KABUL: Top officials from Afghanistan’s Taliban government met with Pakistan’s defense minister and spy chief in Kabul on Wednesday, days after the main border crossing was closed and as Islamabad faces a growing security threat.
Reports of authorities exchanging gunfire surfaced on Monday after Afghan authorities closed the crossing at Torkham a day earlier over Pakistan’s alleged refusal to facilitate trade transport and Afghan patients going to the neighboring country for treatment.
Skirmishes have occurred along the Afghan-Pakistan border for years and in recent months have resulted in many civilian casualties with both Kabul and Islamabad blaming each other for the violence.
Afghanistan’s Defense Minister Mullah Mohammed Yaqoob and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund held talks with the high-ranking Pakistani delegation in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
“The two sides discussed issues on the ground, particularly the crossing points with Pakistan,” Mujahid told Arab News.
The Pakistani delegation was led by Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammed Asif and Nadeem Anjum, head of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
“God willing, a solution will be found for the difficulties,” he said.
“The Pakistani delegation was assured that no one will create a threat to Pakistan and the Pakistani side should too give attention to Afghan security until the economic and political relations of the two nations can be strengthened.”
In a statement issued by his office, Abdul Ghani Baradar said Pakistan and Afghanistan “are neighbors and should get along well.”
“Political and security concerns should not affect business or economic matters,” the statement read.
The Taliban official also called for the release of Afghans detained in Pakistan and urged for the facilitation of passengers and patients crossing at Torkham and Spin Boldak during Wednesday’s meeting, and assurances were given that the Pakistani side will work on the issues.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that discussions touched on “security-related matters including counter terrorism measures.”
Since November last year, Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks after the Pakistani Taliban — the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP — ended a months-long cease-fire with the government. The TTP is a separate militant group that openly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban after the fall of Kabul in 2021.
Security issues were a priority for the Pakistani delegation’s visit to Kabul.
“Very clearly, the Pakistani delegation is there in Kabul because of security concerns,” Kaswar Klasra, editor in chief of the Islamabad Telegraph, told Arab News.
“The TTP has become a very great threat to Pakistan’s existence,” he said. “Pakistan is seeking the Taliban’s government help to stop TTP from attacking targets in Pakistan, and this is the core agenda of the Pakistani delegation.”
Since the Taliban takeover, Pakistan has allowed critically ill or injured Afghans to enter the country for medical treatment, though, like many other countries, it still does not recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
Top Afghan, Pakistani officials meet in Kabul amid strained relations, security concerns
https://arab.news/23rrt
Top Afghan, Pakistani officials meet in Kabul amid strained relations, security concerns
- Afghan authorities closed main border crossing point at Torkham on Sunday
- Since November, Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks
UK veterans are ‘ticking time bomb’ after Iraq war chemical exposure
- Fifteen former RAF personnel were deployed to the Qarmat Ali water plant in 2003, which was contaminated with sodium dichromate
- Veterans say they were not screened or protected, and are now living with serious health conditions
LONDON: Fifteen British servicemen who worked on a carcinogen-contaminated water treatment site during the Iraq war say they were not offered biological screening despite official guidance saying they should have been.
The former Royal Air Force members, who have suffered from ailments including cancer, tumors and nosebleeds, told Sky News they were offered no medical assistance or subsequent treatment after having been exposed to toxic sodium dichromate at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant in 2003.
The channel said it had seen a letter from the RAF’s medical authority stating that senior officers knew of the dangers posed by the substance.
Peter Lewis, 53, was one of 88 personnel deployed to guard the site, which was deemed vital for getting Iraq’s oil industry up and running. He told Sky: “I’ve had eight or nine operations to remove cancer.
“I’ve had so many lumps taken out of my neck, one on my face. This is something I’m literally fighting every year now. It’s constant.”
Qarmat Ali, the former troops say, was covered in ripped bags of bright orange sodium dichromate.
“We were never warned what the bags of chemicals were,” Jon Caunt, another former serviceman, said. “We were breathing this stuff in.”
His former comrade Tony Watters added: “I never thought about what it was. We were told the site is safe.”
Several months after deployment to the site, however, the servicemen were joined by two workers wearing protective gear who placed signs around it reading: “Warning. Chemical hazard. Full protective equipment and chemical respirator required. Sodium dichromate exposure.”
Watters said: “When you left the site, your uniform was contaminated, your webbing was contaminated.
“You went in your sleeping bag, and that was contaminated. And you were contaminating other people with it back at camp.”
Andy Tosh, who has led the group of veterans as they sought answers from the Ministry of Defence, said: “Even with the warning signs going up … they kept us there. They knowingly kept us exposed.”
The RAF gave some of the men a leaflet on their return to the UK, warning of the dangers of the substance, but not all were told.
The letter seen by Sky acknowledging the dangers posed to the veterans made a “strong” link to “increased risk of lung and nose cancer” as well as numerous other issues. It suggested personnel sent to Qarmat Ali should have their medical records altered to mention their exposure to sodium dichromate.
“Offer biological screening. This cannot be detailed until the numbers exposed are confirmed,” the letter also said.
An inquiry into US personnel deployed to Qarmat Ali found that 830 people were “unintentionally exposed” to sodium dichromate, giving them access to support from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. This came after the death of Lt. Col. James Gentry from cancer in 2009, which the US Army determined came “in line of duty for exposure to sodium dichromate.”
There has been no such inquiry by UK authorities despite British personnel being deployed at the site for longer than their American counterparts.
Thirteen of them have suffered from cancer and similar symptoms, including one who developed a brain tumor.
Jim Garth told Sky: “My skin cancer will never go away … It’s treatable, but when the treatment is finished, it comes back, so I’ve got that for life really.”
Lewis added: “I’m actually getting to the point now where I don’t care anymore … sooner or later, it’s going to do me.”
Caunt described his former colleagues’ conditions as a “ticking time bomb.”
He added: “We do not know what’s going to happen in the future."
The MoD insists medical screening was offered to personnel at the time, despite the men stating that it was not. In 2024, several met with Labour MPs about the issue. One, John Healey, who is now the UK defence secretary, said at the time the veterans should have “answers to their important questions.”
In a statement, the MoD said: “We take very seriously the concerns raised by veterans who were deployed to guard the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant in 2003.
“As soon as we were alerted to the possible exposure of Sodium Dichromate, an environmental survey was conducted to evaluate typical exposure at Qarmat Ali. Results showed that the levels at the time were significantly below UK government guidance levels.”
A 2004 letter seen by Sky News suggested, however, that the MoD knew the levels of sodium dichromate were higher.
“Anyone who requires medical treatment can receive it through the Defence Medical Services and other appropriate services,” the MoD said.
“Veterans who believe they have suffered ill health due to service can apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme.”
Watters called on the government to hold an investigation into what happened at Qarmat Ali.
“We are the working class, we are ex-soldiers who have put our lives on the line and you’re turning a blind eye to us,” he said.
Garth added: “We felt let down at Qarmat Ali all those years ago, and we still feel let down now.”
