The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/at-least-three-killed-in-taliban-attack-on-police-base-238912">Taliban said on Sunday</a> they will not hold direct talks with the Afghan government and rejected a statement from a senior minister about plans to hold the such as <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghan-taliban-talks-could-happen-within-two-weeks-238906">meeting within the next two weeks</a>, a senior Taliban official said.

"Intra-Afghan talks will start only after a foreign force withdrawal is announced," said Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar.

On Saturday, Abdul Salam Rahimi, the state minister for peace affairs, said the government would be represented by a 15-member delegation during direct talks with the Taliban "in the coming two weeks".

The apparent development comes after Taliban negotiators sat with Afghan representatives at a so-called intra-Afghan dialogue brokered by Germany in Doha this month.

The Afghan stakeholders had agreed to attend in a "personal capacity" so the Taliban can continue to insist it is not talking directly to the Kabul administration.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP any new talks would only begin after a deal has been forged with the US, and he reiterated the insurgents' long-held position that they would "not talk to the Kabul administration as a government".

Rahimi said the next delegation would include some of those who went to Doha, as well as religious scholars, women and other members of civil society.

Meanwhile, the war rages across Afghanistan, with the Taliban, the US and Afghan forces all fighting at an increased tempo.

Watch:&nbsp;Taliban-Afghan agree to peace roadmap

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/taliban-afghan-agree-to-peace-road-map-234159/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

At least three police officers were killed and a dozen more wounded Saturday when a Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed, US-made armoured vehicle into a compound in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

On Thursday, three blasts rocked Kabul, killing at least 10 people and wounding scores more, even as US and Afghan officials pledged to speed up their efforts to reach a negotiated settlement.

The Taliban said on Sunday they will not hold direct talks with the Afghan government and rejected a statement from a senior minister about plans to hold the such as meeting within the next two weeks, a senior Taliban official said.

The Taliban said on Sunday they will not hold direct talks with the Afghan government and rejected a statement from a senior minister about plans to hold the such as meeting within the next two weeks, a senior Taliban official said. "Intra-Afghan talks will start only after a foreign force withdrawal is announced," said Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar. On Saturday, Abdul Salam Rahimi, the state minister for peace affairs, said the government would be represented by a 15-member delegation during direct talks with the Taliban "in the coming two weeks". The apparent development comes after Taliban negotiators sat with Afghan representatives at a so-called intra-Afghan dialogue brokered by Germany in Doha this month. The Afghan stakeholders had agreed to attend in a "personal capacity" so the Taliban can continue to insist it is not talking directly to the Kabul administration. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP any new talks would only begin after a deal has been forged with the US, and he reiterated the insurgents' long-held position that they would "not talk to the Kabul administration as a government". Rahimi said the next delegation would include some of those who went to Doha, as well as religious scholars, women and other members of civil society. Meanwhile, the war rages across Afghanistan, with the Taliban, the US and Afghan forces all fighting at an increased tempo. Watch: Taliban-Afghan agree to peace roadmap At least three police officers were killed and a dozen more wounded Saturday when a Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed, US-made armoured vehicle into a compound in eastern Afghanistan, officials said. On Thursday, three blasts rocked Kabul, killing at least 10 people and wounding scores more, even as US and Afghan officials pledged to speed up their efforts to reach a negotiated settlement.

Will not hold direct talks with Afghanistan government: Senior Taliban official

Just a day after a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghanistan-four-dead-20-injured-in-car-bomb-explosion-in-ghazni-238783">suicide attack targeted Afghanistan`s Ghazni</a>, another explosive-laden car detonated in the province`s Ab Band district early Sunday morning, a local source told Sputnik.

"The car bombing occurred today early morning in Ab Band District in Ghazni province early morning close to an Afghan forces base," the source said.

The casualty figure is yet to be confirmed. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that the incident has caused massive casualties and damages to the base.&nbsp;

On Saturday, another Taliban-perpetrated attack saw an explosive-laden vehicle targeting the district, killing at least three policemen and wounding 12 others. 
&nbsp;

Just a day after a suicide attack targeted Afghanistan`s Ghazni, another explosive-laden car detonated in the province`s Ab Band district early Sunday morning, a local source told Sputnik.

Just a day after a suicide attack targeted Afghanistan`s Ghazni, another explosive-laden car detonated in the province`s Ab Band district early Sunday morning, a local source told Sputnik. "The car bombing occurred today early morning in Ab Band District in Ghazni province early morning close to an Afghan forces base," the source said. The casualty figure is yet to be confirmed. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that the incident has caused massive casualties and damages to the base. On Saturday, another Taliban-perpetrated attack saw an explosive-laden vehicle targeting the district, killing at least three policemen and wounding 12 others.

Another explosive-laden vehicle detonates in Afghanistan's Ghazni

At least four people were killed and 20 others&nbsp;injured on Saturday morning in a car bomb explosion in Afghanistan's Ghazni Province, reports said.

The blast occurred at 4:30 am in Ab Band district of Ghazni.

More casualties are feared.

A suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives and targeted a district police headquarters.

According to Afghanistan's based TOLO news, the&nbsp;Taliban has claimed&nbsp;responsibility for the attack. 
&nbsp;

At least four people were killed and 20 others injured on Saturday morning in a car bomb explosion in Afghanistan's Ghazni Province, reports said. The blast occurred at 4:30 am in Ab Band district of Ghazni.

At least four people were killed and 20 others injured on Saturday morning in a car bomb explosion in Afghanistan's Ghazni Province, reports said. The blast occurred at 4:30 am in Ab Band district of Ghazni. More casualties are feared. A suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives and targeted a district police headquarters. According to Afghanistan's based TOLO news, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Afghanistan: Four dead, 20 injured in car bomb explosion in Ghazni

At least three police officers were killed and a dozen more wounded Saturday when a Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed, US-made armoured vehicle into a compound in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

The pre-dawn blast took place as violence rages across Afghanistan, even though the US is leading a push for a peace deal with the Taliban, with a new round of talks expected in the coming days.

According to Aref Noori, the spokesman for Ghazni province, Saturday's attack targeted the police headquarters compound in Ghazni's Ab Band district.

"A Humvee vehicle was driven into the compound and blown up. Three police officers have been killed and 12 wounded," he told AFP, adding the vehicle had been captured from Afghan forces.

Ahmad Khan Sirat, the provincial police spokesman, told AFP the police headquarters building had also been partially damaged in the attack, which was claimed by the Taliban.

The attack came hours after another Taliban assault in Ghazni province late on Friday, this time in Khogyani district, which left at least three security forces dead including the district police chief, Noori said.

The Taliban have increased their attacks across the country at the peak of their "fighting season". The US, too, has stepped up air strikes this year.

On Thursday, a series of bombings in the capital Kabul claimed by the Taliban and the Islamic State group's Afghanistan branch killed at least 10 people and wounded scores more.

The bombings come as Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy for peace in Afghanistan, is expected to resume a new round of talks with the Taliban in Doha.

At least three police officers were killed and a dozen more wounded Saturday when a Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed, US-made armoured vehicle into a compound in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

At least three police officers were killed and a dozen more wounded Saturday when a Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed, US-made armoured vehicle into a compound in eastern Afghanistan, officials said. The pre-dawn blast took place as violence rages across Afghanistan, even though the US is leading a push for a peace deal with the Taliban, with a new round of talks expected in the coming days. According to Aref Noori, the spokesman for Ghazni province, Saturday's attack targeted the police headquarters compound in Ghazni's Ab Band district. "A Humvee vehicle was driven into the compound and blown up. Three police officers have been killed and 12 wounded," he told AFP, adding the vehicle had been captured from Afghan forces. Ahmad Khan Sirat, the provincial police spokesman, told AFP the police headquarters building had also been partially damaged in the attack, which was claimed by the Taliban. The attack came hours after another Taliban assault in Ghazni province late on Friday, this time in Khogyani district, which left at least three security forces dead including the district police chief, Noori said. The Taliban have increased their attacks across the country at the peak of their "fighting season". The US, too, has stepped up air strikes this year. On Thursday, a series of bombings in the capital Kabul claimed by the Taliban and the Islamic State group's Afghanistan branch killed at least 10 people and wounded scores more. The bombings come as Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy for peace in Afghanistan, is expected to resume a new round of talks with the Taliban in Doha.

At least three killed in Taliban attack on police base

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani agreed that it was time to "accelerate efforts" to end the war in Afghanistan, the State Department said on Thursday. Pompeo and Ghani spoke by phone on Wednesday, the State Department said. Pompeo assured Ghani that the United States remains committed to a conditions-based drawdown of troops, according to the State Department. Violence flared in Kabul on Thursday, with two explosions taking place moments after a bus carrying government employees was hit by a blast, killing five people.

Pompeo, Ghani agree to 'accelerate efforts' to end war in Afghanistan: State Department

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani insisted that it is the time to accelerate efforts in order to end almost two decades old turmoil in war-ravaged Afghanistan, the US State Department said.

"Good conversation with President @AshrafGhani yesterday. We agreed that now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in #Afghanistan. All parties must lead to move the #AfghanPeaceProcess forward," the State Secretary tweeted.

During a phone call on Wednesday, Pompeo assured Ghani that there has been no change to President Donald Trump`s South Asia strategy, including U.S. commitment to a conditions-based drawdown, the Department said in a statement. Pompeo further informed Ghani that he had sent Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to Kabul to discuss in detail the next steps on the road to peace, the statement added.

On his part, Ghani welcomed the Secretary`s engagement, and confirmed Afghanistan`s commitment to working side-by-side with the United States to achieve a stable, peaceful, democratic Afghanistan that is not a centre for terrorism, it read. Khalilzad is currently holding talks with the Taliban to work out an agreement for withdrawal of the US troops and participation of the group in the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.&nbsp;

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani insisted that it is the time to accelerate efforts in order to end almost two decades old turmoil in war-ravaged Afghanistan, the US State Department said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani insisted that it is the time to accelerate efforts in order to end almost two decades old turmoil in war-ravaged Afghanistan, the US State Department said. "Good conversation with President @AshrafGhani yesterday. We agreed that now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in #Afghanistan. All parties must lead to move the #AfghanPeaceProcess forward," the State Secretary tweeted. During a phone call on Wednesday, Pompeo assured Ghani that there has been no change to President Donald Trump`s South Asia strategy, including U.S. commitment to a conditions-based drawdown, the Department said in a statement. Pompeo further informed Ghani that he had sent Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to Kabul to discuss in detail the next steps on the road to peace, the statement added. On his part, Ghani welcomed the Secretary`s engagement, and confirmed Afghanistan`s commitment to working side-by-side with the United States to achieve a stable, peaceful, democratic Afghanistan that is not a centre for terrorism, it read. Khalilzad is currently holding talks with the Taliban to work out an agreement for withdrawal of the US troops and participation of the group in the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.

