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Ghani arrives in DC to discuss new chapter post troops withdrawal
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and a high-ranking delegation landed in Washington DC on a direct flight from Kabul on Thursday for a two-day official visit, the Presidential Palace said.
“During the visit, the President is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden, members of Congress and the Senate and a number of other US officials to discuss the new chapter of relations and the strengthening of bilateral relations in various fields, especially support for security and defense forces,” the palace said.
Ghani is accompanied by First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, foreign minister Haneef Atmar, national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib, AIHRC chairwoman Shahzad Akbar and other government officials.
The Afghan Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said a delegation from the AIHRC has also traveled to the US with Ghani to discuss the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
AIHRC said humanitarian aid to the country, and support for human rights defenders and civil society will also be discussed. Violations of international humanitarian law in the country will be addressed.
Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the timeline for troops withdrawal will not change by September and that part of the discussion between Biden and Ghani on Friday will be on Biden’s commitment to working with the Afghan government in future.
The discussion will also probably take in Biden’s commitment to providing humanitarian support and over-the-horizon support around security, Psaki said.
Meanwhile Afghanistan’s Kam Air notched up an historic flight when it landed in Washington DC with Ghani and his delegation on board. The Airbus A-340 flew directly from Kabul to Washington D.C.
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Three members of one family killed by unknown people in Farah province
Aziz Ahmad Sarbaz, district governor of Golestan district of Farah province, says that three members of one family were killed by unknown people.
According to Sarbaz, among the dead was one women. He said the incident took place in Faizabad village.
According to Sarbar five suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident, which is being investigated.
No further details were given.
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IEA supports cadres and personalities of Afghanistan: deputy PM
Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs Mawlawi Abdul Kabir said on Sunday that the policy of the Islamic Emirate is to appreciate and support the cadres and personalities of the country and efforts are being made to provide them with facilities.
He stated this in a meeting with the representatives of the union of medical specialists abroad.
According to a statement released by Arg, Kabir considered specialists to be one of the the country’s greatest assets, noting that Afghanistan needs specialists in any situation.
He added that due to the fact that Afghans are poor, there is a need for public and private health institutions to work with full accuracy and kindness in diagnosing and treating patients.
According to the statement, in the meeting, the representatives of the union of medical specialists abroad announced that a large number of Afghan specialists living abroad are willing to return to the country.
Kabir assured the members of the union that he will share their problems and suggestions with the relevant institutions to address them.
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Pakistan asks IEA to hand over TTP leaders
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to hand over leaders of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other members of the group.
At a press conference in Lahore, Naqvi said the attack, in which five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed, was planned in Afghanistan and executed with the help of handlers and facilitators based in Pakistan.
He added that the attack was “completely operated” from Afghanistan and planned to specifically target Chinese personnel in Pakistan.
“TTP leadership planned this attack as a flagship project, and enemy intelligence agencies paid them heavily for the attack,” the minister said, without giving more details.
The minister demanded IEA arrest three individuals named Bakhtiar Shah, Qari Abdullah and Khan Lala, along with TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud, its Malakand Commander Azmatullah and the entire leadership of the group.
“We want good ties with Afghanistan, but for that it is important they arrest these terrorists, prosecute them or hand them to us.”
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have soured in recent months. Islamabad says Kabul is not doing enough to tackle militant groups targeting Pakistan.
“Pakistan has raised this issue with the interim government of Afghanistan and stressed that they should act against the terrorists operating there, but so far, we have not received any good results,” Naqvi said.
He said that militants were “exploiting the weakness of the interim Afghan government”.
When asked what Pakistan would do if the Afghan government doesn’t cooperate, Naqvi said then “the government will take a unilateral decision”.
The interior minister’s remarks came almost two weeks after Pakistan military spokesman Major-General Ahmed Sharif said the attack was planned in Afghanistan, and the suicide bomber was also an Afghan national.
National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) coordinator Rai Tahir, who also addressed the press conference, said that the attacker, identified as Muttaqi alias Taqi, hailed from Afghanistan.
Security forces have so far arrested 11 suspects, including the alleged Pakistani handlers.
They were identified as Adil Shehbaz, Shafiq Qureshi, Zahid Qureshi, Nazeer Hussain, Faizullah, Fasihullah, Imran Swati, Sakhaullah, Abdullah, Abdul Rehman and Kamal Khan.
Rai said the attacker had travelled from Afghanistan four months before the attack and lived with his alleged Pakistani handlers — Adil Shazeb and Shafiq Qureshi — who prepared him for the attack.
The alleged suicide bomber was trained in Afghanistan’s Kunar province and was one of the four terrorists who crossed into Pakistan in Nov 2023, the Nacta chief said.
He said a Malakand-based car showroom owner allegedly helped TTP militants in smuggling the car, fitted with explosives, into Pakistan from Chaman.
When Naqvi was asked how a car fitted with explosives managed to travel around 1,000km inside Pakistan without being detected, he said security officials stopped the vehicle for checking, but no suspicion was raised.
He claimed action had been taken against officials over negligence in checking the car thoroughly.
The IEA’s defence ministry has rejected Pakistan’s allegations that Afghans were involved in an attack on Chinese engineers.
“Afghans are not involved in such matters,” Enayatullah Khorazmim, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said earlier this month.
“Blaming Afghanistan for such incidents is a failed attempt to divert attention from the truth of the matter and we strongly reject it,” he added.
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