Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | |
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor accused the Tajik government of creating a ''climate of fear'' in the country | |
2023-01-19 | |
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Tajikistan’s human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... violations have become the focus of the international community’s attention. To this day, its residents face restrictions on their basic rights due to government corruption and its systematic violation of the rights of its citizens, which impedes the processes of social and democratic reform in the country. Al-Estiklal received a copy of the Intelligence Online’s report published on January 5, 2022, revealing that after a two-week visit to Tajikistan, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor on December 9 accused the Tajik government of creating a "climate of fear" in the country and harassing dissidents, subjecting some to show trials and imprisoning them. Last February, the US Ambassador to Tajikistan, John Pommersheim, and Tajikistan’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Ramazan Rahimzadeh, attended the handover ceremony of a facility set up for the ministry’s OMON gendarmerie-like paramilitary force. OMON UNITS The Intelligence Online report disclosed that OMON is charged with special operations and counter-terrorism and is also involved in arrests, interrogations, and torture of Pamiri civilians.
Last August, Tajikistan’s President Rahmon presented promotions and medals to army officers who managed operations in the Pamir region of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. During the ceremony, a video showed OMON soldiers searching the bodies of killed Pamiri men deemed as "terrorists," and putting weapons on their bodies to take pictures, which human rights defenders opposed. That same month, Pommersheim visited Gorno-Badakhshan to attend the Pamir-Invest Forum and met with the province’s governor "to discuss areas of bilateral cooperation," in the words of the US embassy. Pommersheim also established a friendly relationship with Tajik General Saimumin Yatimov, who has headed the state apparatus of national security since 2010 and is considered one of the most powerful people in the country. Yatimov worked during his career in various fields, including education, but a leaked cable from the US State Department in 2005 described him as a "professional KGB officer." Pommersheim relied on his deputy, John Ginkel—an expert on Afghanistan and counter-terrorism, who headed the State Department’s Bureau of Afghan Affairs and served on the US Embassy’s counternarcotics task force—until September 2021 before being replaced by Bridgette Walker, former employee of the US State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research who served in Baku, Alexandria, and ![]() While he was ambassador, the United States provided assistance to Yatimov’s border forces, receiving in November 2021 Jeep cars worth nearly $1 million and in March last year trucks, radios, and spare parts worth $1.1 million. | |
Link |
Afghanistan |
Al Qaeda/Bin Laden's Arms Chief Amin ul-Haq RETURNS to Afghanistan after 20 years |
2021-08-31 |
![]() Amin ul-Haq, a top Al Qaeda arms supplier, returned to his hometown in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province on Monday just over two weeks after the Taliban completed its lightening fast offensive to take over nearly all of the country. Ul-Haq headed bin Laden's security when he was occupying the Tora Bora cave complex. The two men escaped together when US forces attacked the complex, according to NBC. The Al Qaeda leader was killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011. In the video, a car carrying ul-Haq is seen driving through a checkpoint amid a small crowd. At one point the car stops and ul-Haq rolls down the window. Apparent admirers crowd the vehicle's passenger side, with men taking turns grasping and even kissing the top Al Qaeda associate's hand. Two men take a few steps forward along with the slow-moving car in order to take a next to ul-Haq. The car is then followed by a procession of vehicles carrying heavily-armed fighters, some flying the Taliban's flag. Ul-Haq had been a member of Hizb-i Islami Khalis, one of seven groups that fought against the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan. He was detained by Pakistan's intelligence agency in 2008 but released in 2011, according to the Daily Telegraph - roughly half a year after bin Laden was killed. 'Amin al-Haq had been arrested mistakenly, therefore, the police failed to prove any charge of his association with Osama bin Laden and the court set him free,' a security source told the outlet. |
