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US State Department orders nonessential embassy personnel to leave Kabul
The US State Department is downsizing the US Embassy in Kabul and has ordered all nonessential personnel to leave Afghanistan amid concerns of heightened violence as US and NATO troops withdraw.
The department “ordered the departure from U.S. Embassy Kabul of U.S. government employees whose functions can be performed elsewhere,” it noted in a travel advisory issued Tuesday.
In an advisory posted to the embassy’s website, the US stated the “Department of State ordered the departure from U.S. Embassy Kabul of U.S. government employees whose functions can be performed elsewhere due to increasing violence and threat reports in Kabul.
“The Consular Section in U.S. Embassy Kabul will remain open for limited consular services to U.S. citizens and for Afghan Special Immigrant Visa processing,” the statement read.
“Commercial flight options from Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) remain available and the U.S. Embassy strongly suggests that U.S. citizens make plans to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible. Given the security conditions and reduced staffing, the Embassy’s ability to assist U.S. citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited,” read the statement.
U.S. officials would not confirm the number of embassy personnel departing, but insisted it would be small and that all offices and services will remain open at the embassy.
“This does not reflect the diminution of our diplomatic engagement in Afghanistan,” a State Department official told NPR.
He did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the record about the embassy departures. “I would call it a reposturing so that we can prepare for the departure of troops in a prudent manner while continuing our diplomatic priorities in country.”
The departing diplomats will continue to do their work remotely.
“As we’ve all discovered during COVID days, we are able to telework more effectively than we ever imagined. That’s what we’re going to be looking at doing,” the official told NPR.
State Department officials say they will have to find alternatives to medical evacuation and other services that the U.S. military had been providing embassy employees.
“There are a number of security-related things that the military has provided previously, and as they depart, we need to take those functions as best we can,” NPR quoted the official as saying.
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Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan boost trade and digital finance ties
Minister Sydykov, in turn, pledged the continuation of Kyrgyzstan’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and highlighted his country’s interest in working together on e-governance initiatives.
Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, Abdul Salam Hanafi, has met with a high-level Kyrgyz delegation led by Minister of Economy and Commerce Bakhyt Sydykov to discuss expanding bilateral trade and strengthening cooperation in digital financial services.
During the meeting, Hanafi reaffirmed Afghanistan’s readiness to deepen ties with Kyrgyzstan, stressing the importance of developing electronic administration systems and modern banking channels to facilitate trade and financial transactions between the two countries.
Minister Sydykov, in turn, pledged the continuation of Kyrgyzstan’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and highlighted his country’s interest in working together on e-governance initiatives. He also pointed to potential cooperation in areas such as the printing of securities and the development of electronic payment systems.
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India reaffirms healthcare support to Afghanistan, hands over medicines and vaccines
Indian officials said the support underscores New Delhi’s commitment to helping improve healthcare services and access to life-saving treatment in Afghanistan.
India has reaffirmed its commitment to continued humanitarian assistance and healthcare cooperation with Afghanistan, with a focus on the long-term supply of essential medicines.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda held a productive meeting with Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali. The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation in the health sector and addressing the medical needs of the Afghan people.
During the meeting, a symbolic handover of cancer medicines and vaccines was carried out, reflecting India’s ongoing support for Afghanistan’s healthcare system. The ministry also announced that a larger consignment of medicines, vaccines, and a 128-slice CT scanner is being dispatched to Afghanistan as part of India’s humanitarian assistance efforts.
Indian officials said the support underscores New Delhi’s commitment to helping improve healthcare services and access to life-saving treatment in Afghanistan.
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Afghan forces target hideout of suspects linked to cross-border attacks on Chinese nationals
Afghan forces target hideout of suspects linked to cross-border attacks on Chinese nationals
Security sources said that special forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) have targeted a hideout in Badakhshan province linked to suspects involved in attacks against Chinese nationals in neighboring Tajikistan.
According to the sources, the operation was carried out on Tuesday night in Faizabad city, where several individuals suspected of orchestrating cross-border attacks from Badakhshan’s frontier regions were believed to be present. As a result of the operation, one wanted suspect was arrested alive along with weapons and other military equipment.
The sources added that preliminary investigations and initial confessions by the detainee indicate the planning of the attacks was carried out from outside Afghanistan.
This comes as Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on November 27 that three Chinese citizens were killed in an attack in Khatlon province.
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