Due to the evolving security situation in Afghanistan, local Commander Opp Arundu Sector of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Chitral requested Pakistan Army to provide safe passage and refuge for 46 ANA soldiers as they were not able to hold their military post along Pakistan-Afghanistan border against Taliban offensive.
46 soldiers including 5 officers have been given refuge In Pakistan after contact with Afghan authorities and necessary formalities. These soldiers of ANA arrived late last night at Arundu Sector, Chitral. Afghan soldiers have been provided food, shelter, and necessary medical care as per established military norms.
Now after due process, these Afghan National Army soldiers will be returned to Afghanistan.
Previously, 35 Afghan soldiers who were not able to hold their military post along Pakistan-Afghanistan International Border had requested safe passage from Pakistan Army on July 1. They were also granted refuge and safe passage.
The 28th report by the UN Monitoring Team, recently submitted to the UN Security Council, has accentuated the cross-border terrorism threats in the Eastern regions of the world. The section of the report covering the Central and South Asian zones asserts the concern regarding the TTP’s “unification of the splinter groups and increasing cross border attacks”. The report further highlights the fact that TTP has increased its financial resources from means such as extortion, smuggling, and taxes.
The attention towards the TTP’s group in the report is presumed to be in the background of the recent escalating terrorist attacks in Pakistan. This has reinforced Pakistan’s security concerns with regards to the strengthening of TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JUA), and other terrorist groups, which pose a significant threat to Pakistan.
Moreover, the recent investigations carried out regarding the Lahore terrorist attack in Pakistan has revealed India’s sponsorship and support in it. The incident thus further puts Pakistan’s security at stake, bringing the focus towards strengthening its defence and drawing out possible solutions to avoid future terrorist attacks
Prime Minister Imran Khan assures the people of Kashmir, including Indian Occupied J&K, that his government will carry a referendum in which they will be allowed to choose whether to be a part Pakistan or India or become independent.
He arranged an election campaign rally in Tarar Khal, AJK. In the campaign, he rubbished talk of him “wanting to make AJK into a new province. He said that in 1948, two United Nations Security Council resolutions gave the people of Kashmir the power to decide their future. He said that “I want to tell all of you today that Inshallah a time would come when all the sacrifices given by Kashmiris would not be wasted. There will be a referendum, Inshallah”.
The premier went on to state that after the UN-mandated referendum, his government will offer another referendum in which the people of Kashmir will have a vote either to live in Pakistan or to be an independent state.
The Pentagon backs Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in their fight against Taliban. With the withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan, the vacuum of security and defense remains. In order to fill this vacuum, US is conducting airstrikes against the Afghan Taliban right before withdrawal, to support US installed regime.
The authorities have confirmed the death of 17 Taliban till date. But Afghan Taliban are reluctant to admit the deaths. The US authorities have pronounced the strikes as an integral part of support to the Afghan administration to push back the advancing ventures of the Taliban.
The US forces have also attacked the ‘captured military vehicles and pieces of equipment’ that were possessed by the Taliban after the withdrawal of the US armed forces and the Afghan army. An unnamed American defense official told that the US has conducted six to seven strikes so far in the last thirty days.
Pentagon sources said the authority is being utilized by General McKenzie. The US drones are also partaking in the strikes. The ‘regional momentum’ gained by the Afghan Taliban is a threat to the Afghan administration.
Taliban spokesperson on Wednesday asked for help from Muslim countries, to provide them with a solution that could end the war in Afghanistan. He added that the Taliban wanted to keep good relations with Turkey. “We want good relations with Turkey, Turkey is our brother, we have many things in common based on faith. We want Turkey to leave the past behind and think about the future. After that we can ask for dialogue”, Mujahid said in an interview with TRT Arabi.
Taliban want to collaborate with other countries to restore security and peace in Afghanistan.”Group desires to work with other countries to restore peace, security in Afghanistan”, says Zabihullah Mujahid. Mujahid in TRT Arabi further added that the ‘Afghan peace conference that is going to be held probably in Istanbul would help in bringing peace to Afghanistan and the region. He assures the security of Kabul airport, diplomatic missions and embassies is the Afghans’ responsibility and the Taliban will also play a part.
Talking about the peace negotiations between Kabul and Qatar in Doha (Capital of Qatar) he said, “We hope that negotiations will yield good results.” On Sep 11 US President, Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of all American forces from the war-torn country. Negotiation between the US and Turkey about security at the airport following the US pullout is underway. They have discussed this issue at the recent NATO leaders’ summit in Brusells. Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President said on Tuesday that, “Turkey is considering to operate the major Kabul airport and Ankara is ready to discuss the peace with Taliban.” The forces of Turkey have been offered to take over the security at Afghanistan’s main airport.
Multiple ongoing preplanned social media campaigns with varying degrees of coordination between the Afghan poster boys and the ‘orchestrator’ (US propaganda machinery consisting of state-controlled media as well as SM giants like Facebook and Twitter, and aided by Indian disinformation blitz)
The ‘actors’ were told exactly what to do, and when; Following a timeline.
The purpose is to malign Afghan Taliban and Islam internationally by creating and controlling the narrative to an extent where completely denouncing Taliban/Jihad becomes the only option for governments (including Pakistan’s) and individuals.
Overwhelming international support and backing already arranged at the behest of the US.
The information spectrum of operations was already prepared months in advance to make the chaos that will ensue from the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan the Achilles’s heels for all of them; Taliban, Pakistan, China.
Shaping of the battlefield by the US/ Indians to engulf Afghanistan into chaos and trickling it down to Pakistan, especially Balochistan and erstwhile FATA.
Setting up of a field to engage China. Balochistan initially and then the whole of Pakistan.