Link |
India-Pakistan |
2 years after Pulwama attack, J&K Police recovers 7 kg IED at Jammu |
2021-02-15 |
[OneIndia] The Jammu and Kashmir![]() Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... police on Sunday thwarted a major tragedy with the timely detection of a seven-kg Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near the crowded general bus stand area in Jammu city. The incident comes exactly two years after a terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in south Kashmir's Pulwama killed 40 security personnel. Addresing a presser, Jammu Inspector General of Police (IG) Mukesh Singh said "We were on high alert as we had inputs that terror groups were planning an attack on the anniversary of Pulwama attack. Last night we arrested a person named Sohail and recovered 6-6.5 to 7 kgs of IED from his possession." "Sohail revealed during probe that he studies in Chandigarh and he received message from Pakistain's Al Badr Tanzeem ...one of the many jihadi groups in Kashmir, it was separated from Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in 1998 by the ISI for what no doubt seemed good reasons at the time. Previously that decade it had fought alongside Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hizb-i-Islami in Afghanistan. It’s a member of the United Jihad Council, a confederation of Kashmiri jihadi groups, and is associated with Al Qaeda and Jamaat-e-Islami. Al Badr has been on US State Dept terror lists since 2005... unless Tanzeem means they’re an offshoot or another group altogether, in which case please ignore all of the above... to plant IED here," he said."Sohail was given three-four target locations to place the IED, after which he was supposed to take a flight to Srinagar where an Over Ground Worker of Al Badr Tanzeem named Athar Shakeel Khan would have received him," he added. Further elaborating on the attack, the cop said "a person named Qazi Waseem in Chandigarh was also aware of this matter, he has been held. We have also arrested a person named Abid Nabi." |
Link |
Afghanistan | |
Residents: Airstrike in Dasht-e-Archi, Kunduz ‘Killed | |
2020-02-01 | |
[ToloNews] US forces spokespeople say they are investigating civilian casualty reports; residents say the victims included "Hizb-i-Islami commander." An ![]() KABOOM!... in the Dasht-e-Archi district of Kunduz has killed "five civilians" and a "Hizb-e-Islami commander," residents say. Video sent to TOLOnews appears to show residents out in the street protesting the attack. Earlier Friday morning spokespeople from US forces reported an airstrike in Dasht-e-Archi that "killed three Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... fighters and destroyed a small weapons cache," and later said: "We are aware of the reports of civilian casualties reported to have occurred in Dasht-e-Archi district or Imam Sahib district, Kunduz Province, on Jan. 30. We are looking into these reports and will provide more information when it becomes available." TOLOnews was contacted earlier on Friday by a member of Hizb-e-Islami's leadership, Humayun Jarir, who said an airstrike early Friday morning had "killed Hizb-e-Islami commander Ghulam Rabbani and seven members of his family" who were targeted while "traveling by car."
Jarir claimed that Ghulam Rabbani was "innocent" and that he "did not have any armed fighters with him." Local officials have not confirmed claims but said they are investigating the matter. This story will be updated as information becomes available. Related: Humayun Jarir: 2018-12-29 Govt Not Aware Of Peace Talks Agenda: Ismail Khan Humayun Jarir: 2010-05-21 Afghan opposition holds talks in Maldives Related: Ghulam Rabbani: 2019-09-18 Salahuddin's forensic report reveals he was 'physically tortured before his death' Ghulam Rabbani: 2018-09-22 Punjab govt suspends medical college officials in Rahim Yar Khan following lady doctor assault case Ghulam Rabbani: 2017-01-03 The Beatings Will Continue: Taliban Edition | |
Link |
Afghanistan |
Kunar’s deputy governor abducted in Peshawar |
2017-10-29 |
[DAWN] The deputy governor of Afghanistan’s Kunar province, Qazi Mohammad Nabi Ahmadi, was kidnapped from Peshawar’s Dabgari area on Friday, officials said. Mr Ahmadi is a leader of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-i-Islami which signed a peace deal with the Afghan government in September last year. The local law enforcement agencies did not know about Mr Ahmadi’s visit until his abduction was reported by his relatives and the Afghan consulate in Peshawar took up the matter with Pakistani authorities. |
