ISLAMABAD: After 20 years of military engagement and billions of dollars spent, NATO and the United States still grapple with the same, seemingly intractable conundrum — how to withdraw troops from Afghanistan without abandoning the country to even more mayhem.
An accelerated US drawdown over the past few months, led by the previous US administration, has signaled what may be in store for long-suffering Afghans.
Violence is spiking and the culprits are, well, everyone: the Taliban, the Daesh group, warlords, criminal gangs and corrupt government officials.
Currently, 2,500 US and about 10,000 NATO troops are still in Afghanistan. NATO defense ministers will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the way forward.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is reviewing his predecessor’s 2020 deal with the Taliban, which includes a May 1 deadline for a final US troop withdrawal from the war-ravaged country. In Washington, calls are mounting for the US to delay the final exit or renegotiate the deal to allow the presence of a smaller, intelligence-based American force.
All key players needed for a stable post-war Afghanistan come with heavy baggage.
The Taliban now hold sway over half the country and both sides in the conflict have continued to wage war, even after peace talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government began last year in Qatar.
The Taliban have lately been accused of targeted killings of journalists and civic leaders — charges they deny. But they lack credibility, particularly because they refuse to agree to a cease-fire. There is also no proof they have cut ties with Al-Qaeda militants as required under the Taliban-US deal. A January report by the USTreasury found that they continue to cooperate and that Al-Qaeda is getting stronger.
Some reports from areas under Taliban control speak of heavy-handed enforcement of a strict interpretation of Islamic law: While the Taliban allow girls to go to school, the curriculum for both boys and girls seems mostly focused on religion. There is little evidence of women’s progress in the deeply conservative, rural areas.
Afghan warlords — some accused of war crimes — have been co-opted by international forces since the 2001 collapse of the Taliban regime, amassing power and wealth.
In a vacuum that would follow the withdrawal of foreign troops, activists and Afghans fear the heavily armed warlords would return to another round of fighting, similar to the 1992-1996 bloodletting. At that time, the warlords turned their firepower on each other, killing more than 50,000 people, mostly civilians, and destroying much of the capital, Kabul.
Afghan forces have also been accused of heavy-handedness. In January, a new UN report said that nearly a third of all detainees held in detention centers across Afghanistan say they have suffered some form of torture or ill-treatment. Corruption is rampant and government promises to tackle it, according to a US watchdog, rarely go beyond paper.
The regional affiliate of the Daesh group, which in particular targets the country’s minority Shiites, has grown more brazen and violent, its attacks increasing in frequency and audacity, testing a weak security apparatus.
Despite nearly $1 trillion spent in Afghanistan — of which a lion’s share went on security — lawlessness is rampant. According to the US State Department, crime in Kabul is widespread, with criminals typically working in groups and using deadly force. “Local authorities are generally ineffective in deterring crime,” the State Department said. “Officers openly solicit bribery at all levels of local law enforcement. In some cases, officers carry out crimes themselves.”
Economic benchmarks are no better.
The World Bank said the poverty rate rose from 55% in 2019 to 72% in 2020. Two-thirds of Afghans live on less than $1.90 a day. Unemployment rose in 2020 to 37.9%, from 23.9%, the World Bank said last week.
“This is an absolute disgrace given the billions spent on this country over the last two decades,” Saad Mohsini, owner of Afghanistan’s popular TOLO TV, tweeted in response. “Who will stand up and take responsibility?”
Meanwhile, Afghan youth, activists, minorities and women worry that the freedoms they have won since 2001 — while still fragile — will be lost to a Taliban-shared government, and if not to the Taliban, then to warring warlords.
For the US and NATO, the big concern is national security. Both want guarantees that Afghanistan will not again become a safe haven for terrorist groups as it was both during the Taliban era and when warlords ruled.
