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White House receives ‘intel’ on Chinese bounties against US forces

The Trump administration is reportedly declassifying as-yet uncorroborated intelligence, that claims China offered to pay non-state actors in Afghanistan to attack US forces, two senior administration officials tell Axios.
The Chinese embassy in Washington DC did not respond to a request for comment by Axios and according to the report outgoing President Donald Trump is not believed to have discussed the matter with China’s President Xi Jinping.
It was not immediately clear whether any members of Congress or President-elect Joe Biden have been briefed, though Biden now has access to the President’s Daily Brief.
The intelligence was included in the president’s briefing on December 17, and Trump was verbally briefed on the matter by National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, officials told Axios.
According to the Axios article, administration officials across multiple agencies are currently working to corroborate the initial intelligence reports.
Axios was not able to visually inspect any reports detailing the intelligence but they reported stated a summary was described by the officials over the phone.
Axios meanwhile stated that if this intelligence were to be confirmed, it would represent a dramatic strategic shift for China, and sharply escalate tensions between China and the US and on the other hand, if the intelligence does not prove accurate, it raises questions about the motivations of the sources behind it as well as the decision to declassify it.
China has long played a quiet diplomatic role in Afghanistan, inviting Afghan Taliban officials to Beijing to discuss plans for a peace deal and encouraging an Afghan-led solution, though Chinese-made weapons and financing have at times also flowed into the conflict there.
But one senior official told Axios “like all first reports, we react with caution to initial reports” but “any intel reports relating to the safety of our forces we take very seriously.”
Another source said: “The US has evidence that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempted to finance attacks on American servicemen by Afghan non-state actors by offering financial incentives or ‘bounties’,” and said the National Security Council “is coordinating a whole-of-government investigation.”
He would not say whether he was referring to the Taliban, or give details about who “non-state actors” were, Axios reported.
The timing of the alleged bounty offer is unclear. The source would say only that this happened some time after late February when the US struck its deal with the Taliban.
This latest development comes just days after Afghan security officials announced they had discovered an alleged Chinese spy ring operating in the country apparently seeking to target Uyghurs.
Last week, officials confirmed that Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) detained 10 Chinese nationals on charges of espionage after busting the alleged spy ring.
The Hindustan Times reported that Beijing had tried to persuade the Afghan government to keep the case under wraps as it is a huge embarrassment for the communist country, people familiar with the matter told the Indian daily.
A senior diplomat in Kabul told the Hindustan Times that two of the 10 Chinese nationals were in touch with Haqqani Network and that Li Yangyang, one of the detainees, had been operating since July or August.
The Times reported the alleged spy was arrested by the NDS on December 10.
Another detainee, Sha Hung, reportedly ran a restaurant in Kabul’s Sherpur area, in the city center.
The Times stated that while both Chinese nationals were in touch with Haqqani Network, Li was gathering information about al-Qaeda, Taliban, and Uyghurs in Kunar and Badakhshan provinces.
Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu has reportedly been briefed about the situation by Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who in turn allegedly threatened Beijing with criminal proceedings unless it apologizes formally and admits to the violation of international protocol.
Afghanistan shares its border with China’s Xinjiang, home to Uighur Muslims who seek refuge in the country.
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Pakistan delivered ‘strong and clear message’ to IEA: PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday once again raised concerns that militant activities continue to emanate from the Afghan territory.
“It is our earnest desire to live in peace with them (Afghanistan) for all times to come. Unfortunately, despite our best and sincere efforts, terrorist activities continue to emanate from Afghan territory,” he said during said at a military academy.
Recalling Deputy PM Ishaq Dar’s recent visit to Kabul, Shehbaz Sharif asserted: “We shall continue our efforts to have better relations and understanding with our brotherly and neighbourly country Afghanistan.
He said that Pakistan has “delivered a strong and clear message” to the Islamic Emirate that while it desire peaceful neighbourly relations with Kabul, this cannot happen as long as the Afghan soil is being used by militants to attack Pakistanis.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that the attacks in the country have their roots in Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has denied the allegations, stressing that it will not allow Afghanistan’s territory to be used against the security of other countries.
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U.S. aid cuts are impacting millions of Afghans: IRC

For 23 million Afghans, U.S. aid funding has been a critical lifeline, but that support is now in jeopardy, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid organization said on Friday.
Funding cuts are already having devastating impacts on the country’s most vulnerable communities, especially women and children, IRC said in an article.
IRC said that due to cuts in U.S, aid funding, it has been forced to suspend some of our life-saving services in Afghanistan.
“As a result, over 700,000 people, including refugees and displaced families, will lose access to essential humanitarian services from IRC programming alone,” IRC said, “Life-saving treatment for more than 15,000 young children suffering from malnutrition has been disrupted.”
The organization noted that Afghanistan is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with over 22.9 million people in urgent need of aid.
“Decades of conflict, a prolonged economic crisis, and environmental disasters have pushed millions into poverty and left more than one in three Afghans food insecure,” it said.
IRC said that the situation is especially dire for vulnerable groups, including over 3 million children and 1.2 million pregnant or nursing mothers suffering from acute malnutrition.
Across the country, more than 14 million people have limited or no access to health care. Communities are losing access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation services, creating a higher risk of disease outbreaks that could potentially spread across international borders, it said.
IRC warned that without renewed funding, countless families risk falling deeper into hunger, illness and poverty.
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IEA’s condemnation of Kashmir attack ‘encouraging’: Khalilzad

Former US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Friday that the Islamic Emirate’s condemnation of the attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir was an “encouraging development”.
“In an encouraging development, the Taliban (IEA) have sided with the tourist victims in Kashmir and have denounced this terror attack,” Khalilzad said on X.
Twenty-six people were killed in a shooting in a tourist area in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on Tuesday.
The attack has escalated tensions between India and Pakistan, with the two countries taking measures against each other.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan condemned the attack and said that such incidents threaten the security and stability of the region.
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