Brussels 27.05.2022 Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev called for assistance in the earliest possible unfreezing of Afghan assets “illegally” blocked by the United States.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev called for assistance in the earliest possible unfreezing of Afghan assets illegally blocked by the United States:https://t.co/tA9uirh5Fppic.twitter.com/VV1YARpNwv
“[It is] necessary to facilitate the earliest possible unfreezing of Afghan assets illegally blocked by US in order to develop social and economic projects in Afghanistan,” the Russian Security Council Secretary said on Friday, May 27, in the city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, during the fourth round of multilateral consultations on the Afghan issue.
Tajikistan hosts many Afghan refugees. This afternoon I discussed challenges and opportunities with some of them.
We also spoke with the authorities on how to ensure that refugees are adequately protected and funds mobilized to support their access to services and livelihoods. pic.twitter.com/pcuXLtjhol
The statesman also spoke in favor of establishing closer coordination in order to develop a unified line on the Afghaninstan direction, intensifying efforts to increase the volume of international humanitarian aid to the society and to organize its delivery to the country.
Exiled Afghans are urging a U.S. judge to reject an effort by relatives of victims of Sept. 11 to use $3.5 billion in frozen Afghan central bank funds to pay off the Taliban’s judgment debts, arguing that the frozen money belonged to the Afghan people. https://t.co/GbAlS5qNSc
“On the Afghan track it is important to promote the consolidation of corresponding international efforts, first of all under the aegis of the UN. We believe that the [United Nations] should be the main coordinator in solving the whole range of problems of post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan,” Patrushev said.
Brussels 21.08.2021 Ashraf Ghani’s brother joins Taliban, EHA News reports. Former President Ashraf Ghani’s brother Heshmat Ghani pledged allegiance to Taliban,the video of the ceremony was released on the social media.
Heshmat Ghani Ahmadzai joined the Taliban in the presence of Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, a senior Taliban member, and declared his support for the Taliban.
Local Pajhwok news agency said on Saturday, August 21, that Hashmat Ghani, brother of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, had pledged allegiance to the movement. Heshmat Ghani, who heads the Kush (Bedouin) Grand Council in Afghanistan, held no official post during Ashraf Ghani’s eight-year presidency.
Heshmat Ghani appeared in a video pledging allegiance to Khalil Rahman, a prominent member of the Taliban movement, according to the Afghan agency.
NEW – Brother of former Afghan president Ashraf #Ghani has allegedly joined the Taliban. Hashmat Ghani has pledged his support in the presence of religious scholar Mufti Mahmood Zakir and Taliban leader Khalil-ur-Rehman.pic.twitter.com/JFDMzcmhQd
Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan has accused Afghan President Ashraf Ghani of stealing nearly $170 million while fleeing Kabul, and the diplomat is calling for international authorities to arrest him.
Ambassador Zahir Aghbar, during a news conference said said Ghani, who fled the country as the Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday, on August 15, and “stole $169 million from the state coffers,” according to The Associated Press.
Now, the US blames Ashraf Ghani for all the mess in Afghanistan. But, who had made Ghani the President? Not Afghans; it was Americans. They made him finance minister after the invasion, then the President twice without any popular support. Ghani was more American than Afghan!
Brussels 19.08.2021 Vatican News ‘Western Bishops’ Conferences are speaking out on the situation in Afghanistan, urging their governments to welcome those fleeing the country, and praying for peace through dialogue.
Several Bishops’ Conferences are speaking out on the situation in Afghanistan, urging their governments to welcome those fleeing the country.https://t.co/zcHTRfOZ0H
In view of the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as the Taliban ascended power, Bishops in Western nations are calling on their governments to help people fleeing the country – especially those who risked their lives to assist the military mission that began 20 years ago. The address has been issued after the Taliban declared the general amnesty, underlining that they have “forgiven all those who fought” against them.
From the United States, Bishop Mario Dorsonville and Bishop David Malloy, chairs respectively of the USCCB’s Committees on Migration and on International Justice and Peace, issued a statement calling on the US government “to act with the utmost urgency, considering all avenues to preserve life.” They note that Catholic organizations and partners have been assisting the government in welcoming Afghan refugees and their families, and add that they “will continue to work as long as necessary until those who are in harm’s way are brought to safety.”
Afghan MP Farzana Kochai says she will stay in Afghanistan – despite the danger posed by the Taliban – so she can give hope to millions of other women and young girls who cannot leave the country.
With Pope Francis, the statement says, the US Bishops are “praying for peace in Afghanistan – ‘that the clamor of weapons might cease and solutions can be found at the table of dialogue.’”
.@NATO Secretary General @JensStoltenberg and I discussed preparations for the August 20 virtual meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers on Afghanistan. We also stressed the importance of close coordination for the safe and orderly evacuation of Allied and our Afghan partners.
In Europe, the chairman of the German Bishops Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing said he was “outraged by the widespread suffering and helplessness of those whose future is being stolen from them.”
