Afghan Weekly (Jan 06 – Jan 12, 2017)

Speaking to Asharq al-Awsat, an Arab newspaper, on Wednesday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stressed on the need for Islamic countries to help bring peace in Afghanistan. “We hope that Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, exert pressure on extremist leaders to push them toward reconciliation,” he stated while describing Saudi-Afghan relations as strong and essential. He advocated that it was important for Taliban to separate itself from terrorist groups that pose a threat to Islamic nations. Afghans across the board long for peace, Ghani added, and that the Islamic countries should leverage their influence to push extremist leaders towards reconciliation. Commenting on Pakistan, Ghani said that Pakistan’s best interest lies with the Afghan government.[1]

Earlier on Monday, General John W Nicholson, Commander Resolute Support Mission and US Forces, in Afghanistan travelled to Pakistan’s North Waziristan border region that until recently was dubbed as an ‘epicenter of global terrorism’. The Pakistan military said that local commanders briefed General John Nicholson on counterterrorism operations and post-conflict social development underway in the area near the Afghan border.[2] On the occasion, Pakistan’s Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa stressed the necessity for setting a “bilateral border security mechanism” between Pakistan and Afghanistan and called for the NATO mission to play its significant role in making it possible. The visiting dignitary recognized the inevitability of bilateral border security coordination.[3]

Meanwhile, the Afghan Government signed an $11.4 million contract with a Turkish company on January 07 to build a prefabricated housing factory in the country and, another contract with a Chinese construction firm to build an important road in central Afghanistan – called the Dare-e-Sof and Yakawlang Road project.[4] Afghan CEO Abdullah Abdullah also headed a high-ranking delegation on visit to Tehran on January 11 to confer with Iranian officials on expanding bilateral cooperation.[5] Below follow other updates on the security, internal politics, international engagements and socio-economic developments in Afghanistan from the past week.

Security Overview

Gunmen attacked Hazara miners in Baghlan Province in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 9 on January 06.[6]
10 Taliban insurgents killed as a result of infighting among the Taliban factions in western Farah province on January 08.[7]

2 top Haqqani network leaders, identified as Omran Khan and Shaheen, killed during an operation of the Afghan National Police (ANP) Special Forces in Nangarhar on January 08.[8]
4 police personnel killed and 5 wounded in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province in an explosion on January 08. Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility.[9]
17 villages cleared of insurgents in Baghlan province in a joint operation by security forces, while 6 insurgents killed and another 12 wounded.[10]
10 militants join peace process in Kunduz city.[11]
200 NATO soldiers, mainly Italians, deployed in Afghanistan’s volatile western province of Farah after attempts by Taliban fighters in recent months to overrun its capital city.[12]
44 militants, including 25 Pakistanis, killed and 31 wounded during a clearing operation in the Khashrud district of southwestern Nimroz province on January 10.[13]
51 people killed and 150 wounded in twin blasts by Taliban targeting Parliament staff in Afghanistan on January 10.[14]
5 UAE diplomats, among 11, killed in a bomb blast at a Kandahar guesthouse on January 11, wounding 17 including Juma al-Kaabi, the UAE Ambassador to Afghanistan.[15]
A British aid worker killed during a rescue attempt by US Navy SEALs in Afghanistan found to be secretly working with Britain’s MI6.[16]
Taliban release video of two foreign Professors on January 11 who were abducted at gunpoint in Kabul in August 2016.[17]

Update on Afghan Refugees

Hundreds of returnees receive aid in Nangarhar

The Refugees and Repatriations Department has provided cash and food assistance to nearly 770 refugee families that recently returned to eastern Nangarhar province.[18]

Surge of migration makes hunger crisis worse in Afghanistan

More than 9 million people in Afghanistan are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2017. The number of people facing hunger is of particular concern, the U.N. has warned. Some 1.8 million people are acutely malnourished – 1.3 million are children under 5 years old. A combination of continued fighting, increased displacement and the return of some 600,000 refugees from neighboring Pakistan fuel the ongoing crisis. [19]

