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US may increase troop numbers before full withdrawal: Pentagon
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Friday there could be an increase in the number of troops in Afghanistan in order to complete a safe withdrawal of all foreign forces by September 11.
Addressing a press conference Friday, Kirby said: “It is not out of the realm the possibility that for a short period of time, there will have to be some additional enabling capabilities added to Afghanistan, to help effect a safe, orderly, and deliberately planned drawdown of everybody by the president’s deadline, early September.”
Kirby did not however elaborate on the nature of the increase in US troops. “I can’t speak today with exactly what that would look like, how many, when they would be going in. But as we transitioned out of Iraq, of course, it’s logical to assume that you may need some logistics help, maybe some engineering help.”
“You may have to add some force protection capabilities, temporarily, just to make sure that the drawdown goes in a safe, orderly, and effective way. Again, we’ll know more as we get closer, but that would not be out of the realm of possibility,” Kirby said.
Responding to a question, Kirby said that the Department of Defense is still working out what the future bilateral security relationship is going to be with Afghanistan.
“We’re going to transition to a bilateral relationship, a military relationship that’s more akin to the kinds of relationships we have with other countries,” he said.
“It will not include a US military footprint on the ground in Afghanistan with the exception of what’s going to be required to support the diplomatic mission there. All that’s still being worked out. So, I can’t speak with specificity today about what contract support the Afghan security forces are going to need going forward,” he said.
The United States, he said, will maintain counterterrorism capabilities to continue to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a launching pad for terrorist attacks on the US.
“We have a vast range of capabilities available to us and we’re not going to speak to the details of exactly how we’re going to maintain those capabilities and utilise those capabilities,” he said.
On Wednesday US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that a full withdrawal of troops would start from May 1 and end by September 11 – the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States.
The Taliban did not however welcome the decision and said on Thursday the US was in breach of its agreement with the group, signed in February last year that called for full withdrawal by May 1.
Responding to the announcement, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid threatened retaliation and said on Twitter: “If the agreement is breached and foreign forces fail to exit our country on the specified date, problems will certainly be compounded and those (who) failed to comply with the agreement will be held liable.”
Kirby meanwhile acknowledged the danger and responded with a warning.
“We’ve seen their threats, and it would be imprudent for us not to take those threats seriously,” Kirby said.
“It would also be imprudent for the Taliban to not take seriously what the president and what (Defense) Secretary (Lloyd) Austin both made clear, that any attack on our drawdown, on our forces or our allies and partners as they draw down, will be met very forcefully.”
Kirby also insisted that even though American forces will be leaving, “it doesn’t mean that we’re walking away from our Afghan partners.”
U.S. officials have promised to continue paying the salaries of Afghan security force members and to financially support the Afghan Air Force.
Kirby said that going forward, the U.S. will continue to support the Afghan military.
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UNESCO: 2.4 million Afghan girls denied education since 2021
UNESCO estimates that the ban could force around 600,000 Afghan women out of the workforce by 2066 and cause $9.6 billion in lost income. It could also increase the risk of early marriage.
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Russian firm eyes investment in Afghanistan’s power plants
Russia’s Power Machines Company is interested in investing in the rehabilitation and modernization of Afghanistan’s power plants, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) said on Tuesday.
DABS Chief Executive Officer Abdul Haq Hamkar discussed the potential investment with technical officials from Power Machines, with talks focusing on rehabilitating existing power plants, modernizing equipment and expanding power-generation capacity.
According to DABS, Hamkar said the company would cooperate in facilitating preliminary technical assessments of Afghanistan’s power plants and in exploring investment opportunities in the sector.
Denis Rudakov, head of Power Machines’ commercial department, said the Russian company plans to conduct preliminary technical assessments of existing power plants in Afghanistan.
Based on the findings, Power Machines will prepare proposals for rehabilitating facilities, modernizing equipment and increasing electricity-generation capacity, DABS said.
Afghanistan currently has several operational power plants, while efforts are underway to increase their generation capacity and upgrade their equipment, according to DABS.
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IEA denies it is holding Afghan-American Mahmood Shah Habibi
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), on Tuesday denied that IEA authorities detained Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman the US claims disappeared in Kabul four years ago.
“We have no information about Mahmood Shah Habibi. He is not with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. If he were, this issue would have been resolved long ago,” Mujahid said.
His remarks came a day after the FBI marked the fourth anniversary of Habibi’s disappearance and renewed its appeal for information about his whereabouts.
According to the FBI, Habibi disappeared near his home in Kabul on August 10, 2022. At the time, he was working as a consultant for Asia Consultancy Group, a Kabul-based telecommunications company. He had previously served as Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation.
The FBI has alleged that Habibi was detained by the IEA’s General Directorate of Intelligence.
The FBI has continued its investigation and in 2025 released a missing-persons poster for Habibi. The U.S. State Department has also offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his location, recovery and return.
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