Daesh No Longer Threat for Afghanistan: Islamic Emirate

Mujahid added that Daesh is not acting in the interest of any country.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that Daesh is not a threat for Afghanistan and that the Islamic Emirate’s forces have tightened the security across the borders.

Mujahid made the remarks in reaction to a report of an Indian newspaper in the Sunday Guardian, which cited senior members of the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan as saying that the motive behind the clash alongside the Durand Line on Jan. 20 was that “the Pakistan military was trying to push ISIS terrorists into Afghanistan and it was to pursue this objective that its armed forces stirred up the dispute at the border so that the ISIS cadre could enter into Afghanistan while the Afghanistan guards were engaged against their much well equipped neighbors.”

Mujahid added that Daesh is not acting in the interest of any country.

“The borders of the countries are safeguarded. Our security forces are paying attention to any kind of danger. We don’t believe that there is Daesh in Afghanistan,” he said.

Among those cited was the former TTP commander Ehsanullah Ehsan, who called it a ‘Kashmir-style infiltration’ attempt on the Afghan border by the Pakistan army, the Sunday Guardian reported.

“After the said incident, social media accounts linked to the Pakistani army claimed that the skirmish took place after Pakistani forces retaliated to the Afghan forces’ objection to the repair that was being carried out at the border fence. However, according to my information, this happened when ISIS fighters were trying to cross the border from Pakistan and were spotted and confronted by the Afghan border guards. Their intruders had the full support of the Pakistani army and were being provided military [cover] by the Pakistan army which was noticed by the Afghan side,” he was quoted by the Sunday Guardian.

This comes as political and military analysts said they consider Daesh a threat to the interim government and urged the Islamic Emirate to suppress the group.

“Pakistan is seeking to implement its intelligence and its strategic projects of the western countries not only in Afghanistan but also within the Central Asian countries,” said Sadeq Shinwari, a military analyst.

“Daesh is a dangerous phenomenon in Afghanistan and it affects the internal security of Afghanistan,” said Aziz Maarij, a political analyst.

This comes as the acting Defense Minister, Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid stressed that Daesh was defeated in Afghanistan.

Daesh No Longer Threat for Afghanistan: Islamic Emirate
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Kabul Hosts ‘Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative’

He also said that regional security remains of grave importance for the Islamic Emirate.

The summit named “Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative” was held with the participation of envoys of regional countries on Monday in Kabul.

Speaking at the summit, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who was also chairing the event, said that the regional cooperation could be focused on exploring region-centric and engagement pathways based on common regional benefits; creating a region-centric narrative for positive and constructive engagement with the “Afghan government” to tackle existing and potential threats in the region; exerting efforts directed at soft connectivity and hard connectivity that would lead to regional economic development benefitting peoples of the region; unanimity in calling for the removal of unilateral sanctions on the region and on Afghanistan in particular and respecting one another’s choices of indigenous and traditional development models and governance methods.

He also said that the Islamic Emirate had good engagements in the fields of trade development and regional transit with regional and neighboring countries over the past two years.

“On the one hand, with the end of the 20-year occupation and the overall 45-year war and bloodshed in Afghanistan, and the formation of an independent central government, and on the other hand, the Islamic Emirate’s region-centric perspective considering the principle of economy-centered foreign policy of the Afghan government, reliant on regional connectivity,  has paved the way for us to work together on common interests in cooperation with the region by creating a region-centric narrative and continued fight against potential threats,” Muttaqi said.

He also said that regional security remains of grave importance for the Islamic Emirate.

Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate stands ready to engage and cooperate with the regional countries by working together based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

“The Islamic Emirate… respects others’ interests, choices, government structures, and development models, and in return, expects others to respect Afghanistan’s interests, and governance and development choices and models,” he said.

A photo of the summit of “Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative” released by the deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, shows that the Russian special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, Iranian ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi and other regional envoys have attended the event.

The summit is being held weeks before a high-level conference which is due to be convened by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

Kabul Hosts ‘Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative’
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Taliban Under Scrutiny After $1.2M ‘Stolen’ From Crashed Russian Jet

The Taliban is under scrutiny after $1.2 million is reported to have been “stolen” from a Russian private jet that crashed in Afghanistan’s northern Badakhshan province on January 21.