Link |
Afghanistan |
Pakistan says political incentives key to bring Afghan Taliban to negotiations table |
2017-07-15 |
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] As the Afghan officials have long been criticizing Islamabad for supporting the anti-government armed militant groups in Afghanistan, specifically the Taliban and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network, the Pakistani officials have once again started to lobby in favor of the group, emphasizing on consideration of political incentives to encourage the group to reconciliation negotiations. A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan Nafees Zakaria made the remarks during a press briefing on Thursday. “Pakistan believes that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. The focus should be on a politically negotiated settlement under an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process,” Zakariza said. He also added “We believe the focus should be on exploring political incentives that can attract Taliban to negotiations. In the same spirit, Pakistan has welcomed the peace deal with Hizb-i-Islami and we believe that this can serve as a model.” The Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman was responding to a question regarding the warnings issued by President Ghani to accept peace talks or get ready for the inclusion in the global list of specially designated terrorist groups. President Ghani said last week that the Taliban group should understand that time is not waiting for them. “They should wholeheartedly accept the peace process or they should get ready to be included in the international list of the globally designated terrorists,” President Ghani said. President Ghani further added that the government of national unity has a crystal clear approach and policy towards peace process since the beginning of its formation. In the meantime, during a meeting with the German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Afghan leader said less time is left for the Taliban group to accept the reconciliation process offers, apparently reiterating the government’s pervious stance that strict military operations policy will adopted along with the efforts to blacklist the group. President Ghani further added that the priorities of the Afghan government is to reach to a peace agreement with Pakistan first and then with the Taliban group, emphasizing that Taliban is not having a single leadership and apparently gesturing towards the undeclared war being waged by Pakistan as he has consistently been emphasizing upon for a long time. |
Link |
Afghanistan |
‘Up to 20 terror groups’ waging war in Afghanistan |
2017-02-28 |
[AA.TR] Up to 20 terrorist groups are waging war in Afghanistan, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani![]() said Monday. I generally dump them all into "Taliban" or "ISIS" groups unless there's a particular identification as to faction -- Haqqani network, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, East Turkestan Islamic Movement, or Hizb-i-Islami-Hekmatyar. Pak Taliban's Mullah Fazlullah lives and operates from Afghanistan and probably within the country. So does Jamaat ul-Ahrar. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi flits back and forth across the Durrand Line with seeming impunity. There have been U.S. and Afghan air strikes on Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad camps and, if I remember correctly, HuJI. And of course there are the friendly Arab invaders affiliated with core al-Qaeda. No doubt Ghani and Abdullah and the intel community are aware of more. In remarks made during a first-of-its-kind "Day of Security Forces" ceremony at the military airbase in the capital Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the Worldand didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... , Ghani said: "There is not much of a difference between these terror groups. All of them, God forbid, want to destroy Afghanistan but use different tactics." He paid tributes to the sacrifices of thousands of security personnel, many of whom have bit the dust and limbs in the ongoing violence in the country. The president said Afghanistan did not want war but it was imposed on it. He questioned the legitimacy of the Taliban’s insurgency, and vowed to take more measures to strengthen and further equip Afghan forces in a bid to scale down casualties. According to the U.S. government's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction figures, 6,785 Afghan security personnel were killed between Jan. 1, 2016, and Nov. 12, 2016, with another 11,777 maimed. This is about 35 per cent more than