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Tobias Ellwood faces no confidence motion after praising IEA

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Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the select defense committee in the UK parliament, is facing a no confidence motion after publishing a video in which he claimed Afghanistan has improved since the Islamic Emirate regained power.

The former UK defense minister faced a backlash from members of his own committee after claiming security in Afghanistan has “vastly improved” and “corruption is down” since the IEA returned in 2021.

He has called for Britain to reopen its embassy in Kabul and engage with the IEA.

Ellwood has since from Twitter and expressed regret over its recording.

But his apology has not prevented members of the cross-party Commons defense committee from attempting to oust him as chairman.

The committee has confirmed that the Tory MPs Mark Francois and Richard Drax, along with Labour’s Kevan Jones and Derek Twigg, submitted a no confidence motion on Wednesday, Telegraph reported.

Asked why he supported a vote on the former Army captain’s chairmanship, Jones told the PA news agency: “I support this motion because it is not the first time the chairman has made comments which are at odds with the committee. His latest video is a step too far.”

Ellwood has yet to respond to the publication of the motion.

In a previous statement, published on Thursday, Ellwood said the “reflections of my personal visit could have been better worded”, no matter how “well intentioned” they were.

Ellwood tweeted: “I’ve always believed politics includes looking over the horizon and daring to explore viable, long-term solutions, no matter how challenging the problem.

“But with that comes a duty to put your hand up when you get it wrong – as I did in reporting my recent Afghan visit.”

Ellwood said he witnessed the “increasing restrictions on women and girls” while in Afghanistan but argued that the crackdown on female liberties indicated “our current strategy, of shouting from afar after abruptly abandoning the country in 2021, is not working”.

Ellwood’s video was criticized by his colleagues.

At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Francois told Rishi Sunak that he and some of his committee colleagues were “absolutely stunned” by the video.

The Prime Minister told the backbencher he would “look into” the video.

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Khalilzad warns Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions likely to worsen after fresh airstrikes

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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

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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.

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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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