He said, “The takeover by the Taliban in Afghanistan represents a disastrous defeat for the United States and the countries that until recently were committed to its side,” including Germany. He warned that the “life and limb of thousands and thousands of people are endangered and the flame of hope that has nourished them is extinguished” by the surrender of the country to the Taliban.
Bishop Bätzing insisted that western countries must evacuate Afghans who assisted their military forces and international aid organizations, saying “generous admission offers” should be granted, especially to those most at risk. He urged them to help countries in the region accept and care for refugees from Afghanistan, and said the European Union must be prepared to welcome refugees who arrive in Europe.
Bishops insisted on the power of prayer, and invited “everyone to join in prayer with the sufferings of the people of Afghanistan, and to call on God for His gracious help.”
Brussels 19.08.2021 Extraordinary Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs – Brussels, 20 August 2021
An extraordinary virtual meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be held via secure teleconference on Friday 20 August 2021. NATO Foreign Ministers will discuss developments in Afghanistan.
An extraordinary virtual meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Foreign Ministers will be held on Friday 20 August 2021. #NATO Foreign Ministers will discuss developments in #Afghanistan.
The meeting will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
The meeting will start on 20 August 2021 at +/- 14h00 Brussels. The Secretary General is expected to brief the press after the meeting.
Spoke with @EU_Commission President @vonderleyen and @eucopresident Charles Michel about the situation in #Afghanistan. #NATO continues to work closely with the #EU & the rest of the international community to coordinate and facilitate evacuations.
Previously at the press-briefing in NATO HQ Brussels on August 17, the Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg said: “The North Atlantic Council has met to discuss Afghanistan.
“The situation is extremely serious and unpredictable.
Kabul has fallen, and the Taliban have taken control of most of the country.
I am deeply saddened by what I see unfolding in Afghanistan.
#NATO Allies met to discuss #Afghanistan. The situation is extremely serious & unpredictable. Those taking power have the responsibility to ensure that international terrorists do not regain a foothold. Allies have the capabilities & vigilance to respond. https://t.co/f0cicsUoVo
“NATO’s focus right now is to ensure the safe departure of personnel from Allied and partner countries, and of the Afghans who have helped us.
NATO has been working round the clock to maintain operations at Kabul international airport.
Around 800 NATO civilian personnel have remained to provide key functions under very challenging circumstances.
“Including air traffic control, fuel, and communications.
And I would like to thank them.
Let me also thank the military forces of NATO Allies, in particular Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom for their vital role in securing the airport.
Operations at the airport are now gradually resuming.
And during today’s meeting Allies announced that they are sending additional airplanes.
“We have also maintained our diplomatic presence.
Our Senior Civilian Representative Ambassador Pontecorvo and his team have been working closely with Allies and the rest of the international community to coordinate and facilitate the evacuation.
And we remain committed to completing evacuations including of our Afghan colleagues, as soon as possible.
The Taliban must respect and facilitate the safe departure of all those who wish to leave.
The airport, as well as roads and border crossings, must be open.
All Afghan men, women and children deserve to live in safety and dignity.
There must be a peaceful transfer of power to an inclusive government.
With no revenge or retribution.
“A government that does not respect the fundamental rights of all Afghans and reinstates the reign of fear, risks international isolation.
“The United States agreed with the Taliban last year that US troops would withdraw by May.
And after many rounds of consultations, all Allies agreed to follow the US decision.
Ending our military mission was not easy.
We were faced with a serious dilemma.
Either leave, and risk seeing the Taliban regain control.
Or stay, and risk renewed attacks, and an open-ended combat mission.
“We never intended to stay in Afghanistan forever.
Over the past few years, from over 100,000 troops we went down to less than 10,000 – and now to zero.
But what we have seen in the last few weeks was a military and political collapse at a speed which had not been anticipated.
Parts of the Afghan security forces fought bravely.
But they were unable to secure the country.
Because ultimately, the Afghan political leadership failed to stand up to the Taliban and to achieve the peaceful solution that Afghans desperately wanted.
This failure of Afghan leadership led to the tragedy we are witnessing today.
“At the same time, we need to have an honest, clear-eyed assessment of NATO’s own engagement in Afghanistan.
Despite our considerable investment and sacrifice over two decades, the collapse was swift and sudden.
There are many lessons to be learned.
“But we should also recognise the gains we have made.
NATO Allies and partners went into Afghanistan after 9/11 to prevent the country from serving as a safe haven for international terrorists to attack us.
In the last two decades, there have been no terrorist attacks on Allied soil organised from Afghanistan.
Those now taking power have the responsibility to ensure that international terrorists do not regain a foothold.
Allies have the capabilities and the vigilance to address future terrorist threats from Afghanistan.
“Due to our military presence and the support of the international community, a new generation of men and women have grown up in a new Afghanistan.
Able to get education, take part in the political process, run their own businesses, and enjoy a vibrant media scene.
Today’s Afghanistan is very different to the Afghanistan of 2001.
So those gains cannot be easily reversed.
“The world will be watching.
And must continue to support a stable and peaceful Afghanistan”.
Russian decision to postpone the appointment of a new ambassador to NATO announced today marks a new low in rapidly deteriorating relations between the East and the West, but even more it underlines Kremlin assertiveness, and claims of parity, turning the page of a period when one could label Russia as a “regional power“.