Mike Pompeo, Ashraf Ghani call for accelerated efforts to end Afghan war

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani insisted that it is the time to accelerate efforts in order to end almost two decades old turmoil in war-ravaged Afghanistan, the US State Department said.

"Good conversation with President @AshrafGhani yesterday. We agreed that now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in #Afghanistan. All parties must lead to move the #AfghanPeaceProcess forward," the State Secretary tweeted.

&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Good conversation with President &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/ashrafghani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@AshrafGhani&lt;/a&gt; yesterday. We agreed that now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afghanistan?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Afghanistan&lt;/a&gt;. All parties must lead to move the &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AfghanPeaceProcess?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#AfghanPeaceProcess&lt;/a&gt; forward.&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1154462263740456960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;July 25, 2019&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; 
&lt;script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt; 
&nbsp;

During a phone call on Wednesday, Pompeo assured Ghani that there has been no change to President Donald Trump`s South Asia strategy, including U.S. commitment to a conditions-based drawdown, the Department said in a statement. Pompeo further informed Ghani that he had sent Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to Kabul to discuss in detail the next steps on the road to peace, the statement added.

On his part, Ghani welcomed the Secretary`s engagement, and confirmed Afghanistan`s commitment to working side-by-side with the United States to achieve a stable, peaceful, democratic Afghanistan that is not a centre for terrorism, it read. Khalilzad is currently holding talks with the Taliban to work out an agreement for withdrawal of the US troops and participation of the group in the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.&nbsp;

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani insisted that it is the time to accelerate efforts in order to end almost two decades old turmoil in war-ravaged Afghanistan, the US State Department said. "Good conversation with President @AshrafGhani yesterday. We agreed that now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in #Afghanistan. All parties must lead to move the #AfghanPeaceProcess forward," the State Secretary tweeted. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Good conversation with President <a href="https://twitter.com/ashrafghani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AshrafGhani</a> yesterday. We agreed that now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afghanistan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Afghanistan</a>. All parties must lead to move the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AfghanPeaceProcess?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AfghanPeaceProcess</a> forward.&mdash; Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1154462263740456960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> During a phone call on Wednesday, Pompeo assured Ghani that there has been no change to President Donald Trump`s South Asia strategy, including U.S. commitment to a conditions-based drawdown, the Department said in a statement. Pompeo further informed Ghani that he had sent Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to Kabul to discuss in detail the next steps on the road to peace, the statement added. On his part, Ghani welcomed the Secretary`s engagement, and confirmed Afghanistan`s commitment to working side-by-side with the United States to achieve a stable, peaceful, democratic Afghanistan that is not a centre for terrorism, it read. Khalilzad is currently holding talks with the Taliban to work out an agreement for withdrawal of the US troops and participation of the group in the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.

The United States and Afghanistan said Thursday they have agreed to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the conflict in the war-ravaged country.

In a joint statement, Washington and Kabul said the agreement had been reached in a telephone call between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday.

Ghani had asked for clarifications following President Donald Trump's remark that the United States could easily win the war in Afghanistan but didn't "want to kill 10 million people."

Pompeo assured Ghani that "there has been no change to President Trump's South Asia strategy, including US commitment to a conditions-based drawdown" of troops, the statement said.

It said Pompeo and Ghani had agreed that "now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan."

General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Washington's special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, had been sent to Kabul to "discuss in detail the next steps on the road to peace," the statement said.

Khalilzad is then expected to head to Doha to resume talks with the Taliban.

He has held several meetings with the Islamist militants in the past year, the most recent being on July 9, also in Doha.

But the major hurdle has so far been the Taliban's refusal to negotiate directly with the Afghan government.

At least 10 people -- including several women and a child -- were killed and scores more wounded by a series of blasts that rocked the Afghan capital Thursday ahead of the election season.

The Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate claimed responsibility for the first two blasts, while the Taliban claimed the third. US and Afghan security officials, however, blamed the Taliban for all three explosions.

The United States and Afghanistan said Thursday they have agreed to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the conflict in the war-ravaged country. In a joint statement, Washington and Kabul said the agreement had been reached in a telephone call between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday.

The United States and Afghanistan said Thursday they have agreed to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the conflict in the war-ravaged country. In a joint statement, Washington and Kabul said the agreement had been reached in a telephone call between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday. Ghani had asked for clarifications following President Donald Trump's remark that the United States could easily win the war in Afghanistan but didn't "want to kill 10 million people." Pompeo assured Ghani that "there has been no change to President Trump's South Asia strategy, including US commitment to a conditions-based drawdown" of troops, the statement said. It said Pompeo and Ghani had agreed that "now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan." General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Washington's special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, had been sent to Kabul to "discuss in detail the next steps on the road to peace," the statement said. Khalilzad is then expected to head to Doha to resume talks with the Taliban. He has held several meetings with the Islamist militants in the past year, the most recent being on July 9, also in Doha. But the major hurdle has so far been the Taliban's refusal to negotiate directly with the Afghan government. At least 10 people -- including several women and a child -- were killed and scores more wounded by a series of blasts that rocked the Afghan capital Thursday ahead of the election season. The Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate claimed responsibility for the first two blasts, while the Taliban claimed the third. US and Afghan security officials, however, blamed the Taliban for all three explosions.

US, Afghanistan agree to accelerate Afghan peace talks

India on Thursday called&nbsp;Pakistan to take "credible and irreversible action" against terrorism after Pakistan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pakistan-will-not-allow-armed-militia-in-the-country-imran-khan-238076">Prime Minister Imran Khan</a> admitted&nbsp;Pakistan terror groups operated in Kashmir.

Ravish Kumar, spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs said:&nbsp;"It's a glaring admission by Pakistani leadership. This&nbsp;is not the first time, Pakistan and Pakistani leadership have owned up to the presence of terrorist, training camps of terrorist and terrorist who are being sent to India to create acts of terrorism. It is also a public knowledge among the international community."

Watch Video:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/pak-prime-minister-imran-khan-on-sponsoring-terror-238350/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Calling on Islamabad to take "credible and irreversible action" on terror groups on its territory, the foreign ministry spokesman said, "since Pak PM has acknowledged the presence of training camps, he has acknowledged that terrorist are&nbsp;being trained and sent to fight in Kashmir...they should make sure that safe havens and terror sanctuaries that exist in Pakistan should be neutralised. Pakistan has taken half-hearted steps to please the international community which are meant for the consumption of certain people"

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan during his US had said at an event,"We are disarming all armed militias...You cannot disarm because the police is incapable of disarming these (terror) groups. They are trained, these people have experience of fighting in Afghanistan, some in Kashmir."

India has been calling Pakistan to take action on terror groups for years but Islamabad hasn't changed its policy and supported terror. And it is just not New Delhi, Kabul has also called on Islamabad to rein in terror groups.&nbsp;

Afghanistan last week released audio of terrorist based in Pakistan who planned the Kandahar terror attack that killed 12 people. 
&nbsp;

India on Thursday called Pakistan to take "credible and irreversible action" against terrorism after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted Pakistan terror groups operated in Kashmir.

India on Thursday called Pakistan to take "credible and irreversible action" against terrorism after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted Pakistan terror groups operated in Kashmir. Ravish Kumar, spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs said: "It's a glaring admission by Pakistani leadership. This is not the first time, Pakistan and Pakistani leadership have owned up to the presence of terrorist, training camps of terrorist and terrorist who are being sent to India to create acts of terrorism. It is also a public knowledge among the international community." Watch Video: Calling on Islamabad to take "credible and irreversible action" on terror groups on its territory, the foreign ministry spokesman said, "since Pak PM has acknowledged the presence of training camps, he has acknowledged that terrorist are being trained and sent to fight in Kashmir...they should make sure that safe havens and terror sanctuaries that exist in Pakistan should be neutralised. Pakistan has taken half-hearted steps to please the international community which are meant for the consumption of certain people" Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan during his US had said at an event,"We are disarming all armed militias...You cannot disarm because the police is incapable of disarming these (terror) groups. They are trained, these people have experience of fighting in Afghanistan, some in Kashmir." India has been calling Pakistan to take action on terror groups for years but Islamabad hasn't changed its policy and supported terror. And it is just not New Delhi, Kabul has also called on Islamabad to rein in terror groups. Afghanistan last week released audio of terrorist based in Pakistan who planned the Kandahar terror attack that killed 12 people.

After Pak's admission on terror groups in Kashmir, India calls Imran-led government to take 'credible and irreversible action'

Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has slammed US President Donald Trump for his comments in which he said he could win the Afghan war in just 10 days by wiping out the country, but did not want "to kill 10 million people."

"President @realDonaldTrump, We are the Pamirs! You can't wipe out "The Roof of the World"," Karai tweeted on Tuesday.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>, We are the Pamirs! You can't wipe out “The Roof of the World”.
— Hamid Karzai (@KarzaiH) <a href="https://twitter.com/KarzaiH/status/1153696084394270720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The remarks drew a stiff response from Afghanistan's presidential palace, which has been excluded from talks between the United States and the Taliban and which accuses Pakistan of supporting the insurgency.

"The Afghan nation has not and will never allow any foreign power to determine its fate," the presidential palace said.

The Ashraf Ghani government <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghan-government-seeks-clarification-of-donald-trumps-remarks-on-wiping-out-afghanistan-237909">called for clarification</a> of Trump's statement.

Trump's remarks followed a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House on Monday at which Trump voiced optimism that Pakistan could help broker a political settlement to end the nearly 18-year-old war in Afghanistan.