in 2015, when some 5,000 security forces were killed after taking the nation-wide security responsibilities from the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... forces. Also on Monday, Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, reiterated support for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. In a message to mark the "Day of Security Forces", Nicholson said NATO would continue providing training, assistance and support o the Afghan forces. Taliban confirm commander’s death In a rare admission, the Taliban in Afghanistan have acknowledged the death of their key commander in a U.S. Afghan Taliban on their website Monday said Abdul Salam Akhund was killed in a U.S. air raid in the province’s restive Dasht-e-Archi district bordering Tajikistan. The Afghan Ministry of Defense had announced the myrmidon’s death on Sunday. Asadullah Omarkhail, front man for the provincial governor, told Anadolu Agency: "This is a major blow to the murderous Moslems who have been forced to flee Kunduz after a clean-up operation was launched by the security forces upon reclaiming Kunduz last year." |
Link |
Afghanistan |
Over 10,000 ISIS affiliates based in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Report |
2016-02-06 |
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Over 10,000 loyalists of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group are based in the remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistain, a new project report. The project by the UK-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has been launched amid concerns that the loyalists of the terror group have stepped up efforts to expand foothold in the region, including swaths of southern and central Asia under the terror group's so-called Khurasan province. Funded by the Smith Richardson Foundation, the research project has recently been launched, drawing on interviews with Daesh [Islamic State] members, village elders, members of other Death Eater organizations in the area -- mainly Taliban and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) -- and local-level government officials. In a commentary, Dr. Antonio Giustozzi, Associate Fellow, RUSI, has written there are around 7,000--8,500 Daesh [Islamic State] members based on Afghan soil and 2,000--3,000 based in Pakistain, citing different sources (Daesh [Islamic State] cadres themselves, Afghan security sources, Pak security sources and Iranian Pasdaran sources). These figures are inclusive of all active Daesh [Islamic State] members, both fighters and support elements, according to the commentary piece, adding that the loyalists of the terror started popping up in the second half of 2014 all over Afghanistan as a result of commanders of the Taliban, Hizb-i Islami and other gangs switching sides. As the loyalists of the terror group are struggling to establish strong bases while in a defensive role, they continue to face resistance from the Afghan Taliban as well hard boyz belonging to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain who seems to be preparing an attack against them, a move that could slow the recruitment of the terror group, according to the research report. The research report, citing ISIS sources, also revealed that the loyalists of the terror group have been coming under pressure from some of its donors to increase activities in Central Asia, using its well-developed contacts with Central Asian jihadist groups in northern Afghanistan. "Early findings for the new research project suggest that Daesh [Islamic State] has established a foothold in Afghanistan and is still growing. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... its advance more closely resembles a hurdle race than a triumphant march. So far, Daesh [Islamic State] has been mainly troubling the Taliban, but it is unlikely that it will remain focused on competing with other Death Eater groups," the commentary piece concludes. It also adds " In order to establish its jihadist credentials vis-à-vis donors and potential recruits, Daesh [Islamic State] will have to increasingly target the Afghan government, and Russian, Iranian and Western interests. But does it have the ability to hurt these actors? For that, it will need capabilities that it has not yet demonstrated and not just 'numbers' of fighters." |
Link |
Afghanistan | ||
Dead bodies of 22 Pakistani militants returned to Pakistan | ||
2015-11-22 | ||
![]()
Meanwhile, residents of Timergarah have posted pictures showing coffins wrapped in the flag of al-Badar Mujahideen group, with a note that they were killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan, the news agency reports.