Four out of the six people aboard the Dassault Falcon 10 aircraft survived the crash. The jet was carrying out a medical evacuation from Thailand to Russia, traveling from Utapao airport, near Pattaya, to Moscow via India and Uzbekistan, Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport said.

Anna Evsyukova, who was urgently hospitalized in Thailand and was due to continue her treatment in Russia, and her husband Anatoly Evsyukov, were killed in the crash. The survivors arrived from Dubai to Moscow on Friday.

One of the Falcon 10 pilots, Arkady Grachev, said on Friday the crash was caused by “technical problems.” Co-pilot Dmitry Belyakov also said that the cause of the Falcon 10 crash was a technical malfunction, “apparently a problem with the fuel,” state-run news agency Tass reported.

In the aftermath of the crash, the Afghan newspaper Hasht-e Subh reported, citing sources in the region, that $1.2 million was “stolen” from the private jet. The publication reported that Mohammad Ayub Khalid, the Taliban governor for the northeastern Badakhshan province, has ordered an investigation into the matter.

Officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban is a military organization and movement in the middle of a civil war in Afghanistan. Founded in 1994, it has at times controlled Afghanistan, once from 1996 to 2001 and then again in 2021.

“The accusation of the Taliban in Badakhshan for stealing this amount of money has caused this group of pilots and three crew members not to hand over the plane to the Russian embassy in Kabul,” Hasht-e Subh reported.

Grachev responded to the reports that more than 1 million had been stolen from the jet.

He said “there was no money there” but said the crew members gave “some small money” to the Afghans as a token of gratitude for assisting them after the jet crash.

“There [was] personal money there… They [the Afghans] came to help, we had to thank them somehow,” he said.

Grachev said that the survivors spent a day and a half in the cold, and had to “burn their shoelaces” to keep warm.

“Then the doctors started to pull us out. We were taken out from a height of 4,000 meters through deep snow, we walked for about five hours to the village,” he said.

Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and had previously worked with news outlets including the Daily Express, 

Taliban Under Scrutiny After $1.2M ‘Stolen’ From Crashed Russian Jet
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China-Afghanistan Relations to Improve: Officials

The Afghanistan Embassy in Beijing wrote on X that in the meeting Mao Ming pledged the strengthening of diplomatic relations of China with Afghanistan.

The Deputy Director of the Asian Department at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ming, in a meeting with the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate to China, Bilal Karimi, discussed several issues between Afghanistan and China. 

The Afghanistan Embassy in Beijing wrote on X that in the meeting Mao Ming pledged the strengthening of diplomatic relations of China with Afghanistan.

“The China-Afghanistan relations were generally discussed in the meeting, commerce, investment, Chinese projects in Afghanistan and also the permanent connection of China-Afghanistan were discussed,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.

Bilal Karimi, along with discussing Kabul-Beijing relations, emphasized the creation of opportunities of bilateral cooperation with Afghanistan in the first initiative meeting of the Regional Contact Group member countries.

Meanwhile, several political analysts said the strengthening of relations with the neighboring and regional countries are important for Afghanistan and will mitigate the political challenges of Afghanistan with the international community, they said.

“Having relations with many big countries is beneficial for the Islamic Emirate and the people of Afghanistan,” said Bilal Fatimi, a political analyst.

“It should have been done last year or two years ago because the agreements that we had many times on the issues of drugs, terrorism, and Afghanistan’s internal issues with the world need local and regional consensus,” said Salim Paygir, a political analyst

China is one of the countries that has good relations with the caretaker government since the return of the Islamic Emirate but it has yet to be recognized the Islamic Emirate.

China-Afghanistan Relations to Improve: Officials
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Representatives of Afghan Women, Civil Society Invited to Doha Meeting

Addressing a press briefing, Dujarric said that the meeting will be held in Doha on February 18 and 19

The UN Secretary General’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that in the Doha meeting there will be collective meetings with special envoys on Afghanistan, including with Afghan women representatives and civil society representatives.

Addressing a press briefing, Dujarric said that the meeting will be held in Doha on February 18 and 19.

“It’s a follow-up meeting of all the Afghan envoys from Member States and regional organizations. I mean, it’s people coming together. We obviously have an important role in organizing it.  And it’ll be in Doha, 18th to 19th February. Well, as part of the event, there will be collective meetings with the special envoys, including with Afghan women representatives, civil society representatives.  But as we get closer to the date, I will share more details,” Stephane Dujarric said.

