Live Conflict War in Afghanistan

[Jackdaws]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1428058514396786697

 

[Jackdaws]

Taliban will pretend to look like good boy: Expert​

ISTANBUL​

The Taliban will pretend to look like a good boy to the international community to keep control of war-torn Afghanistan and its collapsed economy, a Turkish international relations professor has said.

“The country saw only wars in the last four decades. There is nothing more important to the Taliban than international aid and support. That’s why they visit Russia and China,” Ahmet Kasım Han told daily Hürriyet on Aug. 18.

According to the professor, to get the support in need, the Taliban promised China not to intervene in the Xinjiang Uyghur region. “They also gave Moscow a word that they would not support al-Qaida or ISIL in Central Asia,” Kasım said.

Taliban wants Afghanistan to be recognized as a legitimate country so they will behave like a good boy, he added.

When asked if they would succeed in being good boys, Kasım replied, “Unknown. As the answer is unknown, people get uneasy.”

According to the latest poll in Afghanistan, 70 percent of the population opposed living in a Taliban regime, he reminded.

Taliban will pretend to look like good boy: Expert - Türkiye News

The Taliban will pretend to look like a good boy to the international community to keep control of war-torn Afghanistan and its collapsed economy, a Turkish international relations professor has said.

www.hurriyetdailynews.com

_________________________
Statistics are statistics. Unless people demonstrate on the streets in millions and news and reporters stream this event live. They'll just stay statistics. IMO

I hope PAF will improve on border control and security and just keep at it.

A donkey can't help but bray. Taliban will be Taliban as soon as international media leaves. Why do you think the Afghans are clamoring to leave? I mean throwing their babies across fences - how desperate does a parent have to be to do that?

 

[Saithan]

IMF suspends Afghanistan’s access to funds over uncertainty​

BY AGENCIES​

FINANCE
AUG 19, 2021 10:12 AM GMT+3

An exterior view of the building of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2020. (AFP Photo)


The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Wednesday that it had suspended Afghanistan's access to the Fund's resources, including around $440 million in new monetary reserves, due to a lack of clarity over the country's government after the Taliban seized control of Kabul.

The IMF's announcement came amid pressure from the U.S. Treasury, which holds a controlling share in the Fund, to ensure that Afghanistan's share of a Special Drawing Rights (SDR) reserves allocation scheduled for Monday does not fall into Taliban hands.

"There is currently a lack of clarity within the international community regarding recognition of a government in Afghanistan, as a consequence of which the country cannot access SDRs or other IMF resources," an IMF spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

"As is always the case, the IMF is guided by the views of the international community," the spokesperson added.

The Fund has traditionally relied on its membership to decide whether to engage with governments that take power in coups or disputed elections.

In 2019, the IMF suspended Venezuela's SDR access after more than 50 member countries representing a majority of the Fund's shareholding refused to recognize President Nicolas Maduro’s government following his disputed re-election. The IMF also suspended dealings with Myanmar after the military seized power in a February coup.

The IMF is due on Monday to complete a $650 billion allocation of SDRs – the fund's unit of exchange based on dollars, euros, yen, sterling and yuan – to its 190 member countries in proportion to their shareholdings in the Fund.

The increase in reserves is aimed at bolstering the balance sheets of poorer countries that have been severely strained by the coronavirus pandemic.
The IMF will allocate 310 million SDRs on Afghanistan's behalf, an IMF spokesperson said. That is valued at about $440 million based on Wednesday's SDR exchange rate.

A U.S. Treasury official said earlier on Wednesday that the department was taking steps to prevent the Taliban from accessing the country's SDR reserves.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not provide details on the specific actions being taken by the Treasury, which follow a letter from Republican lawmakers urging Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to "intervene" at the IMF to ensure that no SDRs are made available to the Taliban.

Even if Afghanistan were to regain access to the SDRs, it would be unlikely the Taliban could spend those resources because that would require another country to be willing to exchange the SDRs for underlying currencies, a transaction that would likely be blocked by long-standing U.S. financial sanctions against the Taliban.
Afghan and U.S. officials have said most of the Afghan central bank's nearly $10 billion in assets are held outside Afghanistan, likely putting them beyond the insurgents' reach.