Over 620,000 people displaced by conflict, says UN

At the beginning of 2016, the UN had only expected 250,000 people to be internally displaced in the war-torn country. Ongoing conflict across different parts of Afghanistan forced over 623,000 people to leave their homes in 2016, according to a UN report published on January 10. However, the number rose dramatically as intense fighting in several parts of Afghanistan continued throughout the year.[20]

International Engagements

US: Commitment to Afghanistan will only deepen after January 20

US Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon traveled to Kabul on Saturday and assured the Afghan leadership of United States’ commitment to the war-torn country’s peace, prosperity and security. Shannon later told reporters the purpose of his visit was to underscore the strong partnership the two countries have been able to build during eight years of outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama.[21]

300 U.S. Marines to return to Afghanistan’s Helmand Province

The United States announced it will send some 300 Marines to Afghanistan’s opium-rich Helmand province to train, advise and assist local forces fighting the Taliban on January 08, a move greeted with some skepticism by Afghans.[22]

Japan calls on Afghanistan to accelerate reforms

Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kentaro Sonoura held talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul on Sunday, calling on the Afghan President to crack down on the serious corruption in the country and to improve the worsening security situation in Afghanistan. Sonoura also stated that Japan will continue its assistance to help stabilize Afghanistan.[23]

Ghani urges Islamic countries to help bring peace

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said that Afghans across the board want peace and that Islamic countries should put pressure on extremist groups to join the peace process. “We hope that Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, exert pressure on extremist leaders to push them toward reconciliation,” he said.[24]

Good Russia-U.S ties would benefit Afghanistan: Karzai

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai backed US president-elect Donald Trump’s stance in seeking good relations with Russia, Karzai wrote on his Twitter page. Karzai further said that sound relations between the two countries would be good for peace and stability in Afghanistan as well as the world.[25]

Ghani calls for Kabul-Tehran Water Treaty to be enforced

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on January 10 called for the implementation of the water treaty signed by former Afghan Prime Minister Musa Shafiq and former Iranian Premier Amir Abbas Huwaida in 1972. Ghani stated, “Despite the fact that Musa Shafiq was under pressure while signing the treaty, he believed that regional and neighboring countries should realize their common interests [with Afghanistan] and this treaty was for friendship.”[26]

Afghanistan’s CEO on a visit to Iran

The Afghan delegation, headed by Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, traveled to Tehran to attend the funeral of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on January 11. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, while speaking to the Afghan delegation, called terrorism a common enemy of Afghanistan and Iran, and pledged his country’s all-out support to Afghanistan’s stability.[27]

Azerbaijani peacekeepers sent to Afghanistan

A group of 50 Azerbaijani military personnel has been sent to Afghanistan in accordance with the plan and rotation for serving within the NATO-led “Resolute Support” mission in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry.[28]

Relations with Pakistan

US Commander visits Miranshah on his trip to Pakistan

The U.S. commander of international forces in Afghanistan undertook a rare trip to neighboring Pakistan’s North Waziristan border district that until recently was condemned as the “epicenter” of global terrorism. The Pakistan military said on Monday, its local commanders briefed General John Nicholson of NATO’s Resolute Support mission (RSM) on counterterrorism operations and post-conflict social development underway in the area near the Afghan border.[29]

Afghanistan, Pakistan trade value takes a dive

Afghanistan and Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industries (APJCCI) on Monday said trade relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have decreased and stressed if the two countries do not revise their trade relations agreement, trade challenges between the two countries will continue.[30]

Kandahar’s Police Chief points finger at Haqqani and ISI for deadly Kandahar blast

Kandahar’s police Chief General Abdul Raziq on Wednesday accused Haqqani Network and ISI of plotting a deadly suicide attack that killed 11 people, including five UAE diplomats on January 10. Intelligence received two months ago indicated that there was a plot against the military leadership in Kandahar.[31]