Pressuring China ostensibly at the South China Sea and hitting its physical interests in West Asia.
Punishing Pakistan for trying to shift blocks.
Fake news at its peak. Internationally, it will make the Afghan regime look both wronged and innocent, thus giving credibility to their existence. Locally, it will create a political divide in Pakistan.
The way forward: the world needs to be told that the fake Afghan accounts on social media aren’t the representatives of the Afghan people. Afghans are the least represented people on SM. Those Afghans who are speaking up aren’t living there but in the west.
The Taliban should be referred to as freedom fighters. After all, they are the ones who are resisting foreign aggression and occupation, and their local facilitators.
The educated youth of Pakistan, especially the Pashtuns, needs to understand that this is not a religious war, nor should it be viewed in that context.
Need to create new lines of operations.
Explain that this new regime is not the same as the Taliban of the past, they have learned and evolved.
The Afghan regime is equivalent to the South Vietnam regime of ’75. A puppet regime. When America withdrew, the government legally fell to NWA. Here credibility is being wrongly given to the Kabul regime.
Though we won’t let Pakistan or Afghanistan become battlegrounds for bigger international games, but it doesn’t mean that we (both Pakistanis and Afghans) should endorse the Ghani regime. Instead, it is the other way around. If peace is to prevail, the traitors and puppets of the Kabul regime need to step down. They have already killed a lot of Afghans by supporting US forces.
Pakistan reopened its border crossing with Afghanistan at Chaman after a two-day closure. The reason behind closing the border was that the Afghan freedom fighters had captured the area from the US-installed Ashraf Ghani puppet regime.
On July 14 Afghan Taliban captured the Spin Boldak area and they waved their flag over the Bab-e-Dosti (friendship gate), to avoid disorder and chaos in the area Pakistan closed the border and deployed a high number of troops. But now after two days of closure, Pakistan has reopened the border crossing on humanitarian grounds. Many Afghan nationals are stuck in Pakistan and Pakistani nationals in Afghanistan.
Another reason is that both the countries share the same religion and religious festival, both countries celebrated Eid-ul-Adha, a day that involves meeting relatives. Afghan Nationals were allowed to go to their parental state, border was also reopened for trade but with strict measurements. Covid-19 tests are mandatory for anyone crossing the border.
The border will only remain open from 8 AM to 10 PM and 4 PM to 6 PM. People are allowed to cross with high-security checking and only those are allowed to cross who carry verified documents. Pakistan took this step on humanitarian basis, but security risk remains constant as anti-peace agents can enter Pakistan to further destabilise the situation in Pakistan.
Taliban, have taken over more than half of Afghanistan, over 200 of 419 districts, says the US army chief, General Mark Milley.
US army general also stated on Wednesday that they took nearly 81 districts and now they have gained the control of most areas but notably not provincial capitals, which are more important for international recognition. The Afghan-Pakistan border was also taken in control (mid July) by them. Along with gains on ground, dismissing threats to neighboring countries has shown the world Taliban’s political strategies which have proved to be useful in the process.
A Ghazni commander mentioned to media in the last month that even they were shocked about how fast the Talibs were gaining control after US withdrawal, and that their surprising pace was under consideration by everyone.
It is not an easy task, certainly, to tackle Afghan government, but rising powers can be seen tackling the situation and meeting the global expectations as well. The world is looking towards the outcome of this conflict post US pull out.
The Spokesperson of the Foreign Office of Pakistan, Zahid Hafiz Chaudhary has said that Pakistan is willing to proceed towards the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President to take reasonable action against India, after Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar acknowledged that India tried to politicize the International forum.
Zahid Hafiz further said that we urge FATF to look into the matter and review India as co-chair of the Joint Group for assessing Pakistan in FATF, after the current confession by the Indian government its credibility is subjected to question.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar confessed on Sunday that India has made sure that Pakistan should remain in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey-list.The spokesperson also said that Jaishankar’s statement is a further confirmation of India’s attempts to manipulate essential technical international forums for their political agendas against Pakistan.
“Pakistan has been exposing India’s duplicitous role to the international community in the past and it will also bring this recent confession by India to the notice of FATF and the broader international community,” he added.
However, Pakistan had been sincerely connected with FATF on the implementation of its Action Plan but India left no chance to make Pakistan’s progress look doubtful through its immoral means, said Hafiz Chaudhary.
“We are resolved to sustain this momentum and trajectory with the support and cooperation of our international partners. India’s delusions of putting pressure on Pakistan have always remained unfulfilled and would never see the light of day,” he said.
Zahid Hafiz Chaudhary added that despite hurdles and distractions, including politicizing the forum, Pakistan stayed committed to the implementation of technical recommendations of FATF to fulfil its global obligations and commitments.
Author: Aqsa Razzaq
Aqsa Razzaq is a Master in Sociology, Post graduate Diploma in International Affairs from Punjab University, Lahore. An analyst and a humanitarian working with Khidmat Foundation Pakistan and Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital Lahore.
Qurat-ul-Ain Baloch, a mother of four children, was mentally and physically tortured then killed by her husband. The unfortunate incident took place in Barrage Colony, Hyderabad.
Her husband, Umer Khalid Memon, has been arrested after the victim’s brother, Asadullah Buledi has lodged an FIR. He also said that in the ten years of marital life her sister came home multiple times, to avoid her husband’s violence, which has now turned into her death.
The post-mortem report of the victim clarifies that she was a victim of domestic violence, even bruises on her face were alone clear enough to see the facts.
Police have arrested a husband and a 5-day physical remand has been issued by the court. The post-incident steps are taken as usual, but the incident has also happened as usual. Failure of law and law enforcement agencies is that it is indeed that society has again proved to be male dominant negatively. We demand strict investigations to discover the reality.