In his comments in Washington, Trump said Pakistan was helping the United States "extricate" itself from Afghanistan, where the United States was acting as a "policeman" rather than fighting a war.

"If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. I just don't want to kill 10 million people," Trump told reporters at the White House where he was hosting Khan.

Senior Afghan politicians largely refrained from commenting, but the reaction on social media was swift.

"Your insulting message to (Afghanistan) is either accept the (Pakistani) proposal for peace or eventually you may have to use nukes," former intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil wrote on Twitter.

"The statement was embarrassing and an insult to all Afghans," said Shakib Noori, a Kabul-based entrepreneur.

Khaled Hosseini, the Afghan-American author of the best-selling novel, "The Kite Runner," which introduced Afghanistan to many foreign readers, called Trump's remarks "reckless, appalling."

(With inputs from agencies)

Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has slammed US President Donald Trump for his comments in which he said he could win the Afghan war in just 10 days by wiping out the country, but did not want "to kill 10 million people.

Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has slammed US President Donald Trump for his comments in which he said he could win the Afghan war in just 10 days by wiping out the country, but did not want "to kill 10 million people." "President @realDonaldTrump, We are the Pamirs! You can't wipe out "The Roof of the World"," Karai tweeted on Tuesday. President @realDonaldTrump, We are the Pamirs! You can't wipe out “The Roof of the World”. — Hamid Karzai (@KarzaiH) July 23, 2019 × The remarks drew a stiff response from Afghanistan's presidential palace, which has been excluded from talks between the United States and the Taliban and which accuses Pakistan of supporting the insurgency. "The Afghan nation has not and will never allow any foreign power to determine its fate," the presidential palace said. The Ashraf Ghani government called for clarification of Trump's statement. Trump's remarks followed a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House on Monday at which Trump voiced optimism that Pakistan could help broker a political settlement to end the nearly 18-year-old war in Afghanistan. In his comments in Washington, Trump said Pakistan was helping the United States "extricate" itself from Afghanistan, where the United States was acting as a "policeman" rather than fighting a war. "If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. I just don't want to kill 10 million people," Trump told reporters at the White House where he was hosting Khan. Senior Afghan politicians largely refrained from commenting, but the reaction on social media was swift. "Your insulting message to (Afghanistan) is either accept the (Pakistani) proposal for peace or eventually you may have to use nukes," former intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil wrote on Twitter. "The statement was embarrassing and an insult to all Afghans," said Shakib Noori, a Kabul-based entrepreneur. Khaled Hosseini, the Afghan-American author of the best-selling novel, "The Kite Runner," which introduced Afghanistan to many foreign readers, called Trump's remarks "reckless, appalling." (With inputs from agencies)

You can't wipe 'Roof of the World': Hamid Karzai slams Trump's statement on Afghanistan

"The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies &amp; deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!"

That was President Donald Trump on January 1, 2018.

Less than 17 months later, after meeting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the White House for 30 minutes, Trump changed his policy, position and pronouncements on Pakistan.&nbsp;

He now wants the world to believe that Pakistan is not to blame for what it did. Instead, it is Trump’s predecessors who are to blame for Pakistan’s duplicity, deceit and depredations, for they did not command Pakistan’s respect. In other words, Trump does not hold Pakistan’s policies, its fomenting terrorism and sustaining the Taliban responsible for the fraught situation in Afghanistan and the region.

After his pow-wow with Khan, Trump said that Pakistan can do a tremendous amount with regard to Afghanistan. He also said: I could win that war within a week, I don’t want to kill 10 million people. Afghanistan could be wiped off the face of the earth. I don’t want to go that route.”

These remarks have caused shock and revulsion, especially in Afghanistan and India. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has asked Trump to clarify his remarks.

Bizarre as the remarks sound, they are laced with intent and purpose, and constitute policy. A policy to dump New Delhi and deny India its stakeholder role in Afghanistan; undermine the elected government and people of Afghanistan; and, in concert with Pakistan, prop up the Taliban as “good terrorists”.

Thus has the US reversed its 20-year-old policy on Afghanistan?&nbsp;Washington now believes that Pakistan will help it get out of Afghanistan, which would be handed over to Pakistan and its proxy, the Taliban.

(Disclaimer: WION Edit is the channel's take on the big events of the world)

"The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools.

"The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" That was President Donald Trump on January 1, 2018. Less than 17 months later, after meeting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the White House for 30 minutes, Trump changed his policy, position and pronouncements on Pakistan. He now wants the world to believe that Pakistan is not to blame for what it did. Instead, it is Trump’s predecessors who are to blame for Pakistan’s duplicity, deceit and depredations, for they did not command Pakistan’s respect. In other words, Trump does not hold Pakistan’s policies, its fomenting terrorism and sustaining the Taliban responsible for the fraught situation in Afghanistan and the region. After his pow-wow with Khan, Trump said that Pakistan can do a tremendous amount with regard to Afghanistan. He also said: I could win that war within a week, I don’t want to kill 10 million people. Afghanistan could be wiped off the face of the earth. I don’t want to go that route.” These remarks have caused shock and revulsion, especially in Afghanistan and India. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has asked Trump to clarify his remarks. Bizarre as the remarks sound, they are laced with intent and purpose, and constitute policy. A policy to dump New Delhi and deny India its stakeholder role in Afghanistan; undermine the elected government and people of Afghanistan; and, in concert with Pakistan, prop up the Taliban as “good terrorists”. Thus has the US reversed its 20-year-old policy on Afghanistan? Washington now believes that Pakistan will help it get out of Afghanistan, which would be handed over to Pakistan and its proxy, the Taliban. (Disclaimer: WION Edit is the channel's take on the big events of the world)

WION Edit: US, Pak want to bury hatchet in Afghan people’s back

Pakistan PM Imran Khan concludes 3-day U.S. visit, i this show we ask: Will meeting Donald Trump help Pak economy? Watch full video to know more.

WION Dispatch: Will meeting Donald Trump help Pak economy?

Afghanistan's government called on Tuesday for clarification of US President Donald Trump's remarks that he could win the Afghan war in just 10 days by "wiping out Afghanistan from the face of the earth," the presidential palace in Kabul said. Trump's remarks followed a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House on Monday. He voiced optimism that Pakistan could help broker a political settlement to end the nearly 18-year-old war in Afghanistan.

Kabul slams Trump's 'can wipe off Afghanistan in a week' comment

Ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump, Pakistan Prime Minister<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/baloch-activists-disrupt-pakistan-prime-minister-imran-khans-speech-in-us-237564"> Imran Khan </a>on Sunday asserted that there is no military solution to Afghanistan and said that he will put the same thought in front of the US President.

"I was called Taliban Khan. But Allah is Al-Haq. The whole world says what I used to say years ago; there is no military solution to Afghanistan. I will put forth the same case in front of Donald Trump tomorrow!," said Khan, while addressing the largest<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/ahead-of-much-awaited-trump-khan-meeting-row-erupts-on-washingtons-welcome-accorded-to-pakistan-pm-237520"> mass gathering to Pakistan</a> diaspora here.

Imran Khan received the title of 'Taliban Khan'&nbsp;because of his relentless defence of the Taliban. Khan is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House tomorrow.

He will be accompanied by Pakistan Army chief and Lieutenant General Hameed.

Afghanistan is marred by insurgency for two decades. In a bid to attain peace in the war-ravaged nation, US-led Afghanistan 'peace process'&nbsp;was initiated.

Pakistan has been the latest nation to be inducted into Afghanistan 'peace process'&nbsp;The Gulf News reported that 30,000 Pakistanis in the US gathered to welcome Khan in Capital One Arena stadium, which has a capacity of 20,000 people.

It was Imran Khan's first mass address to the US Pakistani community.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan desires peace and stability in the region and claimed that Pakistan has been able to curb the menace of terrorism.

"Pakistan has successfully curbed the menace of terrorism and held peaceful elections in erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA). This is the beginning of development and prosperity," Qureshi said.

"Pakistan will continue to support the Afghan peace process for regional stability."

Imran Khan also praised China for its merit-based system.

"You go anywhere in the world, see China's communist party and you see how they reward merit and let the best of the best come up. The beauty of democracy is merit," he said.&nbsp;

Ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday asserted that there is no military solution to Afghanistan and said that he will put the same thought in front of the US President.

Ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday asserted that there is no military solution to Afghanistan and said that he will put the same thought in front of the US President. "I was called Taliban Khan. But Allah is Al-Haq. The whole world says what I used to say years ago; there is no military solution to Afghanistan. I will put forth the same case in front of Donald Trump tomorrow!," said Khan, while addressing the largest mass gathering to Pakistan diaspora here. Imran Khan received the title of 'Taliban Khan' because of his relentless defence of the Taliban. Khan is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House tomorrow. He will be accompanied by Pakistan Army chief and Lieutenant General Hameed. Afghanistan is marred by insurgency for two decades. In a bid to attain peace in the war-ravaged nation, US-led Afghanistan 'peace process' was initiated. Pakistan has been the latest nation to be inducted into Afghanistan 'peace process' The Gulf News reported that 30,000 Pakistanis in the US gathered to welcome Khan in Capital One Arena stadium, which has a capacity of 20,000 people. It was Imran Khan's first mass address to the US Pakistani community. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan desires peace and stability in the region and claimed that Pakistan has been able to curb the menace of terrorism. "Pakistan has successfully curbed the menace of terrorism and held peaceful elections in erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA). This is the beginning of development and prosperity," Qureshi said. "Pakistan will continue to support the Afghan peace process for regional stability." Imran Khan also praised China for its merit-based system. "You go anywhere in the world, see China's communist party and you see how they reward merit and let the best of the best come up. The beauty of democracy is merit," he said.

Afghanistan has no military solution, says Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in US diaspora address

Taliban attacks police HQ in Kandahar as violence continues in Afghanistan. Violence continues to be the norm in Afghanistan amidst peace talks. Taliban attacked a police HQ in Kandahar yesterday. They also opened fire on policemen. Today a bomb attack killed 8 people in Kabul. Palki summarises.

Gravitas: Afghanistan: Peace talks amid more bloodshed

The path to peace in Afghanistan has been a bumpy ride. Acts of violence continue. So what is the status of the peace talks? What will the future look like for Afghanistan government, Taliban and the U.S.? Here's a report.

