KABUL: Afghan security forces took control of Bagram Airfield, a key American military base near Kabul, as foreign troops are leaving the country after nearly 20 years since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Bagram Airfield, some 50 kilometers north of Kabul, served as the hub of America’s operations against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the US.
The withdrawal from Bagram Airfield is seen as an indication that the US is completing the drawdown months ahead of President Joe Biden's September deadline, despite a recent spike in Taliban attacks against Afghan government forces.
"All coalition and American troops have left Bagram Airbase," Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the defense ministry, told Arab News as the base was handed over to the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF).
"ANDSF will protect the base and use it to combat terrorism," he said.
He refused to share the details of handover and what equipment the US troops have left behind.
Before the US troops, Bagram Airfield was used by Russians during the Soviet-Afghan war in 1979-89, but it was under the US occupation that the base had swollen into a fortress city with shops, American fast-food outlets, and sports venues. At the peak of US military presence in 2012, the base saw more than 100,000 troops pass through its compound.
Part of the facility served as a detention center for suspected militants, earning notoriety over alleged torture of its inmates.
The Taliban in a statement on Friday welcomed the US departure from Bagram as a "positive step," adding that they were waiting for a complete withdrawal of all foreign soldiers from Afghan soil.
As most NATO soldiers have already exited, in accordance with a historic deal signed by Washington and the Taliban in February last year, about 650 American servicemen are expected to stay in Afghanistan to protect the US embassy in Kabul and, possibly, the city’s airport, despite repeated Taliban threats against any foreign military presence in the country after the withdrawal deadline.
The US and NATO leaving comes as the Taliban have captured several dozens of districts in the last few weeks and also seized more grounds near the Bagram base in the past two days, according to local sources.
While the Taliban advances come both by force and through the surrender of Afghan government forces, the government has in turn started resurrecting and arming local militias to assist its troops.
Continued violence risked a civil war in Afghanistan, US top commander in Afghanistan Gen. Austin S. Miller said during his last conference in Kabul earlier this week, as he warned that should have the world worried.
Afghan forces take control of Bagram Airfield as US troops withdraw
https://arab.news/rezpb
Afghan forces take control of Bagram Airfield as US troops withdraw
- Bagram Airfield served as the hub of America’s operations against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
- Withdrawal from the airbase comes amid a recent spike in Taliban attacks against Afghan government forces
Pakistan moves to digitize payments for 10 million women under flagship poverty initiative
- BISP Official says accounts will be linked to phones to boost financial inclusion and curb payment deductions
- Over 1.9 million SIMs issued as the nationwide rollout continues across provinces ahead of the March deadline
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s flagship poverty alleviation initiative, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), plans to equip 10 million women with digital bank accounts linked to their phone numbers within four months in one of the largest such exercises in the world, one of its top officials said on Wednesday.
Launched in 2008, the initiative is named after the late former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and has a budget of Rs716 billion ($2.5 billion) during the current fiscal year. Through its Benazir Kafaalat — or financial assistance — program, BISP provides quarterly stipends of Rs13,500 ($48) to around 10 million women.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News, BISP Secretary Amir Ali Ahmed said the opening of digital bank accounts for the beneficiaries was part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s initiative related to a cashless economy and digital transformation of the country.
“I’m glad to share that 10 million bank accounts, wallet accounts were created,” he said. “This is a follow-up of the same exercise whereby now 10 million SIMs are being distributed.
“It is significant to share that the entire beneficiary network that we have is female-centric,” he continued. “So these are 10 million female accounts that have been created.”
Ahmed said the process of issuing mobile phone SIM cards to BISP beneficiaries had started on November 17 and would be completed by March next year.
“Let me share that this is one of the largest such exercises to be conducted in the world which is female-centric, linked with financial inclusion and financial empowerment.”
The BISP official added that out of the more than 10 million beneficiaries, only five to 10 percent had bank accounts, but nearly 90 to 95 percent were excluded from the system.
He said they were being linked to the banking system with cellphone SIMs that are being distributed with the help of the IT ministry, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, National Database and Registration Authority and telecom companies across the country.
“We feel that this initiative of the government of Pakistan will not only result in financial empowerment of our beneficiaries, it will also result in financial inclusion of a segment which was not part of the banking sector in Pakistan,” he said, adding that the move will also lead to transparency.
In the past, there have been complaints of women not getting their full payment from bank officials in the absence of their own accounts, but Ahmed said this was going to change.
“They will be free from any exploitation at the agent networks, the queues that one would witness, the complaints of corruption or deductions that would emerge,” he continued.
According to official data, more than 1.9 million SIMs have so far been issued for BISP beneficiaries across the country.
The province of Punjab leads the rollout with 810,597 SIMs, followed by Sindh with 523,629 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 371,427 SIMs.
In other regions, Azad Jammu and Kashmir has received 59,617, Balochistan 82,826, Gilgit-Baltistan 45,184, and Islamabad 4,508 SIMs.
