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Dozens of Daesh militants surrender to IEA in Nangarhar: Officials
At least 50 Daesh (ISIS-K) militants have surrendered to Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) forces in the eastern province of Nangarhar, local officials said on Sunday.
According to the IEA, the militants surrendered following mediation efforts by tribal elders.
Dr. Bashir, head of Nangarhar Intelligence Directorate, said that based on an amnesty decree, Daesh militants surrendered to the IEA and that the process is “ongoing”.
“Fifty of them are Daesh, who came from eight districts and surrendered to Islamic Emirate,” said Bashir.
The militants have also expressed remorse and said they regret having joined the group.
“They (Daesh) are very cruel people. I regret what I did. I came here by myself, on my own will, and surrendered to the Islamic Emirate. We did not come here by force,” said Inamullah, one former Daesh militant.
“We are thankful to the Taliban (IEA), they are our compatriots, and forgive us. We regret our past activities. We will not repeat our [past] activities in future,” said Pasarly, another former Daesh fighter.
Nangarhar’s tribal elders have however warned the newly surrendered militants that they will face harsh consequences if they rejoin Daesh.
“We have brought them here; they vowed that they will not rejoin Daesh; and they regret their past actions,” said Ghulam Ali Malik, a tribal elder.
“The tribal elders said if the former militants rejoin Daesh, they will burn down their homes and will expel them from Afghanistan,” said Malik Zainuddin, another tribal elder.
This comes after over 500 Daesh members surrendered to the IEA in Nangarhar following the takeover of power in mid-August.
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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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