The media citing reports further states that al-Badar Mujahideen has participated in clashes in Kashmir and under the umbrella of Hizb-i-Islami of Hekmatyar in Afghanistan. This comes as Afghan government has been asking Pakistan to stop training terrorists and sending them to Afghanistan for its “undeclared war” but Pakistan turns them as allegations. | ||
Link |
Afghanistan |
Hekmatyar proposes intra-Afghan talks without foreign mediation |
2015-10-10 |
![]() In a written interview to The Nation, he also gave a formula for peace in his war-ravaged country, an end to war across the country being an important component of it. If any group tries to continue war on being incited, all other parties should try to address its reservations and persuade it to bury the hatchet. But if it doesn’t, the entire nation should fight against it, said the former prime minister of Afghanistan. Mr Hekmatyar's peace plan, ostensibly, leaves no mediatory role for Pakistain although it has been doing its best to bring the Afghan government and the Taliban to the negotiating table. The two sides have already held a round of talks and the second was due to be held in Murree some weeks ago when the belated news of Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... 's death a few years ago led to an indefinite postponement. After that the fighting in Afghanistan has intensified, with the Afghan president alleging that "message of war is coming from Pakistain", which leaves little hope for resumption of talks in the near future. The HIA chief said talks should be comprehensive and their agenda be decided keeping in sight the ground realities. He did not identify the parties that should take part in the negotiations. He said all parties should agree that foreign troops leave Afghanistan by the end of the current year; all security agencies should continue to function as usual, and a powerful commission be set up to bring all institutions into the mainstream. Anybody who had supported the Soviet Union or NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... forces or wants the foreign forces to stay on in Afghanistan should be removed as head of any security institution. Such changes should be brought about in the government as are acceptable to all and the governor, police chief or head of any security agency should not be from their native provinces, said Mr Hekmatyar. He said election for the president, national and provincial assemblies should be held in 2016. These elections should be free and fair, held on the basis of proportional representation. Only the national level parties should contest the elections, he said, highlighting the divisive role of the smaller parties. Every Afghan national should serve the army for at least a year to strengthen national defence with a smaller army. The country cannot afford to have a 350,000 strong army, he maintained. In response to a question, Hekmatyar said there would be no difference in the policies of former president Hamid Karzai and incumbent Ashraf Ghani in the presence of foreign troops. |
Link |
Afghanistan |
Afghanistan's biggest-ever truck bomb defused in Kabul: spy agency |
2013-03-16 |
![]() Intelligence forces discovered the explosives in eastern Kabul, wired and ready for detonation, security officials said. Five Al Qaeda linked Haqqani network insurgents were killed in a resulting firefight. "This truck bomb could have destroyed an area around 1.5 km (in radius). Now can you imagine that what kind of catastrophe this would be?," Shafiqullah Tahiri, a spokesman for the National Directorate of Security, told a news conference. It contained sodium chloride, ammonium nitrate, other chemicals and some diesel. After more than 11 years of war, insurgents are still able to strike strategic military targets and launch high-profile attacks in Kabul and elsewhere. The truck bomb was discovered on Wednesday two days after US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel left the capital. On the first full day of Hagel's visit, a suicide bomber struck about a kilometre away from his morning meetings at a Nato facility. Two Haqqani operatives were arrested during the night raid, and Tahiri said the militants had been planning to target a military facility in the capital. There are several foreign and Afghan military bases in Kabul, housing thousands of soldiers. The Haqqani network is widely regarded as the most dangerous US foe in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is bracing for the start of the spring fighting season, and officials fear that militants will infiltrate the capital as the snow melts in the mountains to the east where they hide. A number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban, the Haqqani network and Hizb-i-Islami, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, are known to reside in restive Wardak province just 40 minutes drive from Kabul. Afghan officials told Reuters this week they were worried that the Afghan capital would be in danger after President Hamid Karzai ordered US special forces tasked with fighting the Taliban to leave Wardak. |
Link |
India-Pakistan |
Pak PM urges Afghan Taliban to negotiate |
2012-02-24 |
Pakistan on Friday urged leaders of the Afghan Taliban to enter direct peace negotiations with the government of Afghanistan, a sign that Islamabad may be stepping up support for reconciliation in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in a statement said that Pakistan was "prepared to do whatever it takes" to support the reconciliation process. He called on Hizb-i-Islami and other Rahimullah Yusufzai, an expert on regional affairs, said Gilani's comments indicate a shift in Pakistani policy. He said, "It's important because I am hearing this for the first time, that the Pakistani prime minister or somebody that important is urging the Taliban ... to talk directly to the Afghan government." Tuesday Kandahar peace council head Ata Mohammad Ahmadi said that Afghan officials had been meeting for "some time" with mid-level Taliban commanders in Quetta, where their leadership is based. It is not likely that such meetings could take place in Quetta without the knowledge of Pakistani intelligence agencies. Pakistan may have increased its cooperation with the Afghan government by allowing the meetings in Quetta. |
Link |