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US, Afghanistan in talks to swap detainees, WSJ reports

In August last year, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, said that they will release the prisoners in exchange for Afghans held by the United States.

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The Biden administration is negotiating with Afghanistan to exchange Americans detained in the country for at least one high-profile prisoner held in Guantanamo Bay with alleged ties to former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Representatives of the White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

Representatives for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) also did not immediately respond, WSJ reported.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden's administration is seeking the return of three Americans arrested in 2022 - Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi - in exchange for Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, the WSJ reported.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that the Biden administration has been negotiating with the IEA since at least July last year on a US proposal to exchange Corbett, Glezmann and Habibi for Rahim.

The IEA, who deny holding Habibi, countered with an offer to exchange Glezmann and Corbett for Rahim and two others, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In August last year, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, said that they will release the prisoners in exchange for Afghans held by the United States.

“Two Americans who were found guilty in Afghanistan for violating Afghan laws are in prison. They are here. But if they want the release of the prisoners, we also have our own Afghans who are in American prisons and should be released.

“We don't have anyone named Habibi in our prisons. But investigation is ongoing to find out what happened in this regard,” Mujahid said.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council said they could not confirm the WSJ story, but added that the administration was "working around the clock" to secure the release of the three Americans.

Rahim's lawyer, James Connell, told Reuters that neither the Biden administration nor the IEA had informed him or Rahim of the negotiations.

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Pakistani politician Rehman says his country cannot afford war with Afghanistan

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Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, leader of Pakistani political party Jamaat-e-Islami, said on Thursday that Pakistan cannot afford war with Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan needs to understand that its matters cannot be addressed without us [Pakistan]," Rehman said on Samaa TV.

“We have come up with the proposal that the JI and other political forces should hold the jirga on the matter,” said Rehman.

“Some of the delegations will visit Afghanistan in the forthcoming days,” he added.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that attacks in the country are planned in Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate, however, has denied the allegations, saying Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan's "security failure".

The Pakistani army carried out airstrikes on Barmal district of Afghanistan's Paktika province last month, killing and wounding dozens of people.

The Islamic Emirate retaliated by attacking several points across the Durand Line.

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Biden: History will reflect that withdrawal from Afghanistan was right thing to do

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US President Joe Biden, in his final speech to military before leaving office, defended the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, saying that history will reflect that it was the right thing to do.

He said the troops "rose to the occasion" when he asked for the war in Afghanistan to end, "evacuating Americans, allies and our Afghan partners, accomplishing the largest airlift in military history and ending a war. The same courage is defined by American service in Afghanistan for over 20 years."

He said he believes "history will reflect that was the right thing to do, but I know, I know, it was hard after decades of losing your brothers and sisters, including [during the] withdrawal. The pain was still real. And it was for me as well. Every day I still carry, every single day."

Biden has been criticized for his handling of the messy Afghanistan withdrawal, when 13 US soldiers were killed at the Kabul airport in August 2021.

He added that six months after American troops withdrew from Afghanistan, "when Russia began its largest war in Europe since World War II, I asked you to help defend Ukraine. You didn't hesitate. You kept Ukraine in the fight, trained Ukrainian soldiers and pilots, troops, bolstered NATO's eastern flank. And, above all, you showed the world America stands up for freedom, stands with our friends."

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that in Afghanistan, President Biden ended America's longest war that spanned four presidents and he refused hand it over to one more.

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IEA has provided facilities for industrialists and investors: Baradar

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Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar says the Islamic Emirate has provided land, privileges, and facilities for industrialists and returning investors in industrial zones.

Speaking at a conference in Kabul on Thursday titled “Calls for Investment in Afghanistan”, Baradar said that the law for industrial zones had been signed with an introduction, six chapters, 11 sections, and 67 articles.

"I urge industrialists and investors to transfer their industries and investments to the country so that they can fulfill their responsibility in the development of the country's industry,” said Baradar.

He stated that the IEA has increased customs duties on imported items that are produced domestically and meet the needs of the people, in order to support local production.

Baradar added that all government departments have been instructed to prioritize domestic products in their purchases.

Meanwhile, the acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi also announced at the conference that 160,000 hectares of land has been allocated to industrialists, and 1,200 investors have invested $500 million in various sectors.

Azizi said: “We have around 1,200 companies requesting land, and approximately $500 million is being invested by them in Afghanistan."

According to him, returning industrialists and traders are exempt from customs duties on machinery and equipment imports, and at their request, two-year visas will be issued for their foreign technical workers and engineers.

The acting Minister of Economy Din Mohammad Hanif also said: “If Afghan investors residing abroad bring half of their investment back to the country, Afghanistan will become self-sufficient."

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