The U.S. Federal Reserve holds $7 billion of the country's reserves, including $1.2 billion in gold, while the rest is held in foreign accounts including at the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements, according to the bank’s acting governor, Ajmal Ahmady, who has fled Kabul.

A Biden administration official said previously that any Afghan central bank assets held in the United States would not be made available to the Taliban.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday it was too soon to determine whether the United States would recognize the Taliban as the legitimate governing power in Afghanistan, citing a "chaotic situation in Kabul."

IMF suspends Afghanistan’s access to funds over uncertainty

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Wednesday that it had suspended Afghanistan's access to the Fund's resources, including around $440...

www.dailysabah.com

 

[Jackdaws]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1428115708920090632

 

[Kaptaan]

IEA is very serious about it's stragetic partnership with Pakistan and doesn't want to spoil it over anything. IEA will not waste even if the heavens and the earth were to fall upon each other the friendship with Pakistan and it's people. Times change, politics constantly change and the prirorty of today is just different and IEA recognize that there is great benefit in Pakistan and doesn't wanna spoil it or weakened it in any form or shape

I certainly hope so. Rest of the world can say what they want but fact is Afghanistan and Pakistan are conjoined twins. Yeh sometimes we can hate each other but our geographic, ethnic and historical legacy will never be erased. I like to see the relationship with Britain and Ireland as analogous to Pakistan and Afghanistan. They also have had their issues but nobody can deny there is close historical bond between both reflected in the CTA open border treaty which since 1922 has allowed free movement of peope - Irish to Britain and vice versa.

Common Travel Area - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There is such huge potential. A warrior people who have the courage and persistence to fight off three superpowers have lot of potential. I hope IEA joins Pakistan in a new effort to lay the seed of a regional economic block that binds Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan with Afghanistan being the bridge. The potential is immense.

Socio-economic development will itself bring about evolution of society naturally over time. So let that journey begin. Hope to see all of Central Asian, IEA leadership sat with PM Imran Khan by next year to practically apply his geo-economic vision.

If all of Europe can unite under EU, Arabs have their thing , there is ASEAN in South East Asia. It's time Pakistan also built up a economic alliance for win win for all.

So let us all wish the best and hope IEA have learned some lessons and are wiser then they were in their previous incarnation.

 

[Kaptaan]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1428115708920090632

Plenty of material here for the next Bollywod flick? Mission Afghanistan sounds nice?

 

[Saithan]

I certainly hope so. Rest of the world can say what they want but fact is Afghanistan and Pakistan are conjoined twins. Yeh sometimes we can hate each other but our geographic, ethnic and historical legacy will never be erased. I like to see the relationship with Britain and Ireland as analogous to Pakistan and Afghanistan. They also have had their issues but nobody can deny there is close historical bond between both reflected in the CTA open border treaty which since 1922 has allowed free movement of peope - Irish to Britain and vice versa.

Common Travel Area - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There is such huge potential. A warrior people who have the courage and persistence to fight off three superpowers have lot of potential. I hope IEA joins Pakistan in a new effort to lay the seed of a regional economic block that binds Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan with Afghanistan being the bridge. The potential is immense.

Socio-economic development will itself bring about evolution of society naturally over time. So let that journey begin. Hope to see all of Central Asian, IEA leadership sat with PM Imran Khan by next year to practically apply his geo-economic vision.

If all of Europe can unite under EU, Arabs have their thing , there is ASEAN in South East Asia. It's time Pakistan also built up a economic alliance for win win for all.

So let us all wish the best and hope IEA have learned some lessons and are wiser then they were in their previous incarnation.

Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't you pro secularism ?

I know that Pakistan was founded as a Islamic country, but your laws aren't based on sharia (right ?), though I recall @Saiyan0321 mentioning how even his law professors were sometimes interpreting things according to Sharia and not the actual Law.

How is IEA Sharia laws going to mesh with Pakistan's laws. Though I understand you imagine that each country will be governed by their own laws. You still have quite a handful of Pashtuns who may prefer IEA laws, thus creating a rift of sorts. (Does my question make sense ?).

I think Pakistan needs to make it clear with regard to borders and there being two countries, and enforce strict control.

 

[Jackdaws]

Plenty of material here for the next Bollywod flick? Mission Afghanistan sounds nice?

