Kabul [Afghanistan], October 20,2021: Calling the mission of former US peace envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad a “failure”, politicians and civilians criticised him for his “destructive” role in Afghanistan.
US top envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad resigned from his position on Monday.
“As Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad steps down from his role, I extend my gratitude for his decades of service to the American people,” US Secretary of the State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Following the resignation of the envoy, former intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil took to Twitter and accused him of “dragging” Afghanistan into an “irreversible” catastrophe.
“Finally, this con man was expelled from the scene after dragging Afghanistan into an irreversible catastrophe!”, tweeted the former chief.
Former Afghan foreign minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta lashed out at the former envoy saying that he completed his destructive role in a shameful process.
Rupa (Arunachal Pradesh), October 19,2021: Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Manoj Pande on Tuesday said the Chinese Army’s activities have increased marginally in-depth areas across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which is under tight surveillance of the Indian Army.
“The annual training exercise that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) carries out, there has been some increase in the level of activities but that is in the depth areas. Some of the reserve formations of the PLA which were mobilised have continued to remain in their training areas but that again is in operational depth. We have enhanced our surveillance both in LAC and depth areas,” Lieutenant General Pande said.
Eastern Army commander mentioned that both sides are attempting to develop infrastructure closer to LAC which leads to certain issues at times.
“As per their (PLA) strategy model, villages have come up near the border. It is a matter of concern how that can be used… We have taken cognisance of this in our plans,” he added.
There has been a marginal increase in the border defence troops, who are already deployed at the LAC.
Talking about the steps and measures taken by the Army in terms of surveillance, Lieutenant General Pande said, “We have taken a number of steps and measure. The foremost would be enhancing our surveillance in both — on the Line of Actual Control as well as depth areas. This is what we are doing by synergising efforts of all our surveillance resources, right from strategic level till the tactical level.”
Lt Gen Pande assured that adequate forces are available in each sector to deal with any contingencies that may arise said, “We are also practising and rehearsing contingencies that may come up.”
“In certain areas, we have strengthened the deployment. Largely, there has been no major increase or increment in terms of the number of forces that we have deployed at LAC,” he added.
Eastern army commander reiterated that Army is looking at maximising the potential of incorporating technology to the maximum extent possible.
Washington, Oct 19,2021: The US’ top envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has stepped down from his role, less than two months after the US’ chaotic withdrawal from Kabul.
Khalilzad will be replaced by his deputy, Tom West.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the transition.
In a tweet, Blinken thanked Khalilzad for “decades of tireless service to the United States” and welcomed Thomas West to the role of Special Representative for Afghanistan.
In a statement, Blinken said West, “who served on then-Vice President Biden’s national security team and on the National Security Council staff, will lead diplomatic efforts, advise the Secretary and Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and coordinate closely with the U.S. Embassy Kabul presence in Doha on America’s interests in Afghanistan”.
Khalilzad wrote in his resignation letter on Monday that “the political arrangement between the Afghan government and the Taliban did not go forward as envisaged. The reasons for this are too complex and I will share my thoughts in the coming days and weeks after leaving government service.”
He said he decided it was the right time to step down “at a juncture when we are entering a new phase in our Afghanistan policy.”
He added that he was “saddened” for the Afghan people given the current outcome.
Khalilzad served under Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden as the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation.
A diplomatic veteran who is well-known in foreign policy circles, Khalilzad has also served as a US ambassador to Iraq and the United Nations.
Khalilzad led the talks with the Taliban in Qatar that resulted in the Doha agreement with the Trump administration to fully withdraw US troops by May 2021.
Jerusalem/New Delhi, Oct 19,2021: Signalling a new four-way cooperation between India, Israel, the US and UAE, their foreign ministers held a virtual meeting during which they discussed working closely together on key economic and global issues, especially in the Middle East and Asia.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is in Jerusalem, along with his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid, joined US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, in a virtual conference on Monday to discuss cooperation on issues including trade, combating climate change, energy cooperation, and maritime security.
Jaishankar in a tweet said the four ministers discussed working together more closely on economic growth and global issues and agreed on expeditious follow-up.
“A fruitful first meeting with Israeli APM and FM @YairLapid, UAE FM
@ABZayed and US Secretary of State @SecBlinken this evening.
“Discussed working together more closely on economic growth and global issues. Agreed on expeditious follow-up,” he posted.
Blinken in a tweet said the meeting focused on “shared issues of concern in the region and globally, and the importance of expanding our economic and political collaboration”.
The US State Department, in a readout, said the four ministers “discussed expanding economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia, including through trade, combating climate change, energy cooperation, and increasing maritime security”.
The four ministers “also discussed people to people ties in technology and science, and how to support global public health in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Secretary of State Blinken “reiterated the Biden Administration’s support for the Abraham Accords and normalization agreements and discussed future opportunities for collaboration in the region and globally”, the readout said.
