occur “in a more staggered way” so Afghanistan can better absorb them.
“It will be important to work with the government of Pakistan in 2024 to ask that if there are going to be returnees,” that they arrive “in smaller numbers at a time just so it is more manageable on the Afghan side,” said Alexander Matheou, regional director, Asia Pacific Region for the International Federation of the Red Cross, Voice of America (VOA) reported on Saturday.
Speaking in the Qatari capital, Doha, Matheou told journalists on Friday the challenges facing Afghan returnees from Pakistan was one of several pressing issues he discussed with the officials of the Islamic Emirate in Kabul.
“You will be aware that over half a million have crossed the border over recent months, and it is likely that we will see large numbers of new arrivals in the coming months,” he said.
“I imagine this is probably the largest population flow in a short period of time in Asia since the population movement from Myanmar into Bangladesh in 2017,” he added. “So, it is a significant event.”
Since October, Pakistan has expelled more than 500,000 Afghan refugees who lacked proper documentation.
Matheou noted many of the returnees have lived in Pakistan for decades and are ill-equipped to begin a new life in a country that to them is unknown, without government or international support.
He described the returnees as being in generally poor health, especially the children, who account for nearly half of all returnees.
“The evidence of that was we visited clinics where they reported a real spike in cases of acute malnutrition coming from the arrivals from Pakistan.
“We visited routine immunization programs of the IFRC and the Afghan Red Crescent in the villages, and there it was clear looking at the children that as well as being anemic, you could see wasting and stunting among the children,” he said.
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