Gravitas: A bumpy road to Afghan peace

Imran on a three-day visit to the U.S. He reached Washington on Sunday

U.S-Pakistan bilateral talks; Afghanistan on the agenda

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan met Pakistani businessmen on the first day of his <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-pm-imran-khan-along-with-army-chief-isi-dg-reaches-us-237348">three-day visit to the United States</a> on Sunday.

The businessmen called on Khan at the Pakistan Embassy in the US capital, according to Geo News.

Khan urged the Pakistani business community in the US to invest in Pakistan and "benefit from the economic and business opportunities afforded by Pakistan`s strategic location and the connectivity to the broader region", the news outlet reported.

The Pakistani leader, accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Faiz Hameed, had arrived in Washington on Saturday.

Khan is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House tomorrow. He will be accompanied by General Bajwa and Lieutenant General Hameed.&nbsp;

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan met Pakistani businessmen on the first day of his three-day visit to the United States on Sunday. The businessmen called on Khan at the Pakistan Embassy in the US capital, according to Geo News.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan met Pakistani businessmen on the first day of his three-day visit to the United States on Sunday. The businessmen called on Khan at the Pakistan Embassy in the US capital, according to Geo News. Khan urged the Pakistani business community in the US to invest in Pakistan and "benefit from the economic and business opportunities afforded by Pakistan`s strategic location and the connectivity to the broader region", the news outlet reported. The Pakistani leader, accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Faiz Hameed, had arrived in Washington on Saturday. Khan is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House tomorrow. He will be accompanied by General Bajwa and Lieutenant General Hameed.

Imran Khan meets Pakistan businessmen during US visit

Afghanistan intelligence has released audio tapes, which reveal Pakistan's link to the Kandahar attack.

Afghan released audio tapes reveals Pak link to Kandahar attack

On #WionEdit, Palki analyses the Afghanistan peace talks and summarises the battle for power between the Taliban and the U.S. She also takes a look at what the future could look like for all the parties in Afghanistan.

WION Edit: Analysing the Afghanistan peace talks

The current spiral of violence in Afghanistan unleashed by the Taliban and the United States is, by all accounts, for gaining the upper hand when a peace deal is concluded.&nbsp;Therefore, the killings may be taken to hint at the US and Taliban being close to a peace agreement - enforcing a ceasefire, US troop withdrawal and a new (Taliban) government - before the national election scheduled to be held in September. Such a view is reinforced by recent developments including the two-day meeting in Doha on July 7-8 followed by the four-country conference in China. The four countries that constitute the core group to drive forward the Afghan peace process are the US, Russia, China and Pakistan.

The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad followed up the proposals discussed in Doha with the core group at its meeting in China. The seventh round of talks led by Khalilzad in Doha is the first where the representatives of the Taliban, as well as official Afghanistan - 60 of them -, met for the first time across a conference table. Hitherto, the Afghan government had shunned the violent Taliban; and, the latter, for its part, scorned the government as a puppet regime of the Americans. The hostile line dividing the two was overcome by all representatives attending the Doha talks in their individual capacity.

This helped Khalilzad take forward decisively his four-point agenda of a ceasefire, intra-Afghan dialogue, procedure for withdrawal and democracy and respect for human rights from Doha to Beijing. The result, endorsed by the four-country core group, is a basic roadmap for Afghanistan’s future based on democracy and human rights (with emphasis on women’s rights). This indicates a softening of the Taliban’s hitherto tough line.

The outcome of the Doha and China meetings show that India, which has been kept out of the core group, would be relegated to a lesser role despite the $3 billion it has invested in Afghanistan for development purposes.

(Disclaimer: WION Edit is the channel's take on the big events of the world)

The current spiral of violence in Afghanistan unleashed by the Taliban and the United States is, by all accounts, for gaining the upper hand when a peace deal is concluded.

The current spiral of violence in Afghanistan unleashed by the Taliban and the United States is, by all accounts, for gaining the upper hand when a peace deal is concluded. Therefore, the killings may be taken to hint at the US and Taliban being close to a peace agreement - enforcing a ceasefire, US troop withdrawal and a new (Taliban) government - before the national election scheduled to be held in September. Such a view is reinforced by recent developments including the two-day meeting in Doha on July 7-8 followed by the four-country conference in China. The four countries that constitute the core group to drive forward the Afghan peace process are the US, Russia, China and Pakistan. The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad followed up the proposals discussed in Doha with the core group at its meeting in China. The seventh round of talks led by Khalilzad in Doha is the first where the representatives of the Taliban, as well as official Afghanistan - 60 of them -, met for the first time across a conference table. Hitherto, the Afghan government had shunned the violent Taliban; and, the latter, for its part, scorned the government as a puppet regime of the Americans. The hostile line dividing the two was overcome by all representatives attending the Doha talks in their individual capacity. This helped Khalilzad take forward decisively his four-point agenda of a ceasefire, intra-Afghan dialogue, procedure for withdrawal and democracy and respect for human rights from Doha to Beijing. The result, endorsed by the four-country core group, is a basic roadmap for Afghanistan’s future based on democracy and human rights (with emphasis on women’s rights). This indicates a softening of the Taliban’s hitherto tough line. The outcome of the Doha and China meetings show that India, which has been kept out of the core group, would be relegated to a lesser role despite the $3 billion it has invested in Afghanistan for development purposes. (Disclaimer: WION Edit is the channel's take on the big events of the world)

WION Edit: Taliban, US violence for upper hand in Afghan deal

The Afghan intelligence agency National Directorate of Security (NDS) said that the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/at-least-12-dead-in-taliban-attack-on-afghan-police-headquarters-236974">Kandahar terror attack</a> was plotted from Chaman in Pakistan. Chaman is the second-largest city of Pakistan's northwest Balochistan province and borders Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

NDS said it will be releasing entire gamut of details regarding the attack tomorrow.

Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack on the police headquarters on Thursday that killed 12.

This is not for the first time Afghanistan has said that an attack in the south Asian country had links across the border in Pakistan.&nbsp;According to NDS, The 2017 Kabul terror attack near the German embassy that killed 150 people, the worst in Afghanistan, was planned in Pakistan.

The development comes ahead of the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's Washington visit to meet US President Donald Trump.

Ahead of the visit, 26/11 mastermind, Hafiz Saeed was arrested on terror financing charges after "pressure" from Washington.

The increased terror attacks come even has the Afghan peace process gathers pace. India on Thursday said, "any process should respect the constitutional legacy and political mandate" and "should not lead to any ungoverned spaces where terrorist and their proxies can relocate."

Both New Delhi and Kabul have blamed Islamabad for destabilizing the region and providing sanctuaries to a terrorist on its territory, something which&nbsp;Pakistan&nbsp;has denied despite being provided evidence.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Pakistan has rejected Afghanistan accusations. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dr Md Faisal said, "Pakistan rejects baseless accusations concerning recent terrorist incidents in Afghanistan."

Adding further Dr FAisal said," The public blame-game is contrary to the spirit of the understanding between the leadership of the two countries to address issues through close coordination amongst relevant agencies."

"Condemning all acts of terrorism in Afghanistan" Faisal hoped that "both sides would continue working constructively for durable peace in Afghanistan and the region."

The Afghan intelligence agency National Directorate of Security (NDS) said that the Kandahar terror attack was plotted from Chaman in Pakistan. Chaman is the second-largest city of Pakistan's northwest Balochistan province and borders Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

The Afghan intelligence agency National Directorate of Security (NDS) said that the Kandahar terror attack was plotted from Chaman in Pakistan. Chaman is the second-largest city of Pakistan's northwest Balochistan province and borders Afghanistan's Kandahar province. NDS said it will be releasing entire gamut of details regarding the attack tomorrow. Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack on the police headquarters on Thursday that killed 12. This is not for the first time Afghanistan has said that an attack in the south Asian country had links across the border in Pakistan. According to NDS, The 2017 Kabul terror attack near the German embassy that killed 150 people, the worst in Afghanistan, was planned in Pakistan. The development comes ahead of the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's Washington visit to meet US President Donald Trump. Ahead of the visit, 26/11 mastermind, Hafiz Saeed was arrested on terror financing charges after "pressure" from Washington. The increased terror attacks come even has the Afghan peace process gathers pace. India on Thursday said, "any process should respect the constitutional legacy and political mandate" and "should not lead to any ungoverned spaces where terrorist and their proxies can relocate." Both New Delhi and Kabul have blamed Islamabad for destabilizing the region and providing sanctuaries to a terrorist on its territory, something which Pakistan has denied despite being provided evidence. Meanwhile, Pakistan has rejected Afghanistan accusations. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dr Md Faisal said, "Pakistan rejects baseless accusations concerning recent terrorist incidents in Afghanistan." Adding further Dr FAisal said," The public blame-game is contrary to the spirit of the understanding between the leadership of the two countries to address issues through close coordination amongst relevant agencies." "Condemning all acts of terrorism in Afghanistan" Faisal hoped that "both sides would continue working constructively for durable peace in Afghanistan and the region."

Afghanistan blames Pakistan for Kandahar attack ahead of Imran-Trump meet

At least eight people were killed and dozens more wounded Friday when a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghanistan-two-killed-10-injured-in-blast-near-kabul-university-237024">bomb detonated near a major university in Kabul</a> while students were waiting to take an exam, officials said.

The blast comes amid an unending wave of violence across Afghanistan, where civilians are being killed every day in the country's gruelling conflict, now in its 18th year.

The Taliban denied any involvement in Friday's blast, which took place near the southern entrance to Kabul University, an official with the interior ministry's media office told AFP.

Health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said the death toll had reached eight, with another 33 injured.

"Wounded patients have been receiving the required medical and surgical treatment," he said on Twitter.

The heavily militarised Afghan capital remains one of the highest-profile targets for both the Taliban and the so-called Islamic State group, with both regularly launching devastating attacks that often kill and maim civilians.

Bahar Mehr, the interior ministry official, said five people had been killed including a traffic police officer.

"The wounded were law students gathered for (an examination). We do not know how many students had gathered there," he said.

The blast had been caused by a sticky bomb, he said, a common threat in Kabul where criminals and insurgents often slap explosives under vehicles.