Among them is Abdur Rasoul Sayyaf, now a key player in Kabul, whose group brought Al-Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan from Sudan in May 1996. Sayyaf was the inspiration behind the Philippine terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, another warlord in Kabul, briefly gave bin Laden a safe haven following the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban, who had up to that point sheltered the Al-Qaeda leader. In 2017, Hekmatyar signed a peace agreement with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and is now a member of the country’s wider peace reconciliation council.
Back in 2012, Human Rights Watch warned NATO that unless it held government forces as well as the Taliban accountable for abuses, the alliance’s “legacy would be a country run by abusive warlords — including the Taliban — and unaccountable security forces,” said Patricia Gossman, associate director for Asia at the New York-based group.
Analysts agree there is no easy solution to Afghanistan’s deteriorating conditions, regardless of whether NATO stays or goes.
“Let’s be very clear: A fragile peace process meant to stabilize the security environment hangs in the balance against the backdrop of a rogue’s gallery of spoilers,” said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center.
Some say NATO and the US should send a strong message for peace to all sides in Afghanistan’s protracted conflict.
“The US and NATO must be very clear ... that they do not wish more war in Afghanistan, that they want a political settlement between the warring parties and that those leaders who shout for more war, on both sides, are no longer good partners with the international community,” said Torek Farhadi, political analyst and former adviser to the Afghan government.
“Absent a political settlement, Afghanistan is headed for a bitter civil war and potentially the country being fractured in the longer run,” he added.
Concern for Pakistan as NATO faces conundrum in Afghan pullout
https://arab.news/ppe2g
Concern for Pakistan as NATO faces conundrum in Afghan pullout
- In vacuum that would follow withdrawal of foreign troops, Afghans fear Taliban and heavily armed warlords would return to new round of fighting
- Despite nearly $1 trillion spent in Afghanistan, a lion’s share of it on security, lawlessness is rampant and big concern for neighboring Pakistan
Pakistan expands Makkah Route Initiative to Karachi, plans flights for Hajj pilgrims from May 9
- Saudi staff will have access to eight counters and required equipment at Karachi airport’s international departure area
- Pakistan first joined the Makkah Route Initiative in 2019 as part of a pilot program that was introduced in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: In a major development for Hajj pilgrims in Pakistan, the government plans to launch flight operation to Saudi Arabia under the expanded Makkah Route Initiative to the southern port city of Karachi from May 9, according to an official statement released on Friday.
The initiative, launched by Saudi authorities in collaboration with several Muslim-majority states, facilitates the annual Islamic pilgrimage for numerous people traveling to Makkah.
Under the initiative, tasks like immigration processing are completed in the pilgrim’s home country, allowing them to bypass these procedures upon arrival in Saudi Arabia. This not only reduces waiting times and congestion at Saudi airports but also enhances the overall experience for pilgrims by making their journey more comfortable and focused on spirituality.
Pakistan joined the initiative in 2019 as part of a pilot program that began in Islamabad. Its success led to plans for the program’s expansion to other cities, with pilgrims from Karachi preparing to benefit from it for the first time this year.
“The Hajj flights under the Road to Makkah Project will commence on 09 May and conclude on 08 June,” the statement circulated by Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority said, adding that all the relevant agencies at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport have assured of unwavering commitment for the successful implementation of the program.
The official statement was released after a meeting at the Karachi airport that focused on the initiative.
All stakeholders, including airline representatives, ground handling agencies, border health services, airport security, Federal Investigation Agency, customs and Anti-Narcotics Force were present during the deliberations.
The meeting focused on the procedures involved at different stages of Hajj pilgrims’ stay at the airport, beginning with their arrival at the facility until their departure, following Saudi immigration formalities.
It was agreed that Saudi staff would have access to eight counters and all the required equipment in the international departure satellite area.
The airport manager stressed the importance of providing a seamless experience to pilgrims and urged all agencies to treat and welcome them as honored guests.
