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Pentagon says no decision yet on troops withdrawal from Afghanistan
Pentagon says that Washington is ready to “orderly” pullout forces from Afghanistan if US President Joe Biden decides to withdraw.
Under the US-Taliban agreement, which was signed last year in Doha, foreign troops should leave Afghanistan by May 1 “if the Taliban meets certain conditions.”
Pentagon said that there are currently almost 10,000 foreign troops – including 2,500 US soldiers – in Afghanistan.
Addressing the reporters on Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby stated that US has not completed its review over troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Kirby emphasized that no decision has been made yet.
Kirby noted that if the president decides to withdraw, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is confident that Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, and Army Gen. Austin Miller, the commander of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission and U.S. Forces — Afghanistan, “will get it done in a safe, orderly and effective way.”
Kirby told reporters that one of the reasons Secretary Austin went to Afghanistan “to meet with Afghan and US leaders was to listen to them, their concerns and see the situation for himself.”
He noted that Austin was in Kabul not to deliver a message to President Ashraf Ghani, but “to listen and learn.”
“It will inform his participation in the review that’s ongoing… And it will certainly inform the advice, whatever advice that might be, that he will give to President Biden,” Kirby said.
Kirby restated: “We all want to see a responsible end to this war that is sustainable, and it’s based on a negotiated political settlement. That’s what we’re all driving to.”
This comes as US State Secretary Antony Blinken stated Tuesday NATO Allies and partners remain firmly committed to Afghanistan’s long-term security and stability through the Resolute Support training mission.
“We will ensure that Afghan soil is never again used to launch an attack on America or her allies,” he said.
“As stated at the NATO Defense Ministerial, the U.S. and our NATO Allies and partners are pushing for a responsible end to the war in Afghanistan. As Allies we must remain unified: we went in together, we will adjust together, and when the time is right, we will leave together,” Blinken tweeted.
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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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