The Third Meeting of the CRSS-WPSO Pak-Afghan Track 1.5/II held in Karachi

The third meeting of the CRSS-WPSO Pak-Afghan track 1.5/II project Beyond Boundaries phase II Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Committee (PAJC) groups was held in Karachi, from 07 to 12 January, 2017. Agenda included review of 2nd policy recommendations from Mazar-e- Sharif; Pak-Afghan Bilateral/Transit Trade Relations- Bottlenecks, Solutions and the Way Forward; Security and Peace; Opportunities for Cooperation in Media, Sports, Education, and Arts and Culture; and formulation of Joint Declaration of Policy recommendations.[31a]

Internal Politics and Governance

Hekmatyar free to return to Afghanistan, says HIG spokesman

Naqibullah Hashimi, a spokesman for Hizb-e-Islami group, has said their leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar does not need the permission of foreign countries to return to Afghanistan. He said Hekmatyar would return even if his name has not been removed from the United Nations’ sanction list.[32]

Senior official in Afghan Ministry of Interior sentenced to 14 years in jail

A primary anti-corruption court has sentenced a senior Interior Ministry’s general to 14 years in prison on charges of embezzlement and fake documentation.[33]

Ghani vows to overcome corruption in Defense Ministry

President Ashraf Ghani said in a ceremony at the Ministry of Defense that government has started a campaign to fight the endemic corruption in the ministry in order to curb the high casualty toll among security forces. In doing so, would show them respect for the sacrifices they make every day to defend the country, he added.[34]

Economy and Development

Turkish company to build housing factory in Afghanistan

The government of Afghanistan signed an $11.4 million contract with a Turkish company on January 07 to build a prefabricated housing factory in the country, according to an Afghan media outlet.[35]

Chinese firm signs contract to build road in Afghanistan

A Chinese construction firm signed a contract on January 08 to build a key Dare-e-Sof and Yakawlang road in central Afghanistan. Afghan Minister of Public Works Mahmuod Baligh and Vice-Chairman of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) Lu Shan signed the $205 million deal during a ceremony held in Afghan Presidential Palace which was witnessed by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and other high-ranking officials.[36]

Japan pledges investment to increase Afghanistan’s access to Chabahar

Japan has pledged investment to support Afghanistan’s proper access to Chabahar port in a bid to help the Afghan traders export their commodities using the port. The commitment was made by Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kentaro Sonora during a meeting with Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.[37]

Afghan businesses feel squeezed from Government tax drive

A new tax regime aimed at weaning Afghanistan off international aid has boosted government revenues but drawn complaints from some private businesses that it hits them unfairly, dampening hopes of economic recovery after decades of war.[38]

Women in Afghanistan

Violence against women

According to recent reports, 80% of women are faced with various types of violence. Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has reported that the suicide rate for women has been enlarging over the last few years. Now, more than 2000 women commit suicide in a year which form the 90% suicides committed in Afghanistan. The enlarging figure is a sign of a silent crisis in the country that requires multilateral studies and deeper attention.[39]

Despite ban, invasive virginity tests remain prevalent in Afghanistan

A study by Afghanistan’s human rights commission found the continuing virginity tests so routine that the justice system was still regularly ordering female victims of domestic abuse who had sought protection in women’s shelters to go through the procedure. The commission called the examinations “violence against women.”[40]

This weekly is compiled by Saddam Hussein who is a research intern at the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).

Sources:

[1] http://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/ghani-urges-islamic-countries-help-bring-peace

[2] http://www.voanews.com/a/us-commander-visits-pakistan-region-deemed-epicenter-of-global-terrorism/3668684.html

[3] http://tribune.com.pk/story/1289711/us-general-waziristan-coas-urges-bilateral-border-security-steps-kabul/

[4] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-01/09/c_135964706.htm

[5] http://www.mei.edu/content/is/tehran-s-two-faced-policy-afghanistan

[6] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/world/asia/afghanistan-hazara-miners-attack.html?_r=0

[7] http://www.khaama.com/taliban-factions-clash-in-west-of-afghanistan-leaving-10-dead-02634

[8] http://www.khaama.com/top-pakistani-leaders-of-haqqani-terrorist-network-killed-in-nangarhar-02633

[9] http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/4-police-personnel-die-in-northeast-afghanistan-blast/722956

[10] http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2017/01/09/6-rebels-dead-badakhshan-taliban-purged-17-baghlan-villages