Local media reports said police had been pursuing the vehicle when it detonated.&nbsp;

"The university and the examination ceremony were not the target of the attack, and we are investigating," Firdaws Faramarz, Kabul police spokesman, told TV network TOLO.

Last week, IS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at a wedding ceremony in Nangarhar province.

The hardline Sunni extremists have a growing footprint in Afghanistan and the United States wants to leave a counter-terrorism force in the country to tackle them in the event of a peace deal with the Taliban.

At least eight people were killed and dozens more wounded Friday when a bomb detonated near a major university in Kabul while students were waiting to take an exam, officials said.

At least eight people were killed and dozens more wounded Friday when a bomb detonated near a major university in Kabul while students were waiting to take an exam, officials said. The blast comes amid an unending wave of violence across Afghanistan, where civilians are being killed every day in the country's gruelling conflict, now in its 18th year. The Taliban denied any involvement in Friday's blast, which took place near the southern entrance to Kabul University, an official with the interior ministry's media office told AFP. Health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said the death toll had reached eight, with another 33 injured. "Wounded patients have been receiving the required medical and surgical treatment," he said on Twitter. The heavily militarised Afghan capital remains one of the highest-profile targets for both the Taliban and the so-called Islamic State group, with both regularly launching devastating attacks that often kill and maim civilians. Bahar Mehr, the interior ministry official, said five people had been killed including a traffic police officer. "The wounded were law students gathered for (an examination). We do not know how many students had gathered there," he said. The blast had been caused by a sticky bomb, he said, a common threat in Kabul where criminals and insurgents often slap explosives under vehicles. Local media reports said police had been pursuing the vehicle when it detonated. "The university and the examination ceremony were not the target of the attack, and we are investigating," Firdaws Faramarz, Kabul police spokesman, told TV network TOLO. Last week, IS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at a wedding ceremony in Nangarhar province. The hardline Sunni extremists have a growing footprint in Afghanistan and the United States wants to leave a counter-terrorism force in the country to tackle them in the event of a peace deal with the Taliban.

Afghanistan: Death toll in blast near Kabul University mounts to 8, dozens wounded

At least 12 people were killed and scores more wounded Thursday when the Taliban attacked a police headquarters in the southern city of Kandahar, officials and the insurgents said.

The assault comes amid a series of peace talks between Washington and the Taliban that both sides say are making progress, but which so far have yielded no reduction in violence in the gruelling Afghan conflict.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the afternoon attack in Afghanistan's second-largest city started with a car bomb, then saw gunmen storm the police compound.

"A number of mujahideen equipped with heavy and small arms breached the headquarters and launched their operations inside," he said.

Baheer Ahmadi, the Kandahar governor's spokesman, told AFP that 12 people had been killed, including nine civilians and three police officers. Another 89 were wounded, he added.

Police chief Tadin Khan said the car bomb was followed by two other explosions.

"The fighting is over now. Some vehicles were burnt. Now the Afghan army and US helicopters are hovering in the area," he told AFP.

Hayatullah Hayat, the provincial governor for Kandahar, said Afghan security forces had launched a "clean-up operation" to see if any attackers were remaining.

Pictures on social media showed a huge plume of smoke rising over Kandahar, and Hayat said about six trucks carrying commercial goods had burnt.&nbsp;

The assault comes just one day after two Afghan soldiers -- who were really Taliban operatives -- fatally shot an Afghan colonel in Ghazni province.

At least 12 people were killed and scores more wounded Thursday when the Taliban attacked a police headquarters in the southern city of Kandahar, officials and the insurgents said.

At least 12 people were killed and scores more wounded Thursday when the Taliban attacked a police headquarters in the southern city of Kandahar, officials and the insurgents said. The assault comes amid a series of peace talks between Washington and the Taliban that both sides say are making progress, but which so far have yielded no reduction in violence in the gruelling Afghan conflict. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the afternoon attack in Afghanistan's second-largest city started with a car bomb, then saw gunmen storm the police compound. "A number of mujahideen equipped with heavy and small arms breached the headquarters and launched their operations inside," he said. Baheer Ahmadi, the Kandahar governor's spokesman, told AFP that 12 people had been killed, including nine civilians and three police officers. Another 89 were wounded, he added. Police chief Tadin Khan said the car bomb was followed by two other explosions. "The fighting is over now. Some vehicles were burnt. Now the Afghan army and US helicopters are hovering in the area," he told AFP. Hayatullah Hayat, the provincial governor for Kandahar, said Afghan security forces had launched a "clean-up operation" to see if any attackers were remaining. Pictures on social media showed a huge plume of smoke rising over Kandahar, and Hayat said about six trucks carrying commercial goods had burnt. The assault comes just one day after two Afghan soldiers -- who were really Taliban operatives -- fatally shot an Afghan colonel in Ghazni province.

At least 12 dead in Taliban attack on Afghan police headquarters

There is movement towards peace in Afghanistan – or at least towards an end to the American military ordeal there, which has lasted for almost 18 years.

US officials and representatives of the Taliban insurgents have held seven rounds of direct talks in the tiny Gulf state of Qatar since last October, and they are getting close to a deal.

During a visit to Afghanistan last month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration hoped for “a peace deal before September 1st.”

This prospect is not getting much attention because everybody is worried that Trump is about to blunder his way into a new and much bigger war with next-door Iran, but it really could happen. American troops could all be gone from Afghanistan 18 months from now.

The real question is: How long after that will it be before the Taliban are back in power?

When a great power loses a war with a much weaker enemy in a very much poorer country, it can’t actually admit defeat. That’s just too humiliating. So the local victors often have to let the great-power loser save face by giving it a “decent interval” (in Henry Kissinger’s deathless phrase) after the great power’s troops pull out before they collect their winnings.

How long is a ‘decent interval’? Generally around three years. That’s how long North Vietnam waited after US troops left South Vietnam (1972) before overrunning the South (1975). It’s how long it took after Russian troops left Afghanistan (1989) before their puppet government in Kabul was destroyed (1992) – although a civil war between rival Islamist groups prevented the Taliban from occupying the capital until four years later.

And it’s probably about how long the Taliban will have to wait after US troops leave Afghanistan this time (say late 2020, just before the US election), before they are formally back in power in Kabul (2023?).

There’s still a lot of killing going on in Afghanistan – around 20 civilians killed or wounded on an average day, at least twice that number of government troops, and large numbers of Taliban too – but the Taliban have won.

Even with huge US air support, the more-or-less elected government that the United States created in Kabul has lost control of one-third of Afghanistan since American and other Western troops pulled out of ground combat roles in 2014. Another third of the country is government-controlled by day, Taliban-run at night.

If the remaining 14,000 US troops and their associated air power leave, it’s game over for President Ashraf Ghani’s ‘puppet’ government (as the Taliban call it). The US implicitly recognises this reality, because it’s only American diplomats, not official Afghan government representatives, who are negotiating with the Taliban in Qatar.&nbsp;

A few Afghan officials were allowed to be present at the last round of the Qatar peace talks ‘in a personal capacity’, but they weren’t negotiating anything. Ghani’s government will have to accept whatever deal the United States makes, knowing perfectly well that they are being abandoned. After that, they will have no options left except to steal as much as they can, and then get out before the roof falls in.

And how will the White House justify selling out its Afghan allies and dependants to itself? Without any great difficulty, if the ‘Nixon Tapes’ are any guide. The key conversation between President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger in August 1972, when they were deciding to rat on South Vietnam, was recorded on the White House system and subsequently made public during the ‘Watergate’ scandal:&nbsp;

Nixon: “Can we have a viable foreign policy if a year from now or two years from now, North Vietnam gobbles up South Vietnam? That’s the real question.”

Kissinger: “(Yes), if it looks as if it’s the result of South Vietnamese incompetence. If we now sell out in such a way that, say, within a three- to four-month period, we have pushed (them) over the brink...it won’t help us all that much. So we’ve got to find some formula that holds the thing together a year or two... after which — after a year, Mr. President, Vietnam will be a backwater. If we settle it, say, this October, by January ‘74 no one will give a damn.”

It worked for Nixon and Kissinger, and it can work for Trump and Pompeo too. They may not be as clever or as cunning, but they are just as ruthless.&nbsp;

The pull-out won’t come back to bite them politically, either, because the Taliban were never interested in attacking the United States. (That was al-Qaeda.)

The only losers in the settlement will be the Afghans, who have to live under Taliban rule again. But that was always going to happen in the end. 
 
(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-a-decent-afghan-interval-2772649">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp;

There is movement towards peace in Afghanistan – or at least towards an end to the American military ordeal there, which has lasted for almost 18 years. US officials and representatives of the Taliban insurgents have held seven rounds of direct talks in the tiny Gulf state of Qatar since last October, and they are getting close to a deal.