The meeting comes a year after the signing of the Abraham Accords and signals the keenness of Israel and the UAE to make the most of their new cooperation along with like-minded countries, the US and India.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price, answering a question on the meeting at a briefing on Monday, said, “This is a collection of four countries, the US, the UAE, Israel and India, with whom we share many interests.
Moscow, October 12,2021: The turmoil in Afghanistan has exacerbated an entire slew of problems and it may lead to skyrocketing of the illegal arms trade.
Deputy Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Alexander Venediktov said on Tuesday said that illegal arms trade may soar to unprecedented proportions, reported TASS.
“We have to state that the situation in that country poses a whole number of very serious threats not only to regional security but primarily to the national security of our country,” the official said at a Russian Academy of Sciences’ session focusing on Afghanistan.
He specified that these threats include terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, mass migration and “the export of radicalism”, reported TASS.
“This also refers to illegal arms trade that may take on quite unprecedented dimensions in the context of the latest developments,” said Venediktov.
He also pointed out, “the United States has never provided such massive military and technical assistance to any of its allies in NATO and other organizations as it did to Afghanistan.”
Given all these threats, the Afghan problems remain the focus of both Russia’s Security Council as a whole and its scientific council, Venediktov said, reported TASS.
Sarajevo [Bosnia and Herzegovina], October 18,2021: Bosnia and Herzegovina has the full support of NATO, which offers all its depth and capacities to BiH to preserve peace, security, democracy, sovereignty and its territorial integrity, stated the President of the Atlantic Council in BiH, Dijana Gupta.
“The EUFOR forces with the support of NATO in Sarajevo have a mandate granted through the Dayton Peace Agreement in preserving peace and security and that is never in question. We have preserved peace in BiH, our state is sacred to us and all those who in any way advocate the dissolution of BiH, the overthrow of the Constitution, encroachment on sovereignty, are the enemies of Bosnia and Herzegovina and our peoples, and most of all, themselves,” says Gupta.
She reminded that many administrations have come and gone through history but that Bosnia and Herzegovina has never changed its borders. She believes that Bosnia and Herzegovina is much more than any individual wishes to perceive of himself.
“Milorad Dodik is often in collision with what he says and what he does. He has fallen into a trap and I think it is best for him to return to the framework of BiH politics as a member of the Presidency from the ranks of the Serb people. BiH trusted Dodik when he came to that position, now he must trust us and our peoples and engage in a dialogue of reconciliation and compromise,” said Gupta.
She added that we are lucky in Bosnia and Herzegovina that Cristian Shmit came to the position of High Representative.
“He is a very wise and clever man who comes from real politics. He is an expert when it comes to legal science and law. The European Union has sent a signal and a statement, as well as the Quint’s ambassadors, to remain committed to building democracy and the territorial integrity of BiH. This is our belief that our country is not alone and that it has the support from different sides,” said Dijana Gupta, President of the Atlantic Council in BiH.
Oct 18,2021:Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Sunday said that the Central government is making efforts to convert the union territory from ‘terror capital to tourism capital’.
Speaking to ANI, Chugh said, “Central government is committed to the safety, security of life and property of the people of Kashmir. We have started a new era of development in Union Territory. We are making efforts to convert the union territory from terrorism capital into tourism capital, in which we all will be successful.”
A street hawker from Bihar and a labourer from Uttar Pradesh were killed in two back-to-back attacks by terrorists in the Srinagar and Pulwama districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.
Over the past few days, several civilians have been killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, sparking fear in the valley.
Meanwhile, the security forces in the union territory have undertaken many counter-terrorist operations over the past few days and as many as 13 terrorists have been killed in nine encounters between security forces and the terrorists after the civilian killings.
New Delhi, Oct 18,2021: India has registered 13,596 new cases of coronavirus cases in past 24 hours, lowest in 230 days, while the number of deaths climbed to 452,290 with 166 more fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data on Monday.
The Ministry said, the recovery rate touched 98.12 per cent as 19,582 patients recovered in past 24 hours, taking the cumulative tally of recoveries to 33,439,331.
They said, “The active caseload falls below 2 lakh-mark and is presently at 1,89,694; which is lowest in 221 days. Active cases presently constitute 0.56 per cent of the country’s total positive cases.
“The daily positivity rate is 1.37 per cent, which is less than 3 per cent for last 49 days, whereas weekly positivity rate is 1.37 per cent, which also remains less than 3 per cent for the last 115 days now.”
The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. The last 24 hours saw a total of 9,89,493 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 59.19 crore tests.
In past 24 hours, India administered 12,05,162 vaccine doses. The vaccination coverage has exceeded 97.79 crore landmark as per provisional reports till 7 am on Monday, the Ministry added.
New Delhi , October 17,2021: India is all set to soon host a national security advisor (NSA) level regional conference in New Delhi on Afghanistan.
This will be the first-of-its-kind dialogue to be hosted by India.