Senior journalist among three killed in bomb attack in Balochistan on World Press Freedom Day
- Khuzdar Press Club president was killed after a motorcyclist attached an explosive device to his vehicle
- Journalists say media workers were also killed in the past but their murderers were never brought to justice
QUETTA: A senior journalist was killed in a powerful blast that claimed at least two other lives in Pakistan’s volatile southwestern Balochistan province, confirmed a senior administration official on Friday, after a motorcyclist attached an explosive device to his vehicle at a bustling market area.
The incident that took place in Khuzdar, a remote city in the region, on World Press Freedom Day sent shockwaves through the media community in the province that has witnessed much violence in the last couple of decades.
Maulvi Muhammad Siddique Mengal, the targeted journalist, was currently the president of the Khuzdar Press Club and had also received threats from unknown individuals in the past.
“President of the Khuzdar Press Club Maulvi Muhammad Siddique Mengal and two bike riders near his vehicle were killed in the attack,” Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar Arif Khan Zarkoon told Arab News after the emergence of the CCTV footage of the attack. “Five people were injured who were shifted to the District Hospital Khuzdar for treatment.”
“Mengal was traveling in his private vehicle to a mosque to offer Friday prayers when an unknown man attached a magnetic explosive device to his vehicle which exploded at Chamrook Chowk and killed him on the spot,” he added.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Maulvi Siddique Mengal had been receiving threats from unknown people for the last year,” said one of the local journalists who requested anonymity. “He survived a firing attack nine months ago. Journalism has become a life-threatening profession in Khuzdar. We even closed Khuzdar Press Club for more than six months after threats by unknown people in 2012.”
Pakistan is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, particularly for those working in the country’s western Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international organization working for journalists’ safety, at least 62 media workers have been killed in targeted attacks in Pakistan since 1992.
The Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) has strongly condemned Mengal’s murder, demanding the arrest of the perpetrators of the Khuzdar blast.
Khalil ur Rehman, the BUJ president, said targeting a journalist on World Press Freedom Day was an attempt to suppress the voice of media workers in Balochistan.
“Forty-two journalists have lost their lives in Balochistan over the last two decades, while 10 journalists were killed in Khuzdar district during the last decade, but not a single murderer of journalists has been arrested yet,” he told Arab News. “Journalists in Balochistan are already facing security challenges, but this attack indicates that targeted attacks against journalists have started again.”
Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, chief minister of Balochistan, has strongly condemned Mengal’s killing, ordering an investigation into it.
“The Balochistan government will utilize all resources to arrest the perpetrators involved in the killing of the senior journalist in Khuzdar,” he said in a statement. “Terrorists involved in sabotaging peace in Balochistan won’t succeed.”
Global advocacy group says over 300 journalists faced state repression in Pakistan in one year
- International Federation of Journalists says 8 media workers were charged for sedition, terrorism, incitement to violence
- It mentions the plight of Afghan journalists in exile, safety issues of Pakistani women journalists in online and offline spaces
ISLAMABAD: A leading global advocacy group for journalists’ rights on Friday highlighted alarming challenges faced by the media in Pakistan on Friday, saying that more than 300 people associated with the information industry faced repressive state tactics designed to quell dissent during the course of about a year.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) released its country report on Pakistan on World Press Freedom Day that falls on May 3.
The report highlighted the persistent threats to freedom of expression, safety concerns, gender inequality, and the impact of disinformation on the local media industry.
“Over 300 journalists and bloggers this year were affected by state coercion and targeted, including dozens of journalists arrested for durations between several hours to four weeks and nearly 60 served legal notices or summons for their journalism work or personal dissent online,” the IFJ Pakistan country report for 2023-2024 said. “At least eight were charged for alleged sedition, terrorism and incitement to violence – all serious charges carrying lengthy sentences and even the death penalty.”
It maintained that most of these cases stemmed from the perceived or actual support of these journalists for former prime minister Imran Khan and his political party.
“In this sense, the principal threat actor behind crimes against journalists and free speech practitioners was undoubtedly the state and its functionaries, though some regional sects, non-state actors and gangsters were also involved in some cases,” the report added.