Political analysts said the presence of Afghan women in this meeting is important, and that there should be a discussion on the fundamental issues of Afghanistan in this meeting.

“The representatives of Afghan women have also been invited, this is a good thing because Afghan women are half of this society. It is also good that the representative of the Islamic Emirate is invited,” said Mohammad Khan Katawazi, a political analyst.

“A few women are symbolically invited and this is the start of an intra-Afghan talks, because the United Nations is trying to establish a permanent agency,” said Wais Naseri, another political analyst.

Earlier, the political deputy of the Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, in his meeting with Norway’s chargé d’affaires Paul Klouman Bekken said that the Islamic Emirate has been invited to a meeting on the Afghan situation due to be held in Doha.

Previously, The UN Secretary General’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said that the Secretary General will convene a meeting of member-states and regional-organization special envoys on Afghanistan in Doha on February 18 and 19.

Addressing a press briefing, Dujarric said the objective of the meeting is to discuss how to approach increasing international engagement in a more coherent, coordinated and structured manner on Afghanistan.

Representatives of Afghan Women, Civil Society Invited to Doha Meeting
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Over 7,000 Afghan migrants returned home from Pakistan in past month

The Ministry of Migrants and Repatriates of Afghanistan has announced that in the past month, more than 7,000 Afghan migrants, including 305 prisoners, have returned to the country from various prisons in Pakistan.

The ministry stated on Saturday, in a published report that these migrants entered the country through the “Spin Boldak” border in Kandahar province and were registered with the United Nations Refugee Agency for assistance after their return.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Migrants and Repatriates has reported the return of over a thousand Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan.

According to the ministry, 1,481 Afghan migrants from Iran and 263 others from Pakistan entered the country yesterday through the “Islam Qala” border in Herat province and the Torkham border, voluntarily and involuntarily.

This comes amid widespread reactions to the expulsion of Afghan migrants based on Pakistan’s strict laws regarding Afghan citizens.

Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, the interim Prime Minister of Pakistan, has recently expressed support for the decision to expel migrants “lacking legal documents” from the country and emphasized that the next government should continue the process of deporting migrants.

Since November 1st, 2023, the Pakistani government has expelled over half a million Afghan migrants, even amidst dire humanitarian conditions and harsh winter weather. Despite facing significant criticism from both national and international organizations, Pakistan has continued with its expulsion of Afghan migrants.

Over 7,000 Afghan migrants returned home from Pakistan in past month
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Afghan activists call on Swedish Parliament to recognize ‘Gender Apartheid’ in Afghanistan

Khaama Press

A group of Afghan residents in Sweden met with some members of the Swedish parliament, requesting that the Swedish government officially recognize “gender apartheid in Afghanistan and the genocide of the Hazaras.”

Members of the “Solidarity Union” and several human rights defenders met with Swedish parliamentarians on Thursday, January 25th.

A member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party stated that they would not recognize the Taliban government until they respect human rights.

Participants in this meeting told Afghanistan International that Linnéa Wikman, the foreign affairs spokesperson for the Swedish Social Democratic Party, has stated that Sweden will not recognize the Taliban until they respect human rights, girls’ and women’s right to education, and the rights of religious minorities. Sweden will not cooperate with this group in any way.

Meanwhile, the members of the Solidarity Union asked Swedish authorities to respond strongly to the detention and torture of women and girls in Afghanistan and to impose sanctions on Taliban officials through the European Union, international organizations, and human rights bodies.

During this meeting, Afghan activists expressed concern about the human rights situation and urged the global community to take action to stop targeted attacks against the Hazaras.

Afghan activists call on Swedish Parliament to recognize ‘Gender Apartheid’ in Afghanistan
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NAI Media Watchdog Temporary Suspends Its Operations

Khelwatgar stressed that no representative will be representing the organization in Afghanistan anymore.

Mujeeb Khelwatgar, the head of NAI (a group that supports open media in Afghanistan) in a video message announced the temporary suspension of this organization’s activities in Afghanistan.

Khelwatgar stressed that no representative will be representing the organization in Afghanistan anymore.

