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US to keep two larger military bases in Afghanistan after drawdown

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(Last Updated On: December 3, 2020)

The Pentagon has approved drawdown plans in Afghanistan but will still keep two large military bases in the country, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event hosted by Brookings Institution think tank, Milley said that in addition to the two bases, the US would also keep “several satellite bases.”

This was the first time a Pentagon or White House official has offered any details following outgoing US President Donald Trump’s sudden announcement last month of another major drawdown of troops – from around 4,500 to 2,500 by mid-January.

This decision also left many NATO allies questioning the future of the mission in Afghanistan without US assistance.

Milley meanwhile said on Wednesday that the US military will also continue its two core missions – assisting Afghan security forces who are locked in conflict with Taliban insurgents and carrying out counterterrorism operations against IS-K (Daesh) and al-Qaeda.

However, Milley did not say which bases in Afghanistan would be shut down nor which bases would remain.

He also declined to speculate about what President-elect Joe Biden may decide. “What comes after that, that will be up to a new administration,” he said.

Milley also said the United States had “achieved a modicum of success” in Afghanistan.

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Kyrgyzstan calls on Central Asian states to strengthen cooperation on Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: November 29, 2023)

Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev on Tuesday called on Central Asian nations to strengthen cooperation and coordination with regards to Afghanistan.

Speaking at the 13th Annual Meeting of Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Central Asian states, Kulubaev said that the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan plays an important role in ensuring regional security and prosperity.

He expressed support for the activities of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and thanked the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva for her work within the framework of the UNAMA mandate, Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Roza Otunbayeva also attended the two-day meeting in Bishkek which ended on Tuesday.

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Construction of Wakhan road in Badakhshan has started: Mujahid

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(Last Updated On: November 29, 2023)

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says the construction of the Wakhan corridor road in Badakhshan has started and once complete will have a huge impact on Afghanistan’s economy.

The planned road will directly link Afghanistan with China through the narrow strip of land separating the two countries.

Mujahid said that the leadership of the IEA has taken important steps in the direction of developing the country’s economic relations and is trying to create different transit routes.

According to him, with the construction of this road, Afghanistan’s trade relations will expand.

“The area of the Wakhan road to the Chinese border is 60 km. Currently, the machinery of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Works is there and they are being used,” he said.

Meanwhile, officials at the Chamber of Commerce and Investment have asked the IEA to complete the construction of the Wakhan road in Badakhshan as soon as possible so that Afghanistan no longer needs to depend on Pakistan’s transit routes for trade purposes.

“We request the elders of the Islamic Emirate to open the Wakhan port as soon as possible because our trade is 80 to 90 percent with China,” said a member of ACCI.

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Afghan embassy in India will soon resume operations: Stanikzai

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(Last Updated On: November 29, 2023)

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Political Deputy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has said that the Afghan consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad are in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, and the Afghan embassy in New Delhi will soon resume operations.

“Our consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad are functioning and are in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They provide consular services on a daily basis. Currently, our consuls in Mumbai and Hyderabad are present at the embassy in Delhi. I talked to them. They have reopened the embassy,” Stanikzai said in an interview with RTA that was broadcast on Tuesday night.

Stanikzai said that the Afghan embassy in India will resume its operations in the next two or three days.

Recently, the Afghan embassy in India announced its permanent closure, citing challenges from the Indian government.

Stanikzai in the interview also said that in his opinion, the Islamic Emirate has been recognized because it still has diplomatic relations with the countries it had in the past.

He said that there are currently about 20 embassies operating in Afghanistan.

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