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US blacklists 3 leaders, financial facilitator for Afghan affiliate of ISIS
The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on three leaders of Islamic State’s Afghanistan branch (ISIS-K/Daesh) and another man it accused of acting as a financial facilitator for the group, in a move that follows a series of attacks in Kabul claimed by the militant group.
The State Department on Monday named the group’s emir, Sanaullah Ghafari, spokesperson Sultan Aziz Azam and Kabul province leader Maulaw Rajab as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The U.S. Treasury Department also blacklisted Ismatullah Khalozai, accusing him of operating a Turkey-based informal money-moving network, known as a hawala, to transfer funds to finance the Islamic State-Khorasan Province.
“Today’s designation underscores the United States’ determination to prevent ISIS-K and its members from exploiting the international financial system to support terrorist acts in Afghanistan and beyond,” said Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Reuters reported.
The U.N. envoy to Afghanistan last week delivered a bleak assessment of the situation following the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) takeover, saying that the ISIS-K group has grown and now appears present in nearly all 34 provinces.
ISIS claimed responsibility for two explosions that hit a heavily Shi’ite Muslim area of Kabul last week, killing at least one person and wounding at least six others.
The blasts were the latest in a series of attacks in Kabul claimed by the militant Sunni group in recent days, with Shi’ite areas in the west of the city targeted several times. The group has also launched attacks on Shi’ite mosques in the northern city of Kunduz and the southern city of Kandahar.
The attacks have added pressure on the IEA government, which is grappling with a deepening economic crisis, and dented its assertion that it has restored security to Afghanistan after decades of war.
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Kazakhstan calls for coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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