There is movement towards peace in Afghanistan – or at least towards an end to the American military ordeal there, which has lasted for almost 18 years. US officials and representatives of the Taliban insurgents have held seven rounds of direct talks in the tiny Gulf state of Qatar since last October, and they are getting close to a deal. During a visit to Afghanistan last month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration hoped for “a peace deal before September 1st.” This prospect is not getting much attention because everybody is worried that Trump is about to blunder his way into a new and much bigger war with next-door Iran, but it really could happen. American troops could all be gone from Afghanistan 18 months from now. The real question is: How long after that will it be before the Taliban are back in power? When a great power loses a war with a much weaker enemy in a very much poorer country, it can’t actually admit defeat. That’s just too humiliating. So the local victors often have to let the great-power loser save face by giving it a “decent interval” (in Henry Kissinger’s deathless phrase) after the great power’s troops pull out before they collect their winnings. How long is a ‘decent interval’? Generally around three years. That’s how long North Vietnam waited after US troops left South Vietnam (1972) before overrunning the South (1975). It’s how long it took after Russian troops left Afghanistan (1989) before their puppet government in Kabul was destroyed (1992) – although a civil war between rival Islamist groups prevented the Taliban from occupying the capital until four years later. And it’s probably about how long the Taliban will have to wait after US troops leave Afghanistan this time (say late 2020, just before the US election), before they are formally back in power in Kabul (2023?). There’s still a lot of killing going on in Afghanistan – around 20 civilians killed or wounded on an average day, at least twice that number of government troops, and large numbers of Taliban too – but the Taliban have won. Even with huge US air support, the more-or-less elected government that the United States created in Kabul has lost control of one-third of Afghanistan since American and other Western troops pulled out of ground combat roles in 2014. Another third of the country is government-controlled by day, Taliban-run at night. If the remaining 14,000 US troops and their associated air power leave, it’s game over for President Ashraf Ghani’s ‘puppet’ government (as the Taliban call it). The US implicitly recognises this reality, because it’s only American diplomats, not official Afghan government representatives, who are negotiating with the Taliban in Qatar. A few Afghan officials were allowed to be present at the last round of the Qatar peace talks ‘in a personal capacity’, but they weren’t negotiating anything. Ghani’s government will have to accept whatever deal the United States makes, knowing perfectly well that they are being abandoned. After that, they will have no options left except to steal as much as they can, and then get out before the roof falls in. And how will the White House justify selling out its Afghan allies and dependants to itself? Without any great difficulty, if the ‘Nixon Tapes’ are any guide. The key conversation between President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger in August 1972, when they were deciding to rat on South Vietnam, was recorded on the White House system and subsequently made public during the ‘Watergate’ scandal: Nixon: “Can we have a viable foreign policy if a year from now or two years from now, North Vietnam gobbles up South Vietnam? That’s the real question.” Kissinger: “(Yes), if it looks as if it’s the result of South Vietnamese incompetence. If we now sell out in such a way that, say, within a three- to four-month period, we have pushed (them) over the brink...it won’t help us all that much. So we’ve got to find some formula that holds the thing together a year or two... after which — after a year, Mr. President, Vietnam will be a backwater. If we settle it, say, this October, by January ‘74 no one will give a damn.” It worked for Nixon and Kissinger, and it can work for Trump and Pompeo too. They may not be as clever or as cunning, but they are just as ruthless. The pull-out won’t come back to bite them politically, either, because the Taliban were never interested in attacking the United States. (That was al-Qaeda.) The only losers in the settlement will be the Afghans, who have to live under Taliban rule again. But that was always going to happen in the end. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

US-Taliban peace talks: The only losers in the settlement will be Afghans

Naya, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois, focuses intently as she leaps over hurdles and zooms through tunnels on an obstacle course at a training centre on a hill overlooking Kabul.

She seems to be having fun but is being trained for a life-or-death mission,&nbsp;finding explosives in a country where hidden mines, bombs, and weapons routinely kill.

Naya is one of about 200 dogs at the Afghan capital's Mine Detection Centre (MDC), a non-governmental group raising the animals from rambunctious pups into a disciplined force, and teaching handlers how to work with the canines.

A common sight around the Afghan capital, explosives-sniffing dogs are deployed at checkpoints and government facilities, where they are an important tool in combatting the flow of homemade bombs being smuggled into Kabul.

"The dogs are very useful they are very fast, they do their jobs with great speed," Taj Mohammad, a long-time trainer at the centre, told AFP on a recent visit.

Handlers demonstrated how they train dogs to hone in on particular scents explosives mainly, but also narcotics by using a special carousel of identical metal canisters that conceal different smells.

Each time a dog correctly identifies a target smell, the handler gives it a rubber chewy ball to chomp on as a reward.

"The relationship with the handler must be perfect. If it does not work, there will be casualties," Mohammad said.

It takes about two years to train an explosives dog, and the process is intense for both the handler and the canine. The animals at the MDC are all German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois.

"It's as if you are building a house or bringing up a child," Mohammad said.

Handlers get about $500 a month for their dangerous work, not a bad wage in Afghanistan as well as life insurance and retirement benefits.

Explosives are "a hidden enemy, so all the time I have a little fear in my heart," dog handler Zabihullah Amin said.

No more mine detection&nbsp;

After the MDC was established in 1989, the dogs mainly came from the Netherlands, but now most are local after breeding started here in 1994. More than 1,100 dogs have completed the training.

The canines' initial mission was to hunt for landmines, a vital task in a country left strewn with the devastating weapons during the war with the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

But the dogs' use tapered off in recent years following a series of incidents where they missed explosives, sometimes causing casualties as people returned to areas thought to be cleared.

According to Abdul Qudos Ziaee, head of operations at Afghanistan's Directorate of Mine Action Coordination, dogs can be a useful mine-detection tool if properly managed.

But in several areas contaminated with anti-vehicle mines, some agencies failed to use the canines correctly or handlers were improperly trained, leading to sloppy practice and areas of terrain left dangerous.

"Whether it was the fault of the dog handler or the dog was not properly trained ... the mine will be missed and the negative consequence will be borne by civilians," Qudos Ziaee told AFP.

Dogs can still be used to sweep large areas deemed "low threat", he said, noting that procedures are currently being revised and new standards will be introduced in about a year.

At the MDC, handlers insist dogs are a better tool for finding mines than mechanical detectors, as they can sniff the explosives in non-metallic devices.&nbsp;

According to Ziaee, at least 1,432 people were killed or wounded in Afghanistan by mines and so-called explosive remnants of war in 2018.

Mohammad Wirwais, who works at the Mine Detection Center, was blinded by a mine while clearing terrain in 2008.

"I am fortunate and lucky, I have friends ... who lost their lives to mine explosions," he said.

"I am good, thank God, I can solve my problems on my own, and I can work here too."

Naya, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois, focuses intently as she leaps over hurdles and zooms through tunnels on an obstacle course at a training centre on a hill overlooking Kabul.

Naya, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois, focuses intently as she leaps over hurdles and zooms through tunnels on an obstacle course at a training centre on a hill overlooking Kabul. She seems to be having fun but is being trained for a life-or-death mission, finding explosives in a country where hidden mines, bombs, and weapons routinely kill. Naya is one of about 200 dogs at the Afghan capital's Mine Detection Centre (MDC), a non-governmental group raising the animals from rambunctious pups into a disciplined force, and teaching handlers how to work with the canines. A common sight around the Afghan capital, explosives-sniffing dogs are deployed at checkpoints and government facilities, where they are an important tool in combatting the flow of homemade bombs being smuggled into Kabul. "The dogs are very useful they are very fast, they do their jobs with great speed," Taj Mohammad, a long-time trainer at the centre, told AFP on a recent visit. Handlers demonstrated how they train dogs to hone in on particular scents explosives mainly, but also narcotics by using a special carousel of identical metal canisters that conceal different smells. Each time a dog correctly identifies a target smell, the handler gives it a rubber chewy ball to chomp on as a reward. "The relationship with the handler must be perfect. If it does not work, there will be casualties," Mohammad said. It takes about two years to train an explosives dog, and the process is intense for both the handler and the canine. The animals at the MDC are all German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois. "It's as if you are building a house or bringing up a child," Mohammad said. Handlers get about $500 a month for their dangerous work, not a bad wage in Afghanistan as well as life insurance and retirement benefits. Explosives are "a hidden enemy, so all the time I have a little fear in my heart," dog handler Zabihullah Amin said. No more mine detection After the MDC was established in 1989, the dogs mainly came from the Netherlands, but now most are local after breeding started here in 1994. More than 1,100 dogs have completed the training. The canines' initial mission was to hunt for landmines, a vital task in a country left strewn with the devastating weapons during the war with the Soviet Union in the 1980s. But the dogs' use tapered off in recent years following a series of incidents where they missed explosives, sometimes causing casualties as people returned to areas thought to be cleared. According to Abdul Qudos Ziaee, head of operations at Afghanistan's Directorate of Mine Action Coordination, dogs can be a useful mine-detection tool if properly managed. But in several areas contaminated with anti-vehicle mines, some agencies failed to use the canines correctly or handlers were improperly trained, leading to sloppy practice and areas of terrain left dangerous. "Whether it was the fault of the dog handler or the dog was not properly trained ... the mine will be missed and the negative consequence will be borne by civilians," Qudos Ziaee told AFP. Dogs can still be used to sweep large areas deemed "low threat", he said, noting that procedures are currently being revised and new standards will be introduced in about a year. At the MDC, handlers insist dogs are a better tool for finding mines than mechanical detectors, as they can sniff the explosives in non-metallic devices. According to Ziaee, at least 1,432 people were killed or wounded in Afghanistan by mines and so-called explosive remnants of war in 2018. Mohammad Wirwais, who works at the Mine Detection Center, was blinded by a mine while clearing terrain in 2008. "I am fortunate and lucky, I have friends ... who lost their lives to mine explosions," he said. "I am good, thank God, I can solve my problems on my own, and I can work here too."

Man's best friend: The dogs who sniff out explosives in Kabul

Russia, U.S., China & Pakistan Come Together On Afghanistan Talks As India Is Left Out Of The Decision-Making Loop Over the past 2 decades, India has invested heavily in Afghanistan and gained immense goodwill. But now, that counts for little as Russia, U.S., China & Pakistan leave India out of the decision-making loop on Afghanistan. Why is it so? Why is the U.S. not interested in holding elections in Afghanistan? Palki explains

Gravitas: Is India being sidelined in Afghanistan talks?

By Ali Wardak

Getting justice in Afghanistan is a complicated business. Two main justice systems – state laws based on the civil law tradition and Islamic jurisprudence – combine with non-state institutions, such as traditional village jirgas (circles) or shuras (councils), to resolve local disputes and deal with offences.

Since the collapse of the Taliban regime, the US alone has spent well over a billion dollars rebuilding and reforming Afghanistan’s state justice sector, influenced by the Western system of retributive justice. But the failure to engage with Afghanistan’s own tradition of restorative justice and to understand its multiplicity of justice providers has undermined true reform.

It has instead resulted in a justice system that doesn’t have the full capacity to address the complex needs of all the Afghan people. And it has allowed others, including the Taliban judiciary – who have a select and narrow interpretation of Sharia – to step into the vacuum. This can lead to situations where people’s rights – especially women – are unprotected or infringed.

A “hybrid model” that instead forges links between state and non-state providers could provide justice that is more accessible, affordable and inclusive – and one with better oversight of those involved, and which would reduce human rights violations.

In 2007, out of research and a report for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), I developed such a model. The idea was to create complementary links between the existing state justice system, various non-state justice providers, and women’s/human rights units, each acting as a check and balance on the others.