Why are Pakistanis so obsessed with Bollywood?

 

[Jackdaws]

Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't you pro secularism ?

I know that Pakistan was founded as a Islamic country, but your laws aren't based on sharia (right ?), though I recall @Saiyan0321 mentioning how even his law professors were sometimes interpreting things according to Sharia and not the actual Law.

How is IEA Sharia laws going to mesh with Pakistan's laws. Though I understand you imagine that each country will be governed by their own laws. You still have quite a handful of Pashtuns who may prefer IEA laws, thus creating a rift of sorts. (Does my question make sense ?).

Wait for the "whataboutism" reply in 3, 2, 1...

 

[Saithan]

Turkish citizens evacuated from Kabul express gratitude​

BY DAILY SABAH WITH AA​

ISTANBUL DIPLOMACY
AUG 19, 2021 10:38 AM GMT+3

Turkish citizens evacuated from Afghanistan's Kabul arrive at the airport in Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 19, 2021. (AA Photo)


Turkish citizens who were evacuated from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the capital Kabul expressed their gratitude on Thursday for Turkish authorities' efforts and interest.

After the Taliban took control of Kabul, 273 citizens, who applied to return to Turkey, were first taken to Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, by a transport plane belonging to the Turkish Air Force.

The evacuated citizens arrived at Istanbul Airport on Thursday morning via a Turkish Airlines (THY) flight numbered TK 6881, which departed from the airport in Islamabad.

Rafet Gürbüz, owner of a business in Kabul, said in a statement to the press at the airport that they made it from Kabul to Islamabad onboard a military plane.
Stating that they were well received in Islamabad, Gürbüz said: "Our Kabul ambassador sent us off at around 12 o'clock. Apart from that, our commander in Kabul was very interested. We are the civilian operators working there. We did not have any problems. I hope that our citizens and soldiers there will come to our country without any problem. I do not believe that any Turkish citizens will stay there."

Gürbüz noted that all the doctors and commanders took great care of him because he had an illness in Kabul.

Gürbüz stated that after the Taliban forces entered Kabul, the youth especially wanted to go abroad. "People completely want to go out. Especially the unemployed youth, who naturally want to go to European countries and Turkey, rather than remain in fear of the Taliban. Because they have economic concerns. They want to seize this opportunity. That's one of my observations. We've been there for seven years. Is there any oppression of the Taliban? We haven't seen or heard of it. All of our Afghan friends, especially those we employ, went to America. That's why we closed our businesses."

Anesthesiologist Mert Yamaç stated that they did not encounter any problems after reaching the airport in Kabul.

Noting that they were safe at the airport, Yamaç said: "Turkish soldiers greeted us directly at the airport. We went to Pakistan by military plane and came to Turkey then."

Pointing out that the situation in Kabul was complicated, Yamaç said: "The whole administration has been taken over by the Taliban. There are no statesmen, there are no civil servants. All the bazaars and shops are closed. There is chaos all over Afghanistan."

U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the American military to withdraw from Afghanistan before Sept. 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the U.S. by Taliban-backed al-Qaida.

The Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan over after taking control of the presidential palace in Kabul, while Western nations scrambled on Monday to evacuate their citizens amid chaos at the airport as frantic Afghans searched for a way out.

It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government forces, trained for years and equipped by the United States and others at a cost of billions of dollars, melted away.

The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign in which the United States and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan.

The Taliban said on Tuesday they wanted peaceful relations with other countries and would respect women’s rights within the framework of Islamic law, as they held their first official news briefing since their lightning seizure of Kabul.

Turkish citizens evacuated from Kabul express gratitude

Turkish citizens who were evacuated from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the capital Kabul expressed their gratitude on Thursday for Turkish...

www.dailysabah.com

 

[Kaptaan]

Why are Pakistanis so obsessed with Bollywood?

A light hearted dig is not obession but your sudden found care for Afghan females does look rather obessive.

Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't you pro secularism ?

100%

I know that Pakistan was founded as a Islamic country

That is not so clear but would require a chapter and then some clarify so leave that for now.

but your laws aren't based on sharia

All of Pakistan's institutions and most of the laws have been inheritated from the British era with some slicing/dicing to make the 'boot fit'.

