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Tribal elders arrested after negotiating check post deals for Taliban
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Sunday that a number of tribal elders who have acted as mediators to negotiate between government forces and the Taliban for handing over outposts to the militants have been arrested.
Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the MoI, said in series of tweets that “indeed, the act of them (elders) is a direct cooperation with the Taliban.”
“The Afghan Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) have already been directed to arrest anyone who [acts as mediator],” Arian tweeted.
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said Sunday that a number of districts are virtually under economic siege by the Taliban, and as roads are closed, people are not be able to access basic necessities, food, and services.
The organization stated that the use of economic blockades as a tactic of war deprives people of their right to life, of their ability to enjoy their economic rights, and therefore it is a crime.
AIHRC has called on the Taliban to immediately reopen the roads so that “people, who are affected by the drought and the outbreak of the coronavirus, have access to basic goods and services.”
This comes as four districts in four provinces fell to the Taliban in the past 24 hours, sources told Ariana News on Sunday, adding these were in Kunduz, Farah, Ghor, and Zabul provinces.
The districts are Ali Abad in Kunduz, Arghandab in Zabul, Saghar in Ghor, and Lash Jawin in Farah province.
However, security officials have not confirmed this yet.
According to Atta Jan Haq Bayan, the head of the Zabul provincial council, the Arghandab district government compound has been captured and forces have retreated.
“Headquarters of the district have fallen… and the army brigade also retreated and Taliban took over the district,” said Atta Jan Haq Bayan.
Local sources said that Saghar district in Ghor and Lash Jawin in Farah fell to the Taliban in the past 24 hours.
According to the sources, heavy clashes were ongoing in the Posht-Road district of Farah province.
“Jawin (Lash Jawin) and the Posht-Road were attacked, unfortunately, the Jawin district fell to the Taliban,” said Dadullah Qani, a member of the Farah provincial council.
“Ghor province is in a crisis, three districts have fallen to the Taliban,” said Hamidullah Mutahid, a member of Ghor provincial council.
Afghan officials, meanwhile, said that these districts had not fallen to the Taliban but that the district centers had been relocated in consultation with locals.
Kunduz provincial council members meanwhile confirmed that the Ali Abad district center and some outposts had been seized by the Taliban. Security officials have not confirmed this.
“Enemy attacked security forces in Khan Abad and Ali Abad district,” said Inhamuddin, the spokesman for Kunduz police.
Meanwhile, heavy clashes have been ongoing between Taliban and security forces in nine districts in the eastern and southeastern zones of the country in the past 24 hours.
In addition, sources said that 42 public uprising force members have surrendered to the Taliban in Gardez city, the capital of Paktia province.
Sholgara district in Balkh province has also witnessed heavy clashes between the Taliban and security officials in the past 24 hours, officials said.
“Eight districts are under threat; Sholgara district is also under threat,” said Farhad Azimi, governor of Balkh province.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) meanwhile said the Taliban have suffered heavy casualties in the past 24 hours and at least 181 Taliban members have been killed in clashes.
“We assure people that enemies who posed great threats are defeated,” said Rohullah Ahmadzai, a spokesman for the MoD.
The Presidential Palace (ARG) also said that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) can defeat the Taliban.
“The ANDSF are able to provide security and defend the country’s sovereignty,” said Mohammad Amiri, deputy spokesman for ARG.
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Bayat Foundation helps needy families in Balkh
As part of Bayat Foundation’s Ramadan aid campaign, needy families in Mazar-e-Sharif, in Balkh province, received much needed food packages this week.
The aid package includes rice, flour and oil.
“In continuation of Bayat Foundation’s assistance, this time also a quantity of food such as flour, oil and rice was distributed to needy families in Mazar-e-Sharif; Inshallah, these contributions will continue,” said a representative of the foundation.
Needy families that received aid packages expressed their gratitude but called on other aid organizations to help the needy during these difficult times.
“Many thanks to Bayat Foundation, I thank Bayat Foundation for helping the needy and poor people of this region,” said a recipient said.
“I would like to thank Bayat Foundation for their cooperation in helping the needy in this holy month of Ramadan; it is hoped that traders and charities will do such sustainable work,” said another recipient.
Bayat Foundation is one of the charitable organizations that has played an important role in helping the needy in Afghanistan over the last two decades.
In addition to distributing aid packages to needy and vulnerable families, it has carried out numerous other projects, including the construction of health centers and schools.
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MoI registers over 8,700 criminal cases in the past six months
Abdul Matin Qani, the Ministry of Interior’s spokesman said on Thursday that in the last six months, 8,747 criminal cases have been recorded across the country.
Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Qani said of these cases, 7,233 have been solved while the remaining 1,525 are still being investigated.
He said 12,540 people have been arrested in connection with these crimes.
In addition, 21 kidnappers have been killed, 18 hostages have been freed and 172 people have been arrested in connection with kidnappings in the same period of time.
Qani also said in the last six months 837,000 passports have been distributed. He said three new passport offices will be established in Kabul in the near future.
“10,000 passports are distributed to citizens daily by the Passport Department,” said Qani.
On the issue of narcotics, he said drug cultivation, production and trafficking has been eradicated. He said drug manufacturing equipment and 377 drug factories have been destroyed across the country.
According to him, the ministry has also made advances in collecting illegal weapons, fighting corruption and improving police skills.
Qani stated that during this period, no security incidents took place in most provinces across the country.
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TAPI gas company CEO satisfied with project’s progress
The minister of mines and petroleum, Shahabuddin Delawar met with the executive director of the TAPI project and the ambassador of Turkmenistan in Kabul on Thursday to discuss progress around the key project.
Murad Amanov, head of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline project, expressed his satisfaction with the recent progress of the project and talked about the practical roll out of the project.
Delawar said that the preliminary work of TAPI is progressing quickly and that the pipeline will be put into operation in the near future.
TAPI is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with participation of the Asian Development Bank.
The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.
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