The tentative dates of the proposed in-person dialogue are November 10-11.
ANI has learnt that the conference will be in a format similar to the regional security conference held earlier in Iran in 2019.
Those invited to the NSA-level meeting include countries in the neighbourhood of Afghanistan- Russia, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
It is learnt that that invite has also been extended to Pakistan’s NSA Moeed Yusuf, although there is no official confirmation on the conference and invitation yet, it is learnt that preparations are underway.
India, a big player in the region, has been planning to hold a conference on Afghanistan earlier but the move was first derailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later due to the unceremonious takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021.
Meanwhile, India will also be sending high ranking officials to the Moscow Format dialogue scheduled on October 20, where representatives of the Taliban will also be sitting across the table.
Terrorism, humanitarian assistance to Afghans and recognition of the Taliban-led regime are key issues India will likely to add to the agenda of the talks.
India has also expressed its willingness to extend humanitarian assistance to Afghans, who are staring at a food and economic crisis coupled with harsh winters ahead.
If Pakistan agrees to attend the NSA-level conference, it would mark the first visit by incumbent NSA Yusuf to India.
New Delhi has been accusing Pakistan of aiding and abetting anti-India terror forces in Afghanistan.
Kabul [Afghanistan], October 17,2021: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Daesh in a statement said that Shi’ite Muslims are perilous and they will be targeted by them everywhere, a media report said.
Al-Naba, the group’s weekly has published the warning. It further read that the Shia Muslims will be targeted in their homes and centres, reported Khaama Press.
The statement has especially threatened Shia Muslims living in Afghanistan.
From Baghdad to Khorasan, Shi’ite Muslims will be target everywhere, said ISIS.
ISIS Khorasan now remains the biggest threat to the peace in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country, according to Khaama Press.
The warning came after a powerful explosion rattled a Shia Mosque in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province on Friday, killing over 60 worshipers while wounding more than 80. The attack was claimed by the IS-K.
On October 8, another terrorist attack on a Shia mosque in Afghanistan’s Kunduz killed more than 100 people and injured several. The deadly blast ripped through Sayed Abad Mosque in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz as local residents attended the mosque for Friday prayer.
New Delhi , October 17,202: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) spokesperson Sudhindra Bhadoria on Sunday urged the Centre to reduce prices of petroleum products and bring Achhe Din for the common man.
Speaking to ANI, Bhadoria said, “We hear every day that petrol and diesel prices have increased. Petrol and diesel prices already scored a century. Even LPG cylinders are available for Rs 1,000. If you go to the farmers, they are saying that Diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer is available at a cost of Rs 2000 in the black market.”
“I want to say that the government is giving relief neither to the farmers nor to the poor and the common man. Only some capitalists are flourishing here so the BJP government needs to bring ‘Acche din’ to the public,” he added.
Petrol and diesel prices continued to rise across the country for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday.
Petrol and diesel prices reached an all-time high as fuel rates continued to rise by 35 paise/litre across the country for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday. With the latest hike, the petrol price becomes Rs 105.84/litre while diesel will now cost Rs 94.57/litre in Delhi today.
ABUJA,Oct2021: Nigeria’s top general said on Thursday that Abu Musab al-Barnawi, leader of the insurgent group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), was dead.
ISWAP is an offshoot of the Boko Haram insurgent group that has been fighting against the Nigerian armed forces for 12 years. The two militant groups later turned on each other.
The conflict between the insurgents and Nigeria’s armed forces, which has also spread to neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, has left about 300,000 dead and millions dependent on aid.
“I can authoritatively confirm to you that Abu Musab is dead,” Lucky Irabor, the chief of defence staff, told reporters at the presidential villa in Abuja, without elaborating.
The Daily Trust, a northern Nigerian newspaper, reported that al-Barnawi had died in late August, citing unnamed sources. It said different sources had given different accounts of how the ISWAP leader had died.
Al-Barnawi was the third leader of an Islamist insurgent group in West Africa to die this year, after Boko Haram’s Abubakar Shekau in May and Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
Addis Ababa, Oct 14,2021: Suspected Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebels have killed 15 civilians in attacks in the western part of Ethiopia’s Oromia regional state, state media outlet Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) reported Thursday.
The OLA group had caused damage in attacks it carried out on Monday and Tuesday in Haro city, Kirimu woreda of East Wollega zone, FBC reported, quoting Hailu Adugna, head of Oromia region administration communication bureau.
The OLA’s attack in Haro city left 15 people dead and displaced around 967 households, according to FBC.
The official told FBC that the regional administration has deployed additional security forces to the area and is currently undertaking efforts to rehabilitate displaced people.
The OLA is a breakaway faction of an ex-rebel group Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), also an opposition political party claiming to fight for the rights of ethnic Oromos who make up about 35 percent of Ethiopia’s population.
Designated as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian parliament in 2011, the OLF was removed from the terror list in July 2018 to facilitate negotiations and foster reconciliation.