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Daesh militants moving from Middle East to Afghanistan: SCO chief
The secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Vladimir Norov said on Friday ISIS (Daesh) militants have moved to Afghanistan from the Middle East and posed a threat to regional security.
Speaking at a webinar organized by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, Norov said he was concerned about the deteriorating situation along the border regions of Afghanistan.
Norov said: “According to the SCO regional anti-terrorist structure, the numbers of fighters arriving in the north of the country [Afghanistan] are growing.”
These militants were moved from Syrian and Iraqi conflict zones and posed a threat to the SCO member states, he added.
Norov also said that Daesh members use information and communication technologies in Afghanistan to promote the ideology of terrorism and manage the terror group’s sleeper cells.
Jumakhon Giyosov, the SCO Director of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, also said the growing number of Daesh militants in Afghanistan was a serious threat to the region.
“There is an increase in the number of militants arriving in northern Afghanistan, whose leaders are actively interacting with the leaders of the other terrorist organizations,” Giyosov said.
He added that the transfer of experienced militants from Syria to Afghanistan has posed threats to the region including Central Asia.
This comes after security sources confirmed earlier this month that China and Tajikistan have increased the number of border troops and outposts along their borders with Afghanistan.
An Ariana News reporter also reported having seen the increase in military presence after flying over the area in a helicopter.
According to border guards in Badakhshan, the two neighboring countries have ramped up their military presence in case the Daesh threat increases should a peace deal be sealed with the Taliban.
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Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.
Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.
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Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh
A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.
Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.
The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.
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Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani
Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.
Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.
He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.
Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.
“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.
Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”
However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.
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