Although vested interest of powerful Afghan politicians delayed the translation of this hybrid model into practice, it has now partially resulted in a draft law – the Law on Conciliatory Jirga’s in Civil Disputes – which is currently waiting to be approved by the new Afghan parliament.

Women’s rights

Research has shown that non-state justice providers (especially jirgas and shuras) are perceived as more accessible, trusted, less corrupt and speedier in resolving disputes than the state courts. But these male-only institutions exclude women, are sometimes influenced by warlords, and their decisions are not officially recorded. Most of these non-state justice institutions also variously violate human rights, for example in their use of baad, a centuries-old practice in which an offender’s female relative is given in marriage to a male family member of a victim.

A hybrid framework not only creates a collaborative dialogue between various state and non-state justice providers, but also empowers women through raising awareness of their rights and supporting spaces for contestation. Human rights units can provide disputants with help and advice in selecting the right institution for their case and can also check justice decisions are consistent with women’s and human rights principles. These units can also be empowered to examine issues relating to domestic violence, past human rights abuses and war crimes.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) units would handle minor criminal offences and any civil cases. Their decisions would be checked by the closest state justice institution to ensure that decisions didn’t violate Afghanistan’s law and/or the fundamental principles of Islamic Sharia. Decisions that failed to be endorsed on either human rights grounds or by a concerned state court, would be revised or referred to the state justice system for adjudication. But all serious criminal cases would fall exclusively under the remit of the state justice system.

A challenging time 
 
It took more than a decade to get the idea of a hybrid model of justice accepted in Afghanistan. Senior judges saw it as a threat to their exclusive authority over all cases and disputes within the state judicial system. They also saw the 2007 UNDP report recommendations as a possible diversion of international aid to non-state justice providers. The report was initially banned by Afghanistan’s Supreme Court.

But strong support from international organisations including the US Institute of Peace, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and some national and international institutions in Afghanistan led to the implementation of programmes that trained traditional local mediators, promoted legal awareness and women’s rights and resulted in more coordination between non-state actors and the state justice system.

Success of these programmes induced Afghanistan’s Ministry of Justice to revisit the hybrid model and these programmes may be the reason behind the increasing rejection of the practise of baad in Afghanistan. The UNDP report suggested that 28% of people saw baad was “always” or “sometimes” an outcome of jirga/shura decision making in 2007, recent research reveals that this practice now rarely happens.

I have now also been working with Conciliation Resources, an international peace organisation, to see how the hybrid model can be used to engage traditional and religious institutions using their established practical experience of resolving local conflict to contribute to peacemaking in Afghanistan.

The Palestine connection 
 
The hybrid model could also work in other places where multiple state and non-state justice institutions exist. Hebron University’s Mutaz Qafisheh and I recently found that the state alone cannot provide effective justice for all Palestinian children. As in Afghanistan, many people see the justice provided by key non-state providers as more speedy and accessible.

But, as we also found in Afghanistan, these are also often male-dominated providers that prioritise community over individual rights. For example, it is makhateer (traditional male mediators/community leaders) and mosleheen (male conciliators) who often decide what is good for the community, and whose judgments sometimes violate the rights of young offenders or victims, and especially girls.

As a result of this work, Swiss children’s charity Terre des hommes – which provides professional support to the Palestinian state juvenile justice system and legal/social support for children in conflict with law – is now using our idea of a hybrid model in its juvenile justice policy in the Palestinian Territories.

Justice is especially complex in countries where multiple providers exist – and whether official or unofficial, many of these are here to stay. Rather than impose one top-down retributive system, it is prudent to harness the many positive aspects of local traditional, religious and other existing non-state justice providers and link them to the state justice system in meaningful ways. This form of hybridity helps to prevent human rights violation, and promises to provide more accessible, affordable, effective and restorative justice for all. 
 
(Ali Wardak is Professor of Criminology, University of South Wales) 
 
(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/afghanistan-how-to-widen-access-to-justice-109381">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

By Ali Wardak Getting justice in Afghanistan is a complicated business. Two main justice systems – state laws based on the civil law tradition and Islamic jurisprudence – combine with non-state institutions, such as traditional village jirgas (circles) or shuras (councils), to resolve local disputes and deal with offences.

By Ali Wardak Getting justice in Afghanistan is a complicated business. Two main justice systems – state laws based on the civil law tradition and Islamic jurisprudence – combine with non-state institutions, such as traditional village jirgas (circles) or shuras (councils), to resolve local disputes and deal with offences. Since the collapse of the Taliban regime, the US alone has spent well over a billion dollars rebuilding and reforming Afghanistan’s state justice sector, influenced by the Western system of retributive justice. But the failure to engage with Afghanistan’s own tradition of restorative justice and to understand its multiplicity of justice providers has undermined true reform. It has instead resulted in a justice system that doesn’t have the full capacity to address the complex needs of all the Afghan people. And it has allowed others, including the Taliban judiciary – who have a select and narrow interpretation of Sharia – to step into the vacuum. This can lead to situations where people’s rights – especially women – are unprotected or infringed. A “hybrid model” that instead forges links between state and non-state providers could provide justice that is more accessible, affordable and inclusive – and one with better oversight of those involved, and which would reduce human rights violations. In 2007, out of research and a report for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), I developed such a model. The idea was to create complementary links between the existing state justice system, various non-state justice providers, and women’s/human rights units, each acting as a check and balance on the others. Although vested interest of powerful Afghan politicians delayed the translation of this hybrid model into practice, it has now partially resulted in a draft law – the Law on Conciliatory Jirga’s in Civil Disputes – which is currently waiting to be approved by the new Afghan parliament. Women’s rights Research has shown that non-state justice providers (especially jirgas and shuras) are perceived as more accessible, trusted, less corrupt and speedier in resolving disputes than the state courts. But these male-only institutions exclude women, are sometimes influenced by warlords, and their decisions are not officially recorded. Most of these non-state justice institutions also variously violate human rights, for example in their use of baad, a centuries-old practice in which an offender’s female relative is given in marriage to a male family member of a victim. A hybrid framework not only creates a collaborative dialogue between various state and non-state justice providers, but also empowers women through raising awareness of their rights and supporting spaces for contestation. Human rights units can provide disputants with help and advice in selecting the right institution for their case and can also check justice decisions are consistent with women’s and human rights principles. These units can also be empowered to examine issues relating to domestic violence, past human rights abuses and war crimes. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) units would handle minor criminal offences and any civil cases. Their decisions would be checked by the closest state justice institution to ensure that decisions didn’t violate Afghanistan’s law and/or the fundamental principles of Islamic Sharia. Decisions that failed to be endorsed on either human rights grounds or by a concerned state court, would be revised or referred to the state justice system for adjudication. But all serious criminal cases would fall exclusively under the remit of the state justice system. A challenging time It took more than a decade to get the idea of a hybrid model of justice accepted in Afghanistan. Senior judges saw it as a threat to their exclusive authority over all cases and disputes within the state judicial system. They also saw the 2007 UNDP report recommendations as a possible diversion of international aid to non-state justice providers. The report was initially banned by Afghanistan’s Supreme Court. But strong support from international organisations including the US Institute of Peace, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and some national and international institutions in Afghanistan led to the implementation of programmes that trained traditional local mediators, promoted legal awareness and women’s rights and resulted in more coordination between non-state actors and the state justice system. Success of these programmes induced Afghanistan’s Ministry of Justice to revisit the hybrid model and these programmes may be the reason behind the increasing rejection of the practise of baad in Afghanistan. The UNDP report suggested that 28% of people saw baad was “always” or “sometimes” an outcome of jirga/shura decision making in 2007, recent research reveals that this practice now rarely happens. I have now also been working with Conciliation Resources, an international peace organisation, to see how the hybrid model can be used to engage traditional and religious institutions using their established practical experience of resolving local conflict to contribute to peacemaking in Afghanistan. The Palestine connection The hybrid model could also work in other places where multiple state and non-state justice institutions exist. Hebron University’s Mutaz Qafisheh and I recently found that the state alone cannot provide effective justice for all Palestinian children. As in Afghanistan, many people see the justice provided by key non-state providers as more speedy and accessible. But, as we also found in Afghanistan, these are also often male-dominated providers that prioritise community over individual rights. For example, it is makhateer (traditional male mediators/community leaders) and mosleheen (male conciliators) who often decide what is good for the community, and whose judgments sometimes violate the rights of young offenders or victims, and especially girls. As a result of this work, Swiss children’s charity Terre des hommes – which provides professional support to the Palestinian state juvenile justice system and legal/social support for children in conflict with law – is now using our idea of a hybrid model in its juvenile justice policy in the Palestinian Territories. Justice is especially complex in countries where multiple providers exist – and whether official or unofficial, many of these are here to stay. Rather than impose one top-down retributive system, it is prudent to harness the many positive aspects of local traditional, religious and other existing non-state justice providers and link them to the state justice system in meaningful ways. This form of hybridity helps to prevent human rights violation, and promises to provide more accessible, affordable, effective and restorative justice for all. (Ali Wardak is Professor of Criminology, University of South Wales) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

How to widen access to justice in Afghanistan

At least 11 pilgrims including seven children were killed and on Monday when their vehicle set off a landmine in southern Afghanistan, local government and health officials said.

11 pilgrims killed as landmine explodes in Afghanistan

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-hopes-to-eradicate-polio-by-2020-189297">Pakistan's polio eradication campaign</a> has hit serious problems with an alarming spike in reported cases that have raised doubts over the quality of vaccination reporting and prompted officials to review their approach to stopping the crippling disease.

The country is one of only three in the world where <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/monstrous-rumours-stoke-hostility-to-pakistans-anti-polio-drive-215546">polio is endemic</a>, along with neighbouring Afghanistan and Nigeria, but vaccination campaigns have cut the disease sharply, with only a dozen cases last year compared with 306 in 2014 and more than 350,000 in 1988, according to Pakistani health officials.

However, there has been a worrying jump this year, with 41 cases recorded, 33 of them in the northwestern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where many people resent what they see as intrusive and coercive vaccination campaigns often involving repeated rounds of visits, officials say.

Just as alarming for health services, environmental sampling has shown the presence of the virus in areas across the country, a clear sign of gaps in vaccination, which must cover the entire population to be effective.