How is IEA Sharia laws going to mesh with Pakistan's laws.

Two separate countries. No need for meshing.

ou still have quite a handful of Pashtuns who may prefer IEA laws, thus creating a rift of sorts. (Does my question make sense ?).

That problem has always existed and is not particular to just Pashtuns. In Pakistan the religious right are always pushing for - well you know what I mean but they don't have electoral mandate. So that tension has always existed and will continue but my view is as long as progress is being made society only moves in one direction. That means inevitably people like me one day will be the typical as opposed to being atypical.

You see this in all societies. In Europe countries like Ireland even as late as 1980s were dominated by catholic church. Recently after decades they have joined rest of Europe in terms of LGBT, abortion etc.

Such attempts had failed many times in the past but as society changed, life is a conveyor belt and the old generation tipped over into the abys the society change. Same will happen here.

No doubt same will be happening in Turkey. After Erdogan goes expect major change to follow as 20-30 years of social evolution that is in lag right now will manifest itself.

I am sure you know about your society. It's not what it was in 1980. In our part of the world we must focus on peace and economics as that will be driver for social change.

 

[Kaptaan]

Wait for the "whataboutism" reply in 3, 2, 1...

A very childish way to try and configure the discusion according to your frame of referance. No can do. Muzzling other people by using this charge is cheap and crude censorship.

 

[Saithan]

NATO chief: The Afghan government is to blame for the military collapse​

The defense alliance will now dig deeper into the causes of the Afghan army's record-breaking meltdown against the Taliban.

NATO will now investigate further why the Afghan military forces, despite so many years of preparations, could not better withstand the Taliban. Stock Photo: Niels Hougaard

A A


There is no doubt about when NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will address the reason for the surprisingly rapid surrender of the Afghan military forces to the Taliban. The country's leadership is to blame, Stoltenberg said at a NATO meeting on Tuesday, writes the news agency Associated Press .
NATO has helped build Afghanistan's military of 300,000 men. But despite the fact that the number is superior to the Taliban forces, the defense of the country crumbled in a few days.


“The world has witnessed a political and military collapse so quickly that no one had thought it possible. Some of the Afghan military forces fought bravely. But it soon became clear that the country's leadership had failed in the fight against the Taliban and in creating a lasting peace for the country's inhabitants, "said Stoltenberg.

Over the years, the Secretary General of NATO has advocated that the Taliban would never succeed in winning on the battlefield but could only gain influence through negotiations.

Despite the restrictions in the Afghan government caused by i.a. corruption and managerial inadequacy, NATO continues to believe that training local forces in troubled countries is the best defense against extremist groups such as Islamic State. The decentralized strategy must also help keep Western forces out of external areas of conflict.

"We have to continue the fight against international terrorism. And NATO's efforts have weakened the al-Qaida network, "Stoltenberg pointed out, according to ABC News .

However, NATO needs to investigate further why the Afghan military forces, despite so many years of preparation, could not hold up better. But right now it is a matter of getting all foreigners out of the country as well as the Afghans who have assisted NATO in numerous ways.


NATO is a political and military defense cooperation consisting of 30 member countries. The organization was established in 1949 with the United States, Great Britain and France as the driving forces. The countries are obliged to defend each other in case of external attacks.

In recent years, NATO's focus has not least been on relations with Russia following the Russian invasion of the Crimean peninsula.

*Google translated*

Nato-chef: Der er én hovedårsag til den afghanske hærs nedsmeltning

Forsvarsalliancen vil nu grave dybere ned i årsagerne til den afghanske hærs rekordhurtige nedsmeltning mod Taliban.

jyllands-posten.dk

 

[Brace Yourself]

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh to Muslim
& Good day to Others

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1428270421942677505

Yeah I was also wondering!
Don't be offended it's like Trinity.

 

[Brace Yourself]

A very childish way to try and configure the discusion according to your frame of referance. No can do. Muzzling other people by using this charge is cheap and crude censorship.

It's no use. How much you put logic. Someone just refuse to use logic, I doubt they have common sense. Logic or common sense nothing wants to go with them.

 

[Kaptaan]

There really is huge potential that something good could come out of this 40 year tragedy. Prime Minister Imran Khan has top on his list a vision - region geo-economic.