However while looking at new splendid NATOheadquarters in Brussels one wonders what it the purpose of the Alliance today? What’s the raison d’être? If it is the revival of the Cold War, what is its aim this time? The Communism has fallen, and there is no official state ideology in Russia to defeat. The authoritarianism, human rights and rule of law issues can hardly be targets of criticism, while NATO ally Turkey’s ‘Sultan’ Erdogan openly, and literally conducts purges against his political opponents, and wages a war against Kurds, describing it the ‘Olive Branch’ operation against Islamic State.
Meanwhile the radicals are not shy about showing faces in Afghanistan. After a decade of military campaign, NATO has withdrawn its troops in 2014 without any definite conclusion, but rapid and widespread rise of Taliban. Nowadays the Islamists are taking grounds, imposing unprecedented levels of violence, and there is hardly a week without news of terrorist attacks, and numerous victims among civilians. Unlike the time of the beginning of the US military missionJawbreaker (2001) against Osama Ben Laden in Tora Bora, the radicals are not hiding in the caves, they are claiming power, and constructing networks in real and virtual world, controlling two-thirds of Afghan territory. The airstrikes in defeating the radicals do not help much, but turn against the Kabul and the West the entire population of the provinces for ‘collateral damages’.
Hundreds of Dashte Arche residents started moving to #Kunduz city in protest over #Afghan airstrike. They say that if the gov't doesn't investigate these airstrikes, all residents of Dashte Arche will joint the #Taliban and announce their support from Islamic Emirate of Taliban. pic.twitter.com/cvdC8hMAvd
However even the rapid progress of Taliban does not motivate NATO to start a coordinated action with Moscow, in spite of the obvious interest of both sides to defeat terrorism, there are instead allegations of Russians ‘arming Taliban’.
“They say they wouldn’t mind if we gave them weapons, but they don’t need weapons. They say ‘give us money, we’re buying weapons from the stocks of the Afghan army and police’,” AmbassadorZamir Kabulov was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
Ambassador said that in their talks with the Taliban, the group’s representatives said they buy all their weapons illegally from the Afghan government and police, and asked for financial support for that.
While the West argues with Russia, reducing diplomatic missions and expelling staff, the Taliban actively uses an opportunity to expand, and it will succeed until there is a comprehensive joint NATO-Russia strategy for counter-terrorism. However within the current political situation, the low tight in diplomatic relations does not provide with an effective response to the rapidly growing terrorist threat.
After a decade of military campaign, and removal of troops under the pretext of fulfilled mission, Afghanistan shocks the world by the spectacular resurrection of Taliban: according to the BBC studies the Islamists are controlling significant territories, leaving to government just one third, and even though it is not free from terrorist attacks.
Sadly, the longevity of Taliban, and other Islamic radical ideologies in Afghanistan would be impossible without support of a significant part of population, disregarding the efforts of the West to introduce the democratic values by military and the other means.
Afghanistan returns to Taliban as its point of departure. In Europe Muslim girls, whose mothers were wearing mini skirts, sincerely prefer burqas, or at least scarfs to flaunt their belief in the streets of European cities, the cities in which they were born, but don’t appreciate, prefering to associate themselves with Medieval societies their parents fled.
Nowadays they say, that Taliban is a part of Afghanistan “social fabric” – how European “social fabric” will look like in 10-20 years, if the levels of Muslim migration remain the same?
Afghan govt officials told US diplomat that 'Taliban are part of social fabric in Afghanistan' https://t.co/NPTiRGECFK
Caring about freedom of Afghan women looks quite ironic amid an attempt to curb freedom of Polish pani to have a say over abortion. However the conference on Afghanistan (4-5 October) in Brussels paid special attention to the development of freedom and rights of Afghan women, and came up with ‘impressvie’ donor’s amounts to be invested in security and economy.
The 70 countries in Brussels assembled efforts to reach €13.5bn a pledge considered as “remarkable” by Commissioner on development Neven Mimica.
In return Afghan President Ashraf Ghani confirmed the intention to fight corruption and strengthen human rights, however he pointed at international support as a crucial element for the development of the country.
At present the situation doesn’t look as optimistic as desired: Taliban continues to ravage the country, causing population to fee in huge numbers. Europe is counting Afghans as the second community after Syrians to quie for asylum.
Supposedly this multi billion injection into Afghan security and economy would change the situation for better.
Meanwhile a couple kilometers from the European headquarters decorated by red carpet two Brussels policemen became victims to a terrorist attack of Hicham D (43), who served in Belgium army until 2009, and had ties with Islamic State fighters. Apparently he wasn’t poor, neither discriminated, nevertheless he preferred jihad to European lifestyle, and prosperity. Worth mentioning Belgium social security services have been never sparing money on Muslim community, paradoxically becoming the leader in #jihad fighters, aiming to Syria. Taking into consideration Belgium experience one can conclude impossibility to establish relation between living standards and jihad: the latter imposes poverty, but doesn’t descend from it.
Anna Van Densky blog 