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Biden’s decision on Afghanistan raises Guantanamo questions

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(Last Updated On: April 25, 2021)

US President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan is raising questions about what, if any, effect that will have on the future of the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

According to The Hill, at least two prisoners who have been challenging their detention have already updated their complaints to include Biden’s withdrawal as a reason they should be released.

But according to some experts while the war on terrorism will continue even after the last U.S. service member leaves Afghanistan, the legal justification for indefinite detention at Guantanamo does not appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, The Hill reported.

“I think the short answer is that we just don’t know,” Steve Vladeck, a University of Texas law professor, said of the withdrawal’s effect on Guantanamo.

“It clearly provides the remaining Guantanamo detainees with a new ground on which to challenge the legal basis for their continuing military detention, and one that is not necessarily foreclosed by existing precedent,” he added in an email.

“But it’s not at all clear that courts will be sympathetic to those arguments, not just because they haven’t been to date, but because the Executive Branch is likely to argue that the conflict with al-Qaeda isn’t ending just because we’re leaving Afghanistan.”

Forty men remain detained at the facility opened by former President George W. Bush after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Six have been cleared for transfer, and seven have been charged in the military commission system, including the five 9/11 suspects.

According to The Hill, the Biden administration is in the midst of reviewing the facility with the intention of closing it, but it remains to be seen whether that effort will be successful.

Amid the administration’s review, Biden is facing pressure to fulfill his promise to close the facility and 24 Senate Democrats penned a letter to Biden last week saying he could close the facility with “sufficient political will and swift action.”

“After years of indefinite detention without charge or trial; a history of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; and multiple attempts at a thoroughly failed and discredited military commission process, it is past time to close Guantanamo’s detention facility and end indefinite detention,” read the letter, which was organized by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy.

When Biden announced earlier this month he was ordering a full withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11, he declared, “It’s time to end the forever war.”

But Alli McCracken Jarrar, North American campaigner for Amnesty International, told The Hill that if Biden is serious about ending the “forever war,” he will close Guantanamo.

“I hope that he can align his timeline to withdraw from Afghanistan with his plan to close Guantanamo,” she said. “It would be wonderful to see the whole detention camp shut down and the men transferred out by September 11. And I think that would make a lot of groups feel happy and would really be a positive sign that he’s committed to his human rights obligations.”

The Hill reported that last week, lawyers for two Guantanamo detainees filed motions for the release of their clients, citing the withdrawal.

One of the two detainees is Asadullah Haroon Gul, an approximately 40-year-old Afghan captured by Afghan forces in 2007. His lawyers argued in a motion seeking their client’s immediate release that the withdrawal takes away any basis to continue holding him.

“The law is clear: Asadullah gets to go home now, regardless of whether, as the government incorrectly contends, he was part of or substantially supported al- Qaeda,” his lawyers wrote in the motion.

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Japan pledges emergency aid to Afghanistan’s flood victims

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(Last Updated On: May 16, 2024)

The Japanese Embassy in Afghanistan announced Thursday it will provide emergency relief to flood-hit people in northern Afghanistan.

According to a statement issued by the embassy, relief will be provided through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS).

This relief includes tents, blankets and other essential items.

According to the statement, “Japan has decided to provide emergency assistance to Afghanistan to support people affected by the flood. We will always stand by the people of Afghanistan.”

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has meanwhile reported that 8,975 homes were destroyed or damaged by floods in Baghlan, Badakhshan, and Takhar provinces following heavy rains.

Russia also pledged help if needed, while the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) appealed to Islamic countries and aid organizations to step in to help the flood victims.

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Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan visits India

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(Last Updated On: May 16, 2024)

Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov held talks with India’s external affairs minister JP Singh to discuss the situation in the country.

Kabulov met with Singh during a visit to India.

In a post on X, India’s external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “India and Russia held bilateral consultations on Afghanistan today in New Delhi.

“Amb. Zamir Kabulov, Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan, and JP Singh, Joint Secretary (PAI) discussed the current situation in Afghanistan and emphasized on the need to provide development assistance for the welfare of the Afghan people,” he said.

An official at the Russian embassy said Kabulov held talks with Singh under the framework of India-Russia foreign ministerial consultations on Afghanistan.

New Delhi has been pitching for providing unimpeded humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to address the humanitarian crisis in the country.

In June 2022, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a technical team in its embassy in the Afghan capital.

The Islamic Emirate says that due to the diplomatic efforts of the IEA, a good spirit of cooperation has been formed in the region towards Afghanistan, and the countries have understood that stable security and stability in Afghanistan is in the interest of all countries.

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China invites IEA deputy PM to Trans-Himalayan Forum

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(Last Updated On: May 16, 2024)

Zhao Xing, the Chinese Ambassador to Kabul, has invited political deputy prime minister Mawlavi Abdul Kabir to participate in the upcoming Trans-Himalayan Forum meeting.

The Chinese envoy said at a meeting Wednesday with Kabir that Beijing supports the Islamic Emirate in terms of attending international meetings, especially UN Security Council meetings.

Zhao also said China was committed to cooperating with the Islamic Emirate.

Kabir in turn expressed his gratitude for China’s support and cooperation across numerous sectors and said that as a responsible government, the Islamic Emirate is bound by commitments made and tries to play an active role in regional issues and the stability and development of the region.

Kabir also acknowledged China’s support of the Islamic Emirate and said Beijing’s cooperation can bring about positive changes and economic growth in the country.

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