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US warns war crime allegations could prevent work with Australia’s SAS

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(Last Updated On: June 1, 2023)

The United States has warned that allegations of war crimes against Australian soldiers in Afghanistan could prevent U.S. forces from working with Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment, Australia’s defense force chief said on Wednesday.

Gen. Angus Campbell told a Senate committee that he received a letter from the U.S. defense attache in Canberra in March 2021 suggesting the elite SAS may have been “tainted” by the allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan raised in an Australian war crime investigation report that was made public in 2000, Associated Press reported.

Campbell said “one individual” had his “posted position adjusted” following the letter.

The letter warned that the Brereton report, which detailed “credible information” that Australian soldiers had unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners and civilians, could trigger a U.S. law that prevents the country’s military working with units linked to gross violations of human rights.

“I received a letter from the defense attache of the United States Armed Forces based in Canberra, to me, indicating that the release of the Brereton report and its findings may initiate Leahy Law considerations,” Campbell said.

Campbell said he did not believe he informed the defense minister at the time and had not informed the current defense minister, Richard Marles.

Campbell was quizzed by senators on why he had not advised successive governments about such a letter from Australia’s most important security treaty partner, AP reported.

Independent Senator Jacqi Lambie asked whether the government should have been advised of such a “pretty big matter.”

Campbell replied: “I think there’s a difference between ‘may’ and ‘does.’ So the defense attache was indicating that it ‘may,’ rather than it ‘does.’”

Campbell later corrected himself, telling the Senate committee that records showed he had informed the previous government’s defense minister in 2021.

The U.S. never applied Leahy Law restrictions to the Australian military and 12 months after the letter marked the “conclusion of the issue,” Campbell said.

Marles’ office confirmed that the current defense minister, whose government came to power in elections in May last year, had not been briefed on the issue.

Marles “is briefed on matters relating to his portfolio as they arise and as is appropriate,” his office said in a statement.

Police in March charged the first Australian veteran for an alleged killing in Afghanistan, three years after the Brereton investigation found that 19 Australian special forces soldiers could face charges for illegal conduct during the conflict.

Former SAS trooper Oliver Schulz, 41, was charged with the war crime of murder in the death of an Afghan who was shot in 2012 in a wheat field in Uruzgan province.

More than 39,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan over 20 years until the 2021 withdrawal.

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IEA’s foreign ministry summons Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over airstrike

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2024)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over Islamabad’s airstrike inside Afghanistan in the early hours of Monday morning.

The ministry presented the charge d’affaires with a letter of protest and advised the new civilian government to curb anti-Afghanistan actions and to not ‘complicate’ relations between the two Muslim countries.

The ministry also condemned the airstrikes, in Paktika and Khost, and warned Islamabad it has a long history of fighting foreign powers and that it will not tolerate military action on its territory.

The ministry said in a statement that Pakistan’s new civilian government and the people of Pakistan should not allow some circles to complicate the relations between the two neighboring Muslim countries.

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Bayat Foundation steps in to help needy families over Ramadan

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2024)

Dozens of needy families in Herat province received much needed Ramadan aid packages on Monday from Bayat Foundation.

According to Bayat Foundation officials, a transparent assessment was carried out on people in need before the aid was distributed.

The packages included flour, rice and cooking oil. The foundation will carry this initiative through to other provinces during the holy month of Ramadan.

Officials said poverty and unemployment in the country has resulted in more people needing assistance.

Recipients of this aid welcomed the initiative and called on other organizations to also help the needy.

Over the past 20 years, the Bayat Foundation has carried out countless campaigns to help the needy across the country. The foundation is also actively involved in education and health – with the aim of helping the needy in Afghanistan.

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Border forces target military posts along Durand Line in response to airstrikes

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2024)

The Ministry of National Defense of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said Monday morning that border forces targeted Pakistan “military centers” along the Durand Line in response to airstrikes against civilian homes in Paktika and Khost provinces.

In the early hours of Monday morning, Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, hitting residential houses in Spera district in Khost and Bermel district in Paktika.

At least eight people were killed – five women and three children.

Inayatullah Khwarazmi, the defense ministry’s spokesperson said on X: “In response to this aggression, the border forces targeted Pakistan’s military centers along the Durand line with heavy weapons.”

Khwarazmi added that the country’s defense and security forces are ready to respond to any aggressive actions and will defend their territorial integrity.

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