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US House Republican report blasts Biden over chaotic Afghan withdrawal

Some 800,000 U.S. service members served in Afghanistan following the U.S.-led invasion triggered by the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the U.S. by Afghanistan-based al Qaeda.

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U.S. House of Representatives Republicans will release a long-awaited report on Monday blasting Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration for failures surrounding the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Reuters reported.

The report contends that the administration made its decision to evacuate noncombatants far too late, formally ordering it only on Aug. 16, failed to communicate between departments in Washington and among officials in Afghanistan, and botched the paperwork for the departure of Afghan civilians eligible to leave the country.

It is the result of a three-year investigation led by Representative Michael McCaul, Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“America’s credibility on the world stage was severely damaged after we abandoned Afghan allies to Taliban [Islamic Emirate] reprisal killings — the people of Afghanistan we had promised to protect,” the report said. “And the moral injury to America’s veterans and those still serving remains a stain on this administration’s legacy.”

The withdrawal has become intensely politicized ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election. Last month, the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, shot video for his campaign at Arlington National Cemetery where he appeared at a ceremony honoring troops killed in the evacuation.

Trump has also attacked Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the exit from Afghanistan during campaign appearances, blaming them personally for the deaths at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate. On Aug. 26, 2021, as U.S. forces were trying to help Americans and Afghans flee as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan took control of the country, a suicide attack at the Abbey Gate entrance to Kabul’s airport killed 13 Americans, compounding the U.S. sense of defeat after two decades of war, Reuters reported.

Harris is the Democratic presidential nominee.

Democrats have insisted that some blame for the messy end of the war – less than seven months into Biden’s presidency – should be laid at the feet of Trump, who began the withdrawal process by signing a deal with the Islamic Emirate in 2020.

“When former President Trump took office, there were approximately 14,000 American troops in Afghanistan. Days before leaving office, the former President ordered a further reduction to 2,500,” Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs panel, said in a letter to committee Democrats about the investigation.

Republican committee aides dismissed that contention as partisan politics, saying Biden could have ignored Trump’s agreement or enforced it, accusing officials who served during Biden’s presidency of allowing the Islamic Emirate to disregard its commitments.

Some 800,000 U.S. service members served in Afghanistan following the U.S.-led invasion triggered by the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the U.S. by Afghanistan-based al Qaeda.

During the war, 2,238 U.S. service members died and nearly 21,000 were wounded. Independent estimates put the number of Afghan security forces and civilians killed at more than 100,000, Reuters reported.

McCaul has subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken three times in connection with the Afghanistan investigation, most recently last week, saying that he wants him to testify in person.

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Afghan national with criminal record taken into US immigration custody

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says it has arrested an Afghan national convicted of attempted murder in Rochester, New York.

According to ICE, officers arrested Waheed Allah Mohammad, 39, on Jan. 1. After stabbing his 19-year-old sister, he was convicted in New York in 2009 of first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault and sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervision. 

ICE said Mohammad entered the United States legally in 2004, but his conviction violated the terms of his legal status. An immigration judge ordered his deportation in 2012.

ICE said Mohammad will remain in custody pending his removal from the United States.

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Pakistan raises concern over growing Afghanistan-India engagement

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Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday voiced concern over expanding ties between Afghanistan and India, as Islamabad grapples with a sharp rise in militant attacks and vows to eliminate terrorism.

Speaking to reporters, Tarar criticized repeated visits by Afghan officials to India, alleging they form part of a “foreign-funded agenda” aimed at destabilizing Pakistan. He questioned the nature of such engagement, linking it to militant violence inside the country.

India and Afghanistan have repeatedly rejected Pakistan’s claims of supporting armed groups.

His remarks follow visits to India last year by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi and Public Health Minister Noor Jalal Jalali — among the highest-level Afghan engagements with New Delhi since 2021.

According to Pakistan’s military, the country recorded 5,397 militant incidents in 2025, including 3,811 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1,557 in Balochistan. Security forces conducted more than 75,000 intelligence-based operations, killing 2,597 militants.

Tarar said the government remains determined to combat terrorism in all its forms and ensure the security of Pakistani citizens amid escalating militancy.

Meanwhile, Mohibullah Wasiq, chief of staff at the Foreign Ministry of Afghanistan, highlighted in a post on X late Monday the balanced foreign policy of the Islamic Emirate and announced that expanding bilateral relations with India based on the principle of mutual respect is one of the important priorities of the country’s foreign policy.

According to him, after four years of IEA rule, this new stage of relations provides an important opportunity to strengthen economic cooperation, develop trade, consolidate bilateral relations and secure common interests between the two countries.

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Afghan student found dead in India

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The body of an Afghan student was discovered late Saturday night in his apartment in Gujarat state, India.

The student, Bainullah Ziya, 34, was studying for a PhD at the Department of Architecture at MS University and was living in a residential apartment in the Fatehgunj area, Vadodara city, Times of India reported.

Indian police said the body has been sent for post-mortem examination. Officials suspect suicide, but the reasons behind the alleged act are still unknown.

Sayajigunj police said they are also examining Ziya’s mobile phone to gather clues about the incident.

Friends of Ziya said they had knocked on his apartment door on Saturday but received no response. When the police opened the door, they found his body lying inside the room.

Ziya had been living in Vadodara for the past two years while pursuing his studies in architecture.

Local authorities said the investigation into the exact cause of death is ongoing, and final results will be shared after completion of the legal process.

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