Hopes that transmission of the disease could be ended this year have been abandoned.

"We need to take the bull by the horns and accept there are problems," said Babar Atta, Prime Minister Imran Khan's point person on polio eradication.

As well as the difficulty in reaching very remote areas and keeping track of people moving through big cities like Karachi, there have been problems in collecting reliable data, exacerbated by resistance to efforts to force vaccination.

Efforts to eradicate the disease have for years been undermined by opposition from some Islamists, who say immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.

Local officials say parents suspicious of mass immunization campaigns have been getting hold of special markers, used by health workers to put a coloured spot on the little fingers of children who have been vaccinated.

"They would mark the fingers of their children, in case of an official visit to countercheck the vaccinated children," one official associated with an international organisation told Reuters in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Officials estimate that so-called fake finger marking, sometimes in collusion with health workers, is hiding the true scale of refusal rates - and thus gaps in vaccination.

In some areas, as many as 8 per cent of families may be refusing or avoiding vaccination, a level which would mean the disease is not eradicated.

A senior official of the Health Department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said the exact data had been deliberately hidden by local health authorities nervous of being blamed for failing to ensure full coverage. "And the result of hiding figures had led us to face an epidemic-like situation today," he said.

Resistance

Polio, a disease transmitted through sewage which can cause crippling paralysis particularly in young children, is incurable and remains a threat to human health as long as it has not been eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close to Pakistan, but persistent problems remain.

International observers have been watching the situation with alarm for some time. In October, the Independent Monitoring Board, which oversees the global polio eradication effort, wrote in its annual report that there was "something seriously wrong with the programme in Pakistan".

In April, fuelled by rumors on social media that children were being poisoned by the vaccinations, mobs rioted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and at least three polio workers were killed.

Even without violence, many people consider polio a "US disease". Facing more immediate threats such as a lack of clean water, many do not see why their families should be disturbed by what they consider intrusive foreign-sponsored campaigns.

Health workers, whose closeness to the communities they work in is vital in building trust, face difficult choices in remote areas where kinship and local power structures can often place them under severe pressure not to report cases of non-compliance.

According to many officials, the stubborn hostility to the campaigns and the high levels of avoidance underline the problems with heavy-handed repeat visits by health workers and police going after families that refuse vaccination.

"Why are the marker pens in the shops? Because parents want to buy them. They are sick and tired of repeated vaccinations," said Babar Atta.

Officials are now looking at more targeted approaches to areas where there are problems overcoming resistance to vaccination involving more persuasion and education.

Oliver Rosenbauer, a spokesman for the World Health Organization, said resistance to vaccination was hampering the eradication effort although other factors, including the movement of people in Pakistan and across the border with Afghanistan were potentially more important.

He said officials were analysing the series of problems confronting the programme to build a new approach.

"What is very clear to everyone is that if things keep going the way they're going, we're not going to eradicate polio in Pakistan," he said.

"We can keep a lid on it but that's not the aim. The aim is to eradicate it."

Pakistan's polio eradication campaign has hit serious problems with an alarming spike in reported cases that have raised doubts over the quality of vaccination reporting and prompted officials to review their approach to stopping the crippling disease.

Pakistan's polio eradication campaign has hit serious problems with an alarming spike in reported cases that have raised doubts over the quality of vaccination reporting and prompted officials to review their approach to stopping the crippling disease. The country is one of only three in the world where polio is endemic, along with neighbouring Afghanistan and Nigeria, but vaccination campaigns have cut the disease sharply, with only a dozen cases last year compared with 306 in 2014 and more than 350,000 in 1988, according to Pakistani health officials. However, there has been a worrying jump this year, with 41 cases recorded, 33 of them in the northwestern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where many people resent what they see as intrusive and coercive vaccination campaigns often involving repeated rounds of visits, officials say. Just as alarming for health services, environmental sampling has shown the presence of the virus in areas across the country, a clear sign of gaps in vaccination, which must cover the entire population to be effective. Hopes that transmission of the disease could be ended this year have been abandoned. "We need to take the bull by the horns and accept there are problems," said Babar Atta, Prime Minister Imran Khan's point person on polio eradication. As well as the difficulty in reaching very remote areas and keeping track of people moving through big cities like Karachi, there have been problems in collecting reliable data, exacerbated by resistance to efforts to force vaccination. Efforts to eradicate the disease have for years been undermined by opposition from some Islamists, who say immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Local officials say parents suspicious of mass immunization campaigns have been getting hold of special markers, used by health workers to put a coloured spot on the little fingers of children who have been vaccinated. "They would mark the fingers of their children, in case of an official visit to countercheck the vaccinated children," one official associated with an international organisation told Reuters in the northwestern city of Peshawar. Officials estimate that so-called fake finger marking, sometimes in collusion with health workers, is hiding the true scale of refusal rates - and thus gaps in vaccination. In some areas, as many as 8 per cent of families may be refusing or avoiding vaccination, a level which would mean the disease is not eradicated. A senior official of the Health Department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said the exact data had been deliberately hidden by local health authorities nervous of being blamed for failing to ensure full coverage. "And the result of hiding figures had led us to face an epidemic-like situation today," he said. Resistance Polio, a disease transmitted through sewage which can cause crippling paralysis particularly in young children, is incurable and remains a threat to human health as long as it has not been eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close to Pakistan, but persistent problems remain. International observers have been watching the situation with alarm for some time. In October, the Independent Monitoring Board, which oversees the global polio eradication effort, wrote in its annual report that there was "something seriously wrong with the programme in Pakistan". In April, fuelled by rumors on social media that children were being poisoned by the vaccinations, mobs rioted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and at least three polio workers were killed. Even without violence, many people consider polio a "US disease". Facing more immediate threats such as a lack of clean water, many do not see why their families should be disturbed by what they consider intrusive foreign-sponsored campaigns. Health workers, whose closeness to the communities they work in is vital in building trust, face difficult choices in remote areas where kinship and local power structures can often place them under severe pressure not to report cases of non-compliance. According to many officials, the stubborn hostility to the campaigns and the high levels of avoidance underline the problems with heavy-handed repeat visits by health workers and police going after families that refuse vaccination. "Why are the marker pens in the shops? Because parents want to buy them. They are sick and tired of repeated vaccinations," said Babar Atta. Officials are now looking at more targeted approaches to areas where there are problems overcoming resistance to vaccination involving more persuasion and education. Oliver Rosenbauer, a spokesman for the World Health Organization, said resistance to vaccination was hampering the eradication effort although other factors, including the movement of people in Pakistan and across the border with Afghanistan were potentially more important. He said officials were analysing the series of problems confronting the programme to build a new approach. "What is very clear to everyone is that if things keep going the way they're going, we're not going to eradicate polio in Pakistan," he said. "We can keep a lid on it but that's not the aim. The aim is to eradicate it."

Pakistan: Fake polio markers highlight risks to vaccination drive

At least 11 civilians were killed and dozens more wounded Monday after their vehicle hit a bomb in southern Afghanistan that officials told AFP had been planted by the Taliban.

The deaths come just one week after Taliban and Afghan officials unveiled a "roadmap for peace" in which they pledged to eliminate civilian casualties.

Monday's incident occurred around 2:00 pm (0930 GMT) when a vehicle carrying many passengers hit a roadside bomb planted by the Taliban, provincial police chief Tadin Khan said.

It was not immediately clear if the victims had been travelling in a bus or in the back of a large truck.

"In the blast, 11 people were martyred and 34 others were wounded. Women and children are among the victims," Khan said.&nbsp;

Afghan military spokesman Ahmad Sadiq Esa confirmed the toll, while Kandahar governor Hayatullah Hayat said 13 were killed.

No group claimed immediate responsibility. The Taliban did not immediately comment.

Kandahar is considered the birthplace of the Taliban, who still control some parts of the province.

Insurgents often use roadside bombs and landmines to target Afghan security forces -- but the lethal weapons also inflict heavy casualties on civilians.

Years of conflict have left Afghanistan strewn with landmines, unexploded mortars, rockets and homemade bombs -- and many are picked up by curious children.

According to the United Nations, almost 4,000 civilians -- including more than 900 children -- were killed in Afghanistan last year, with another 7,000 wounded, making it the deadliest year to date for civilians in Afghanistan's conflict.

The Taliban and a group of Afghans met for a historic summit in the Qatari capital Doha last week, as part of US-led peace talks, where they pledged to reduce civilian casualties to "zero". 
&nbsp;

At least 11 civilians were killed and dozens more wounded Monday after their vehicle hit a bomb in southern Afghanistan that officials told AFP had been planted by the Taliban.

At least 11 civilians were killed and dozens more wounded Monday after their vehicle hit a bomb in southern Afghanistan that officials told AFP had been planted by the Taliban. The deaths come just one week after Taliban and Afghan officials unveiled a "roadmap for peace" in which they pledged to eliminate civilian casualties. Monday's incident occurred around 2:00 pm (0930 GMT) when a vehicle carrying many passengers hit a roadside bomb planted by the Taliban, provincial police chief Tadin Khan said. It was not immediately clear if the victims had been travelling in a bus or in the back of a large truck. "In the blast, 11 people were martyred and 34 others were wounded. Women and children are among the victims," Khan said. Afghan military spokesman Ahmad Sadiq Esa confirmed the toll, while Kandahar governor Hayatullah Hayat said 13 were killed. No group claimed immediate responsibility. The Taliban did not immediately comment. Kandahar is considered the birthplace of the Taliban, who still control some parts of the province. Insurgents often use roadside bombs and landmines to target Afghan security forces -- but the lethal weapons also inflict heavy casualties on civilians. Years of conflict have left Afghanistan strewn with landmines, unexploded mortars, rockets and homemade bombs -- and many are picked up by curious children. According to the United Nations, almost 4,000 civilians -- including more than 900 children -- were killed in Afghanistan last year, with another 7,000 wounded, making it the deadliest year to date for civilians in Afghanistan's conflict. The Taliban and a group of Afghans met for a historic summit in the Qatari capital Doha last week, as part of US-led peace talks, where they pledged to reduce civilian casualties to "zero".

Bomb blast kills 11 in Afghanistan's Kandahar

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