The IFJ described the judicial intervention in these matters as “the silver lining,” saying it thwarted the government’s attempts to entangle journalists “in legal proceedings as a tool of deterring dissent.”
The report noted four journalists were killed during the period under review while at least 59 journalists and bloggers were charged with sedition, terrorism, incitement to violence, defamation or contempt.
“Of these, 47 journalists were served legal summons to respond to allegations of targeted defamation and incitement against judges of the superior judiciary,” it continued.
The report also maintained the safety of women journalists in Pakistan’s online and offline spaces remained a persistent challenge.
“They continued to face gender-based discrimination, journalism work-related intimidation and under-representation in the industry,” it said.
The IFJ said this environment led to self-censorship among journalists and media outlets, especially while writing on topics concerning religion and law.
It also highlighted the plight of Afghan journalists, saying nearly 200 of them had fled to Pakistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
“In October 2023, Pakistan’s government unilaterally demanded that Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan, setting a deadline of one month before authorities began forced deportations,” it recalled. “Amongst the refugees were 200 journalists who had fled to Pakistan to escape stifling restrictions on free speech in Afghanistan.”
The organization said it had called for financial and legal assistance for these journalists to support their sustenance and freedom to report.
Pakistan extradites Oslo festival shooting suspect to Norway
- The man opened fire outside two bars in Oslo in 2022, killing two men and wounding nine others
- Zaniar Matapour, a 44-year-old Norwegian of Iranian origin, is currently on trial for an ‘act of terror’
OSLO: Pakistan has extradited to Norway a man suspected of masterminding an Oslo shooting on the eve of a 2022 festival, Norwegian authorities said on Friday.
On the night of June 25, 2022, just hours before the parade was to take place, a man opened fire outside two bars in central Oslo, including a well-known gay club, killing two men and wounding nine others.
The suspected shooter, Zaniar Matapour, a 44-year-old Norwegian of Iranian origin, is currently on trial accused of an “act of terror.”
Matapour has pleaded not guilty, and psychiatric experts are at odds over his mental health and thereby his legal responsibility.
Arfan Bhatti, a 46-year-old who has lived and is well known in Norway, is suspected of having planned the attack but left Norway for Pakistan before the shooting.
Even though Norway and Pakistan have no agreement on extraditions, Pakistani authorities agreed to grant Oslo’s request.
“Arfan Bhatti is now on a plane escorted by Norwegian police,” Norway’s Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl told reporters on Friday.
Bhatti, who denies any involvement and had opposed extradition, will be placed in custody on arrival in Oslo, Norwegian police said.
He is suspected of being an “accomplice to an aggravated act of terror,” a charge that carries a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
Bhatti is expected to be called to testify during Matapour’s trial, police said.
Bhatti’s lawyer was angry that his client was extradited before Pakistan’s supreme court had a chance to rule on his case.
“This way of doing things calls into question the respect of law and international legal principles,” John Christian Elden said.
On World Press Freedom Day, Pakistani PM says journalists in Gaza ‘heroes of humanity’
- Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 97 press members killed in Gaza war, 92 of them Palestinians
- UNESCO on Thursday awarded its world press freedom prize to all Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday the journalists who were covering the war in Gaza, especially those who had died in the line of duty, were “heroes of humanity.”
Sharif said this in his statement on World Press Freedom Day, observed on May 3 each year to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The day also marks the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991.
According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 97 members of the press have been killed since the war in Gaza broke out in October, 92 of whom were Palestinians.
“The male and female journalists who sacrificed their lives during coverage in Gaza are heroes of humanity,” Sharif said. “I salute them.”
Separately, UNESCO on Thursday awarded its world press freedom prize to all Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza, launched by Israel over seven months.
“In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances,” said Mauricio Weibel, chair of the international jury of media professionals.
“As humanity, we have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression.”
Audrey Azoulay, director general at the UN organization for education, science and culture, said the prize paid “tribute to the courage of journalists facing difficult and dangerous circumstances.”
The war started with Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to a media tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 34,596 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry.
With inputs from AFP
