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Taliban claims it has ‘no hand in civilian killings’

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(Last Updated On: February 1, 2021)

The Taliban early Monday said there was no truth in the claims made Sunday by the foreign community in Afghanistan that it was killing civilians, destroying public infrastructure and carrying out assassinations.

In a statement published on their website, the Taliban stated: “Representatives of a number of European and other countries have baselessly asserted through a statement that the Islamic Emirate is continuing a senseless war, is killing civilians, is destroying public infrastructure and is involved in assassinations.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan rejects all such allegations,” the statement read adding that “all charges which they have leveled are unsubstantiated.”

According to the Taliban, the group “has absolutely no hand in civilian killings and neither is it involved in the destruction of public infrastructure, rather it considers safeguarding and securing public infrastructure its own responsibility.”

This comes after the EU and other diplomatic missions in Afghanistan including Australia, Canada, the UK, the US and NATO, issued a joint statement on Sunday that called out the Taliban for the ongoing attacks.

In a united front, they accused the Taliban of being responsible for the majority of targeted violence in the country and said the group’s “attacks undermine state institutions and contribute to an insecure environment in which terrorist and criminal groups are able to freely operate.”

The foreign missions pointed out that they had all invested heavily in energy, food security, water resources, and road infrastructure for the benefit of the Afghan people.

In line with this aid having been provided they said: “We condemn the ongoing destruction of vital infrastructure, including digging up roads, destroying cell towers, and blowing up energy stations by the Taliban.

“These actions serve no purpose besides hurting the Afghan people who – largely due to decades of conflict – suffer from food insecurity and significant economic and development challenges, further exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic.”

The missions stated that the Taliban must “understand that their violent, destructive actions outrage the world and must cease if peace is to come to Afghanistan.”

The EU and foreign missions stated they “expect the Taliban to demonstrate its support for the people of Afghanistan by ending the violence, stopping the destruction of vital infrastructure, and committing to a sustainable peace, for the benefit of all Afghans.”

But the Taliban shifted blame and stated: “The principle and leading cause for the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan is foreign occupation from which the Afghans have died for a full two decades, which has imposed on our people an impotent administration and which is still continuing to lend support to this corrupt regime.”

The group went on to blame foreign countries, including the EU for the current crisis.

“Unfortunately, most countries including the European Union are either directly or indirectly involved in the tragedies, destruction, bombings, killings and various other crimes being experienced by our people for the past twenty years, and some are still exerting efforts to extend the presence of foreign occupation forces in Afghanistan and to prolong the ongoing conflict.”

The group said if the Doha agreement, signed in February between the US and the Taliban, is implemented, it will prove beneficial and in the interest of everyone including Afghans but if it was not adhered to there would be repercussions.

“…if some discard the Doha accord and keep searching for excuses to continue the war and protract the occupation, then history has proven that the Afghan Mujahid nation can valiantly defend its values, soil, homeland and rights,” the statement read.

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Kabul police summons Afghan YouTuber Hamayon

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

Afghanistan’s YouTuber Hamayon Afghan was summoned to the police station for publishing a woman’s interview without her permission, Kabul police said.

The spokesman of Kabul Police Khalid Zadran said Friday on X that Hamayon interviewed an old woman and published the report without her permission.

“After the interview, the interviewee’s family complained to the police and the police summoned Hamayon Afghan to the police station,” said Zadran.

Zadran stated that police are working to solve the problem with the two sides’ agreement as soon as possible.

He urges people to avoid posting rumors on the issue.

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Contract worth $53 million signed for construction of last section of Khaf–Herat railway

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

A contract worth $53 million was signed Thursday for the construction of the last section of Khaf-Herat railway that connects Afghanistan with Iran.

The contract was signed between Afghanistan Railway Authority and Gamma Group in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, his office said in a statement.

The segment is 47-kilometer long, stretching from Rabat Parian to Herat International Airport and the Industrial Town, according to the statement.

It added that completion and standard operational readiness are expected within approximately two years.

“Upon its completion, this segment will integrate the Khaf-Herat regional connectivity project with Iran’s significant seaports and facilitate access to Europe via the Turkish railway network,” the statement said.

“Furthermore, traversing Afghan territory, it will bolster commercial exchanges between Central and South Asia. Notably, this project’s realization will enable the expansion of railway networks into Farah, Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces,” it added.

Gamma operates across Europe and Asia in multiple sectors including construction, renewable energy, power transmission, mining, railways among others.

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US urges IEA to fulfill counter-terrorism commitments

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The US State Department said on Thursday that Washington is committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism.

“We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism, and we continue to push the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) to fulfill all of their counterterrorism commitments to the international community,” the department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing in Washington.

He reiterated that the United States had clearly communicated to the IEA that it’s their responsibility to ensure that “they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether it be Al Qaeda or ISIS-K or any other terrorist organization”.

Miller also reassured US allies that Washington was closely watching the developments in Afghanistan and was ready to deal with any threat emerging from the region.

“We remain vigilant against the evolving threat of these terrorist groups, and our global coalition to defeat ISIS and the C5+1 help intensify our efforts to monitor terrorist threats from the region and prevent their ability to raise funds, travel, and spread propaganda,” he said.

C5+1 refers to a diplomatic platform involving the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgy­zstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and the United States. It serves as a forum for discussing and addressing regional issues such as security, economic development, and cooperation.

“The United States remains vigilant against the evolving threat posed by terrorist groups, including ISIS-K, and has maintained an unwavering focus on terrorism since President Joe Biden took office three years ago,” Miller said.

The US, he said, was “working both unilaterally and with its partners to successfully disrupt threats across the globe and degrade ISIS”.

“We will continue to work to hold ISIS accountable for its actions and to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western countries,” Miller said.

This comes as IEA has repeatedly said that it is committed to not allowing anyone to use Afghanistan soil against any other country.

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