That is Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Central Asia and countries on the littoral of this zone - Turkey, China, Iran also pitch in. PM IK has great relations with all as we saw he invested lot of effort in Uzbekistan and both countries agree on a rail line between Peshawar and Termez thus connecting this vast region. Afghanistan was always the block but now suddenly that possibility exists.

PM IK is of ethnic Pashtun heritage as well as about 1/3 of his cabinet. This gives him insight and his government is ideally placed to put forward a working relationship with IEA to move the broader regional vision forward.

There really is huge potential but there is always Murphy's law hanging over so let;s see what happens.

 

[Jackdaws]

A light hearted dig is not obession but your sudden found care for Afghan females does look rather obessive.

Well, I wish I could find something light hearted in women throwing their babies across fences to British soldiers in desperation and crack some joke about it but I can't.

 

[Jackdaws]

A very childish way to try and configure the discusion according to your frame of referance. No can do. Muzzling other people by using this charge is cheap and crude censorship.

Who muzzled you? If you have a crack at the expense of dead and desperate Afghans it is "light hearted". If someone else has a crack at your "whataboutism" it is "crude censorship".

Hypocrisy just did a double take.

 

[Kaptaan]

This image below of Af-Pak border at Torkham is rather interesting. On left is Taliban most likely Pashtun and on right Pakistan military's Frontier Corps soldier who will lso be Pashtun, as FC only recruits from Pashtun population of Pakistan. The FC has a history going back to 1878 and was set up by the British. It's strength is about 100,000 men and has primary responsibility for guarding the western frontier and it's role is probably most analogous to Turkish Jandarma.

 

[Blood raven]

NATO chief: The Afghan government is to blame for the military collapse​

The defense alliance will now dig deeper into the causes of the Afghan army's record-breaking meltdown against the Taliban.

NATO will now investigate further why the Afghan military forces, despite so many years of preparations, could not better withstand the Taliban. Stock Photo: Niels Hougaard

A A


There is no doubt about when NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will address the reason for the surprisingly rapid surrender of the Afghan military forces to the Taliban. The country's leadership is to blame, Stoltenberg said at a NATO meeting on Tuesday, writes the news agency Associated Press .
NATO has helped build Afghanistan's military of 300,000 men. But despite the fact that the number is superior to the Taliban forces, the defense of the country crumbled in a few days.


“The world has witnessed a political and military collapse so quickly that no one had thought it possible. Some of the Afghan military forces fought bravely. But it soon became clear that the country's leadership had failed in the fight against the Taliban and in creating a lasting peace for the country's inhabitants, "said Stoltenberg.

Over the years, the Secretary General of NATO has advocated that the Taliban would never succeed in winning on the battlefield but could only gain influence through negotiations.

Despite the restrictions in the Afghan government caused by i.a. corruption and managerial inadequacy, NATO continues to believe that training local forces in troubled countries is the best defense against extremist groups such as Islamic State. The decentralized strategy must also help keep Western forces out of external areas of conflict.

"We have to continue the fight against international terrorism. And NATO's efforts have weakened the al-Qaida network, "Stoltenberg pointed out, according to ABC News .

However, NATO needs to investigate further why the Afghan military forces, despite so many years of preparation, could not hold up better. But right now it is a matter of getting all foreigners out of the country as well as the Afghans who have assisted NATO in numerous ways.


NATO is a political and military defense cooperation consisting of 30 member countries. The organization was established in 1949 with the United States, Great Britain and France as the driving forces. The countries are obliged to defend each other in case of external attacks.

In recent years, NATO's focus has not least been on relations with Russia following the Russian invasion of the Crimean peninsula.

*Google translated*

Nato-chef: Der er én hovedårsag til den afghanske hærs nedsmeltning

Forsvarsalliancen vil nu grave dybere ned i årsagerne til den afghanske hærs rekordhurtige nedsmeltning mod Taliban.

jyllands-posten.dk

Are you kidding me!

So Nato, a coalition of the mightiest countries in the world, investing billions of dollars into this project, are now shift blaming the very Thing they created, and say its because of the leaders of the said country?

Sorry but the only one fooling is you and youre the one, which trained them and put them into this postion.

A rag tag milita, which had nothing but pickup trucks and aks is apparently better organized and trained than the ISAF.