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SIGAR finds single key factor to ANDSF collapse was withdrawal of US troops
The United States’ Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has found that the single most important factor behind the Afghan National Defense and Security Force’s (ANDSF) collapse in August last year was the US’ decision to withdraw military forces and contractors from Afghanistan.
This decision was taken after the US signed an agreement in February 2020, under former president Donald Trumps administration, with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) - an agreement adhered to by President Joe Biden.
In their latest report, SIGAR stated that due to the ANDSF’s dependency on US military forces, these events destroyed ANDSF morale.
The ANDSF had long relied on the US military’s presence to protect against large-scale ANDSF losses, and Afghan troops saw the United States as a means of holding their government accountable for paying their salaries.
The US-IEA agreement made it clear that this was no longer the case, resulting in a sense of abandonment within the ANDSF and the Afghan population, SIGAR reported.
The agreement set in motion a series of events crucial to understanding the ANDSF’s collapse, SIGAR stated.
Among those included a drop in the number of US airstrikes; the fact that ANDSF remained reliant on the US military, especially as “the United States designed the ANDSF as a mirror image of US forces.
“This created long-term ANDSF dependencies. The United States created a combined arms military structure that required a high degree of professional military sophistication and leadership,” SIGAR stated adding that the ANDSF had stockpiles of US-provided weapons and supplies, but did not have the logistics capabilities to move these items quickly enough to meet operational demands and had to rely on a thinly-stretched Afghan Air Force to do so.
“As a result, ANDSF units complained that they did not have enough ammunition, food, water, or other military equipment to sustain military engagements against the Taliban (IEA).
“Additionally, the Afghan government failed to develop a national security strategy and plan for nationwide security following the withdrawal of US forces,” SIGAR stated adding that instead, former president Ashraf Ghani frequently changed ANDSF leaders and appointed loyalists, while marginalizing well-trained ANDSF officers aligned with the United States.
The constant turnover weakened military chains of command, trust, and morale in the ANDSF. “Young, welltrained, educated, and professional ANDSF officers who grew up under US tutelage were marginalized and their ties to the U.S. became a liability.”
SIGAR also stated that the United States created more long-term dependencies by providing the ANDSF with advanced military equipment that they could not sustain and that required a US military or contractor presence and that the US lacked any real way to measure the ANDSF’s development.
“The metrics DOD used were inconsistent and unable to measure the development of ANDSF capabilities and capacities over time,” SIGAR stated.
SIGAR also stated that while ANDSF members have either left Afghanistan, or are in hiding, there are those who “have joined extremist groups in Afghanistan.”
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EU Parliament condemns governments that uphold IEA by normalizing relations
The European Union Parliament on Thursday in an adopted resolution on the human rights situation in Afghanistan condemned the countries that uphold the Islamic Emirate by normalizing relations.
EU Parliament also criticized the new law of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced recently by the Islamic Emirate.
EU has also demanded new sanctions against the IEA.
The resolution stated: “MEPs want the EU to support the recognition of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity and call for Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to be held accountable, through the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation and the establishment of a UN Independent Investigative Mechanism.”
The resolution, however, urges the EU and donor states to increase humanitarian aid and funding to support basic needs, livelihoods and Afghan civil society.
The resolution was adopted by 565 votes in favor, 8 against and 43 abstentions.
In the meantime, IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has said that the imposition of sanctions and pressure by some countries on the caretaker government has failed as in the past and the Afghan government wants positive interaction with all countries of the world.
“The European Union is experiencing the failed ways that they have already taken this path and have not gotten results,” said Mujahid.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers positive interaction as the only solution to all problems,” he added.
Earlier, the UN Security Council also expressed serious concern about the implementation of IEA's Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice law in a meeting regarding the situation in Afghanistan.
IEA, however, regarding the criticisms of the implementation of vice and virtue said that this law was compiled based on Islamic Sharia and considered opposing it as a contradiction with Islamic Sharia.
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IEA tells religious scholars to avoid talks on controversial topics
The statement said that “those scholars who incite disputes, promote superstitions, and use inappropriate words in the media” should not be invited to events.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Friday called on scholars to avoid discussing controversial topics that cause agitation among the ordinary people.
A statement issued by the office of the Prime Minister states that scholars should avoid discussing “rare” issues that could cause misguidance among some and that ordinary people cannot understand.
The statement added that "some of the strange issues whose occurrence is not common should not be expressed in mosques and public gatherings, because the enemies of Islam make fun of such issues."
IEA also called on preachers and teachers to avoid publishing "specialized, complex and detailed academic and sufi topics in the media" because they are "special" and for "special audiences".
The statement said that "those scholars who incite disputes, promote superstitions, and use inappropriate words in the media" should not be invited to events.
“Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to create discord, division, strife, and misguidance and it will take serious actions to prevent them,” the statement said.
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Pakistani minister calls for increased foreign aid for Afghan refugees
He emphasized the need for optimal utilization of resources to effectively achieve the objectives of the Commissionorate of Afghan Refugees.
Pakistan's Minister for States and Frontier Regions, Kashmir Affairs, and Gilgit Baltistan, Amir Muqam, has called on the international community to increase funding and support for Afghan refugees.
Speaking at a meeting held at the office of the Commissioner of Afghan Refugees in Karachi, Muqam said that Afghan refugees' needs are growing and require substantial resources.
He emphasized the need for optimal utilization of resources to effectively achieve the objectives of the Commissionorate of Afghan Refugees.
“We look forward to continuing our collaboration to ensure the safety and dignity of refugees within our borders,” Muqam stated.
Pakistan hosts 1.45 million registered Afghan refugees.
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