“The leadership of the NAI in their latest meeting reached an agreement to halt the activity of NAI for temporary period of time in Afghanistan,” he said.

NAI was operating in Afghanistan for nearly two decades.

“If one of these organizations are being closed or halt their work. It means that a major impact and a major harm is inflicted to the media society of Afghanistan,” said Abdul Qadeem Wiar, head of the Afghan Journalist Safety Committee.

This comes as the journalists expressed concerns, saying that suspension of organizations supporting the media will have a negative impact on the activities of the media.

“The presence of an organization was a hope for the media and journalists and its suspension is bad news for the media society,” said Daud Mubarak Oghlu, a journalist.

“I don’t consider the suspension of such an institution a good move. I call on the government to support such organizations which are supporting the media,” said Sadam Hussein Bashash, a journalist.

Based on the statistics of the Union of Afghanistan’s National Journalists, nearly 80 TV channels, over 200 radio stations and nearly 10 news agencies as well as 14 printing services are currently active in Afghanistan.

Also, more than 270 media organizations have suspended their operations after the Islamic Emirate came to power.

NAI Media Watchdog Temporary Suspends Its Operations
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25 Foreign Nationals in Jail: Prisons Official

Badr said that of over 19,000 detainees, approximately 800 are women and more than 200 are members of the Islamic Emirate.

The deputy head of the Office of the Prison Administration, Habibullah Badr, said that there are 25 foreign nationals currently in the prisons of the Islamic Emirate.

In an interview with TOLOnews, Badr said that they were detained for committing various crimes, but he did not give details.

“The total detainees of foreign nationals are nearly 25 who are detained on charges with criminal cases,” he said.

Badr said that of over 19,000 detainees, approximately 800 are women and more than 200 are members of the Islamic Emirate.

“The women are between 800 to 850 detainees. Some of them are to be released and some others are newly coming to the prison. The rest of the detainees are men,” he said.

Badr also stated that around 100,000 detainees were freed from prisons after the Islamic Emirate came to power based on the amnesty decree of the Islami Emirate’s leader.

He also stressed efforts to codify a law for reforms within the prisons across the country.

“Since the return of the Islamic Emirate, we have released around 100,000 people from the prison,” Badr said.

According to him, 1,500 Afghans detained in Iran have been transferred to the country and they are now spending their prison term in Afghanistan.

25 Foreign Nationals in Jail: Prisons Official
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US Using ‘Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs’ With Kabul: Patel

Earlier, relatives and some US politicians in a gathering called for the release of American citizen Ryan Corbett from detention in Afghanistan.

The deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, Vedant Patel, said that “work” is ongoing by the US special envoy of hostage affairs regarding American citizens.

In a press briefing was asked what is the US “doing to release hostages taken by the Taliban and deter Taliban from this action?”, Patel said: “We have no greater priority than the safety and security of American citizens, especially those who are wrongfully detained and held hostage. And so that work continues to be ongoing through our special envoy for hostage affairs, as well as other work throughout the interagency.”

“But I want to take this opportunity to remind people tuning in that, again, our Travel Advisory for Afghanistan continues to be at Level 4, which is Do Not Travel. Those travel advisories are important, they are serious, and Americans should review them before they travel to any particular destination around the planet,” he said.

The Islamic Emirate has not yet commented on it but earlier, its spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that the foreign nationals detained by the Islamic Emirate are in good health.

Earlier, relatives and some US politicians in a gathering called for the release of American citizen Ryan Corbett from detention in Afghanistan. Ryan was detained on 10 August 2022 after he returned to Afghanistan.

The political analysts meanwhile urged the Islamic Emirate to provide proper peace and security in the country in a bid to earn trust of the international community.

“It is necessary for the interim government of Afghanistan to take necessary steps to provide peace, stability and security of the people of Afghanistan, particularly the foreigners inside Afghanistan,” said Najib Rahman Shamal, a political analyst.

“This can have a negative impact on the tourists and many tourists will avoid traveling to Afghanistan because their foreign ministries warned them terrorists’ presence there [Afghanistan],” said Wahid Faqiri, international relations’ analyst.

Earlier, the UK Foreign Office also advised the British citizens to refrain from traveling to Afghanistan.

US Using ‘Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs’ With Kabul: Patel
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