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NSA warns of Taliban’s intent to ‘seize power’ once foreign troops leave
National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib said on Friday the Taliban wants to seize power by forcing the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
Mohib also accused the Taliban of wasting time in Doha, saying the developments around the talks show that the Taliban wants to seize power by force.
According to him, the Afghan government will prepare for war against the Taliban if negotiations fail.
Mohib’s statement comes the same day as Washington announced its troops now number only 2,500 in Afghanistan – as per the US-Taliban conditions-based agreement signed in February last year.
According to the agreement, the remainder of their troops will be pulled out by May but only if the Taliban meet the conditions – which include cutting all ties with al-Qaeda.
“The Taliban are not looking for peace, they are wasting their time, and they are thinking of creating opportunities for them after the withdrawal of foreign forces; to take the government by force and to establish their rule by force here, although it is not practical,” Mohib said.
Meanwhile, sources in Doha said the head of the Taliban’s negotiating team has returned to Qatar and talks on the agenda are expected to resume on Saturday.
“Their [Taliban] return means that the talks are going on and they have not stalled. But the problem [on the agenda] remains,” said Tahir Khan, a Pakistani freelance reporter.
Sources in Doha confirm that the two sides differ vastly with regards to what the agenda should be based on.
“I think the Taliban are proposing dialogue on an Islamic State and the government is proposing a ceasefire; this will be a bit difficult because the differences between the two sides are huge,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban member.
The second round of talks started just over a week ago and in that time the Republic’s team has met with the Taliban team only three times and have not reached consensus on an agenda.
Although the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has told the Taliban that its priority is a ceasefire, the Taliban have not officially stated what their priority is yet.
The Taliban’s political office in Doha also said talks had not stalled and were under way between the negotiating parties but that smaller groups had been holding discussions.
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Khalilzad warns Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions likely to worsen after fresh airstrikes
Former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has warned that the latest Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan and recent violence inside Pakistan are part of a wider crisis, saying he sees no indication that the situation is about to change.
In a post on X on Thursday, Khalilzad described the Pakistani airstrikes that have killed Afghan civilians and the increasing use of force against civilians in Pakistan as “interconnected tragedies,” implying both effected by Pakistan’s establishment.
“Unfortunately, I do not see any signs of change,” Khalilzad said, adding that current indicators suggested the use of force against Pakistanis would “likely get worse” in the coming days.
His comments came after Pakistan carried out a new wave of airstrikes inside Afghanistan overnight Thursday, saying it had targeted 10 locations used to launch and store drones.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were conducted in response to drones launched from Afghan territory a day earlier and described them as “deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate.”
Afghan officials said the strikes killed four civilians. The attacks reportedly hit locations including Kandahar, Khost and Paktia provinces. Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate authorities have denied launching the drones cited by Pakistan and have condemned the strikes.
The latest attacks follow Pakistani airstrikes earlier this week in Kunar and Paktika. Pakistan said those operations killed 28 militants, while the United Nations confirmed that three Afghan civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed, with four others injured.
The renewed airstrikes come amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Kabul and Islamabad. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of allowing militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from its territory and launch attacks inside Pakistan.
Afghan authorities reject the allegations and say militancy inside Pakistan is an internal issue.
Khalilzad has previously called for a change in Pakistan’s strategy toward both its internal security problems and Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan summons Pakistani chargé d’affaires over latest airstrikes
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires to Kabul and lodged a strong protest against the violation of Afghan airspace and Pakistani military airstrikes on several Afghan provinces.
The ministry handed the Pakistani diplomat a formal protest note following the attacks on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Wednesday night, which reportedly caused civilian casualties.
The Islamic Emirate strongly condemned the strikes, calling them a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and contrary to Islamic, international, humanitarian and good-neighborly principles.
The ministry also rejected what it called baseless claims that Afghan territory was being used as a source of Pakistan’s recent security incidents.
It said using such claims to justify military action was an attempt to distort facts, mislead public opinion and conceal Pakistan’s internal failures.
The Islamic Emirate further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of avoiding commitments made to regional countries and warned that such actions could further escalate tensions in the region.
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Museum dedicated to preserving ‘Jihadi’ artefacts opens in Kandahar
The museum’s collection includes more than 100 items gathered from different locations.
A museum dedicated to preserving what Afghan authorities describe as “Jihadi artefacts” has officially opened in Kandahar, with officials saying more than 100 items have so far been collected for display.
Mufti Mohammad Tahir Ahmad, Director General for the Preservation of Jihadi Artefacts at the Ministry of Information and Culture, attended the inauguration ceremony alongside Qari Ahmadullah Saeed Khosti, Director of Registration for Jihadi Artefacts and Documents.
Mufti Inamullah Samangani, head of the Kandahar Information and Culture Department, and officials from several government departments also attended the ceremony.
According to the official responsible for preserving the artefacts in Kandahar, the museum’s collection includes more than 100 items gathered from different locations.
The collection includes weapons that officials say were captured from British, Soviet and US forces, as well as personal belongings and other items associated with people killed during Afghanistan’s conflicts over the past two decades.
Officials said efforts to collect additional artefacts would continue in order to expand the museum’s collection.
The museum is now open to visitors, according to the officials.
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