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Former Afghan VP Claims Anti-Taliban Special Unit Was Behind Helicopter Crash In Balkh

May 22, 2023, 11:49 GMT+1

Former Afghan vice-president Amrullah Saleh announced that a special technical unit was behind the crash of the Taliban helicopter in Samangan province. According to Saleh, the crash was “a blessed achievement by skilful and technical facilitation of the special unit”.

However, Saleh did not elaborate if the special unit behind the crash is associated with the National Resistance Front or any other anti-Taliban factions.

Saleh said on Twitter that the Afghan officers had taken an oath by placing their hands on the Quran that they would not betray the country and would remain faithful in protecting the laws and the government’s rule.

The former vice-president asked the air force officers who are in the service of the Taliban to stop their "betrayal" towards Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that an MD-530 helicopter, which was flying from Mazar-e-Sharif Airport to Samangan province, collided with a power line and crashed in the Khulm district of Balkh province.

According to the Taliban Ministry of Defence, the pilot of the helicopter was killed in this incident.

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Taliban Shoots Dead Three Civilians in Daikundi Province, Say Local Sources

May 22, 2023, 10:27 GMT+1

Local sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban have killed a number of residents in Daikundi province. According to the sources, Taliban fighters shot three civilians during a house-to-house raid in Kian area of the province.

The Taliban fighters have also injured several residents of the area in the search operation.

So far, the Taliban have not provided any reasons for the group’s fighters’ raid on the Kian resident’s houses. The group had previously conducted search operations in civilian areas to find weapons and or follow suspected resistance fighters.

Daikundi has always been one of the relatively peaceful provinces of Afghanistan, but the Taliban previously announced that the group's opponents are also present in Daikundi. On the same pretext, last year, Taliban fighters killed nine civilians, including four children, in an attack on a house in Siwak area of Daikundi province.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Taliban at that time, called these people "rebels".

Earlier, Mohammad Mohaqiq and Karim Khalili, two political leaders of Hazaras of Afghanistan, have urged human rights groups not to ignore the Taliban’s brutality and crimes in Daikundi province.

Present Taliban No Different From The Group In 1990s, Says Former Iranian Ambassador

May 22, 2023, 09:13 GMT+1

Abdul Raza Farajirad, former Iran’s ambassador to Norway, said that Taliban is the same group that killed Iranian diplomates in Mazar-e-Sharif city in 1990s. Farajirad said that Taliban has not changed and Afghan embassy in Tehran should not have to be handed over to the group.

Farajirad, who is currently a university professor, added that the behaviour of the Taliban shows that they are becoming more violent as more concessions are being made to them.

The former Iranian ambassador stressed that the Taliban follows the policy of the previous Afghan government on water rights issues, and added that in some cases, they have lied about the lack of water in Afghan dams.

He said that the satellite photos show that they have changed the course of the water so that it enters the salt marsh and does not reach Iran.

Iran's former ambassador to Norway emphasised, "Iran has helped this group a lot since they came to power, and many of the issues that arose in the border areas were tolerated by Iran. Iran tried not to strain relations with the Taliban. But unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to cooperate with Iran."

He added that if the Islamic Republic ignores its claim on water rights from Helmand River, the Taliban will stick to Iran's issues in the future and will create problems at the borders with Iran.

The tensions between the Taliban and the Islamic Republic have increased since last Thursday, when the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, made rather harsh statements in Sistan and Baluchistan regarding the water rights of Iran from the Helmand River.

Some Iranian officials said that the mistake of handing over the Afghan embassy to the Taliban should be corrected and this embassy should be taken back from the Taliban.

G7 Leaders Ask Taliban To Hold National Dialogue in Afghanistan

May 20, 2023, 14:30 GMT+1

The leaders of the G7 called on the Taliban to hold a national dialogue for the participation of all Afghans in political power. In a statement, the leaders of G7 stated that the Taliban must fulfil their commitments and Afghanistan must not become a safe haven for terrorists.

United States, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, France, and Canada are members of Group Seven. The annual meeting of the G7 leaders was held in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday.

The G7 leaders expressed their concerns about the severe humanitarian and economic situation in Afghanistan.

The G7 leaders stressed that Afghanistan lacks political inclusiveness and urged the Taliban to take important steps to form a national, inclusive, and Afghan-led dialogue.

The G7 leaders referred to the Taliban’s restrictions on Afghan women and said that all Afghans should have the right to full, equal, and meaningful participation in every field of life.

2 Days After Iranian President’s Warning, Taliban Inaugurates Bakhshabad Dam in Farah

May 20, 2023, 13:05 GMT+1

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister, inaugurated the construction of Bakhshabad dam tunnels in Farah on Saturday. Mullah Baradar said that the dam had to be inaugurated last year in order to save water in Afghanistan.

The Taliban has inaugurated Bakhshabad dam only two days after Iran’s warning to the Taliban on their water rights issue from the Helmand River.

On Thursday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, during a visit to Sistan Baluchistan province, warned the Taliban to give the water rights of Iran.

Raisi also emphasised that the Taliban should take his warning seriously and not complain later that “they were not told”.

At the inauguration ceremony of the construction of tunnels of Bakhshabad dam, Mullah Baradar said, "The Taliban considers it its responsibility to solve the problems of the people of Farah province. We should have tried last year to save the water of this dam and its water would not be wasted, but the Taliban has inherited many problems in the country, which cannot be solved all at the same time.”

According to a Taliban statement, Mullah Baradar also added, "We will use the means we have to complete the remaining work of the Bakhshabad dam, and I also ask the company to carry out the assigned tasks in good faith.”

According to the Taliban's statement, Bakhshabad Dam, with a length of 50 km from the right side and 52 km from the left side, has the capacity to irrigate 68,590 hectares of land.

According to the Taliban’s statement, the construction of Bakhshabad dam will finish soon.

Uzbekistan Special Envoy Discusses Afghanistan with UK Officials in London

May 20, 2023, 11:31 GMT+1

Ismatullah Irgashev, Uzbekistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, and the British Deputy Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs discussed the situation in Afghanistan in London. During the meeting, Irgashev discussed joint efforts to fight terrorism and extremism.

According to the Uzbek media outlets, both sides emphasised on the need for the international community to remain focused on Afghanistan in order to prevent the country from becoming a source of security threats.

Providing humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan had also been one of the other topics of discussion among the British and Uzbek senior officials.

According to media reports, Uzbekistan and the UK agreed to continue the engagement of the representatives between the two countries regarding the issues of the region and Afghanistan.