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Pakistan remains safe harbor for “terrorist groups”: US
Pakistan is a safe harbor for “regionally focused terrorist groups”, allowing the groups to target Afghanistan, the US State Department said in a report.
In its annual terror assessment, released Wednesday, the Department said that Pakistan remained a safe harbor for other regionally focused terrorist groups.
“It allowed groups targeting Afghanistan, including the Afghan Taliban and affiliated Haqqani Network, as well as groups targeting India, including Lashkar e-Tayyiba and its affiliated front organizations, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), to operate from its territory,” the report said.
Although Pakistan’s National Action Plan calls to “ensure that no armed militias are allowed to function in the country,” several terrorist groups that focus on attacks outside the country continued to operate from Pakistani soil in 2019, including the Haqqani Network – a group by the Afghan government for the deadliest attacks inside Afghanistan – Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
According to the report the Haqqani Network has planned and carried out numerous significant kidnappings and attacks against US and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, the Afghan government, and civilian targets.
The government and military of Pakistan have acted inconsistently concerning terrorist safe havens throughout the country, the report said.
“Authorities did not take sufficient action to stop certain terrorist groups and individuals from openly operating in the country,” the report added.
Meanwhile, the US said that Pakistan did make some positive contributions to the Afghanistan peace process, such as encouraging Taliban reductions in violence.
The report noted that Afghanistan continued to face significant challenges in protecting its borders, particularly those with Pakistan and Iran.
“Under the bilateral Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS), which met for the first time in July 2018, Afghan and Pakistani officials agreed in principle to create a mechanism for communication between security forces on each side of the border,” the report said.
Despite this review and discussions between the two governments to utilize APAPPS, progress through this forum remains slow, read the report.
Throughout 2019, the United States sought to negotiate an agreement with the Taliban that would commit the Taliban to take action against international terrorist groups, including not allowing those groups to recruit, train, or raise funds on Afghan territory, and to not host those groups.
In return for these commitments and for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations that would include the Afghan government, other Afghan leaders, and the Taliban, the United States would agree to a timeline for the conditions-based withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, has stated that following a special meeting of the High Commission for Addressing the Problems of Migrants, chaired by Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the process of land distribution by the Permanent Committee for Refugee Settlement has been accelerated.
Fitrat said in a statement on Friday that so far, 3,046 plots of land have been distributed by the committee to refugees who were forcibly expelled and have recently returned to the country, across various provinces.
The distribution process continues for others as well, he added.
He stated the process of providing winter assistance to returning refugees in different provinces has also been accelerated. This aid includes food and non-food items as well as cash assistance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia supports a united, independent and peaceful Afghanistan and believes in strengthening regional stability, security and constructive engagement.
He made the remarks during a ceremony to receive the credentials of Gul Hassan Hassan, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to Moscow.
According to a statement from the Afghan Embassy in Russia, Putin referred in his speech to recent positive developments in Afghanistan and praised measures taken by the IEA to combat narcotics and ensure security.
Gul Hassan Hassan, the Ambassador of IEA to Moscow, formally presented his credentials to President Putin at an official ceremony held at the Kremlin Palace on Thursday.
Following the presentation of credentials, the two sides held a separate meeting in which Ambassador Hassan expressed appreciation for Putin’s remarks and conveyed messages from the Leader of the Islamic Emirate, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Both sides emphasized the need to expand bilateral relations and continue cooperation.
Badruddin Haqqani, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates, has met and held talks with a number of prominent Afghan elders and traders residing in the country.
According to a statement issued by the Afghan Embassy in the UAE on Friday, Afghan traders at the meeting described the Afghan Embassy as the shared home of all Afghans and said that supporting the governing system in the country is their Islamic and moral responsibility.
They also raised several commercial challenges and called on the Afghan Embassy to pay special attention to supporting the rights of Afghan workers and traders in the UAE.
Badruddin Haqqani said that serving Afghans residing in the country and defending their legitimate rights are among the embassy’s top priorities, emphasizing that comprehensive efforts will be made to create necessary facilities and address existing problems.
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