Over 13,000 Afghan Migrants Deported in 10 Days, Reports Pak Media

Jun 23, 2024, 09:25 GMT+1

Radio Pakistan reported that 13,815 Afghan migrants have been deported from Pakistan in the past 10 days.

The state-run media stated that since the initiation of the deportation plan for Afghan migrants, over 620,000 Afghans have been returned to their country.

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Pakistani Taliban To Be Transferred From Border Areas To Other Provinces

Jun 22, 2024, 16:48 GMT+1

Security and diplomatic sources have informed Afghanistan International that the Taliban are planning to relocate members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from border areas to other provinces in Afghanistan.

This decision comes after months of negotiations between the Taliban, Pakistan, and China.

According to the sources, the Taliban in Afghanistan are attempting to move TTP fighters from areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, particularly in Khost province, to other provinces in Afghanistan.

However, the TTP has expressed concerns about the Taliban's decision to relocate their fighters, and discussions on this matter are still ongoing.

This decision follows recent attacks in Pakistan and an attack on Chinese citizens in Besham, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.

In the nearly three years since the Taliban took over the power in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government has repeatedly accused them of harbouring Pakistani Taliban fighters. Reports also indicate that senior TTP members and many of their fighters are present in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban have repeatedly denied these accusations.

It now appears that the Afghan Taliban are willing to relocate Pakistani Taliban fighters from border provinces to other provinces within Afghanistan. Although it is not clear to which provinces these fighters will be moved, earlier reports suggested that the Taliban plan to resettle them in northern and western provinces of Afghanistan.

In May 2023, a senior Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Turkey's Anadolu news agency that Islamabad had reached an agreement with the Taliban's Ministry of Interior to relocate Pakistani Taliban fighters from the border to western Afghanistan.

At that time, Anadolu Agency reported that Pakistan would fund this relocation.

The spokesperson for the Hezb-e Junbish Milli Party also previously stated that the relocation of TTP to northern provinces would turn these areas into another Gaza.

SCO Should Engage With Afghanistan To Expand Influence, Says Kazakhstan

Jun 22, 2024, 14:02 GMT+1

Yerzhan Kistafin, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan, said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should engage with Afghanistan to solve problems.

Kistafin said that the SCO's engagement with countries like Afghanistan is important for expanding the organisation’s influence and resolving geopolitical issues.

TASS news agency reported on Friday that Kistafin spoke about the activities of the SCO during a meeting at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.

The Kazakh Ambassador to Pakistan said that his country supports the participation of SCO observer countries in its activities.

The SCO summit is scheduled to be held on July 3-4 in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Afghanistan has been an observer member of the SCO since 2012, but after the Taliban came to power, no one has been allowed to enter SCO meetings to represent Afghanistan.

Last week, Zamir Kabulov, the Russian President's Special Representative for Afghanistan, said that Tajikistan opposes the Taliban's presence in the SCO.

Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are members of the SCO. Although some of these countries have economic and diplomatic relations with the Taliban, none of them recognise the Taliban government.

Earlier, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of Kazakhstan, announced that he had removed the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups of the country.

ISIS & Al-Qaeda Pose Threats From Afghanistan, Says Russian FM

Jun 22, 2024, 11:57 GMT+1

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that fully prepared militant groups, including ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and their affiliates, remain active in Afghanistan.

Following a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), Lavrov warned that threats continue to emanate from Afghan territory.

According to Lavrov, there needs to be a more substantial dialogue with the Taliban regarding the fight against terrorism.

On Friday, the state news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported that Lavrov, after the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Almaty, told reporters, "We consider supporting the fight against terrorism to be crucial."

The CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting was held on Friday in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The Foreign Ministers of Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus attended the meeting.

Warning that threats from Afghanistan persist, Lavrov said, "We support the establishment of a more sustainable, permanent, and substantive dialogue aimed at implementing specific projects with the Taliban, who control Afghanistan."

Imangali Tasmagambetov, the Secretary-General of the CSTO, also presented a report at this meeting on the regional security situation and its impact on the security of CSTO member countries.

While the Russian Foreign Minister highlighted the threats posed by ISIS and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Georgy Grigorievich Machitidze, a researcher at an institute affiliated with the Russian Foreign Ministry, warned about the relations between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in an article.

Georgy Grigorievich stated that alongside ISIS-Khorasan, Al-Qaeda, which operates under the aegis of the Taliban, is gaining increasing attention, providing its members with passports, housing, and, in some cases, employment.

Taliban Refutes UN Secretary-General's Report on Increased Instability in Afghanistan

Jun 22, 2024, 10:48 GMT+1

Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the Taliban's Ministry of Interior, denied the recent report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres regarding the rise in security incidents in Afghanistan.

Qani claimed, "The United Nations always tries to portray the situation in Afghanistan as unstable."

The Taliban spokesperson stated, "The United Nations should present its views considering the real facts of Afghanistan."

In his latest report on Afghanistan, the UN Secretary-General noted that over 2,500 security incidents have been recorded in the country in the past three months.
According to Guterres, security incidents in February, March, and April this year increased by 55% compared to the previous three months.

Among these incidents, drug-related issues surged by 97%, rising from 212 to 418 cases. Most of these incidents occurred in the central, northeastern, southeastern, and southern regions of Afghanistan.

The UN report indicates that the primary cause of this instability is the "ruling authorities' decision" to enforce a ban on poppy cultivation.

In the past three months, land disputes increased from 20 to 51 cases, mostly in the southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan.

During this period, armed clashes rose from 75 to 106 cases, although explosions decreased.

AFF Claims to Have Killed Three Taliban Members in Panjshir

Jun 22, 2024, 09:46 GMT+1

The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) claims to have killed three Taliban members in an attack on a Taliban military outpost in Panjshir province.

In a statement on Friday, the AFF reported targeting a Taliban military outpost in the Peshgur area of Panjshir, injuring two additional Taliban members.

Local sources in Panjshir confirmed the attack to Afghanistan International, stating that it resulted from an explosion.

This attack by the AFF on Taliban forces in Panjshir coincides with the UN Secretary-General's announcement on Friday that the group has carried out 14 attacks on Taliban forces in the past three months.