SECURITY
Afghan Forces Arrest Mine Planter in Nangarhar Province
Nangarhar: The Afghan security forces have arrested a mine planter from a restive district of eastern Nangarhar province. According to the local security officials, the detained militant has been identified as Zahidullah and was arrested from the vicinity of Pacher Agam district. Zahid was arrested as he was planting an anti-armored personnel carrier mine. Khaama
77 Rebels Killed, 16 Wounded in Country-Wide Operations: MoD
According to the Ministry of Defense, at least 77 militants, including 22 Daesh rebels, have been killed and 16 others wounded in security forces separate operations in different parts of the country. Pajhwok
Suicide Attacks Planner Held in Overnight Kapisa Raid
Kapisa: Security forces have arrested organizer of suicide attacks in central Kapisa province. According to the Police spokesman, Mohammad Ayub Yousufzai, Abdul Matin was accused of organizing suicide attacks across Afghanistan. Pajhwok
Seven Rebels dead, Four Policemen Hurt in Takhar Clash
Takhar: Seven militants have been killed and four policemen wounded in a clash in the Khwaja Bahauddin district of northern Takhar province. Police repulsed militants coordinated attacks over security forces. Pajhwok
POLITICS
Govt Accelerates Efforts to Digitize Election
The CEO’s deputy spokesman Jawid Faisal said that the National Unity Government (NUG) leaders have agreed on digitizing the election process and have started negotiations with donor countries and organizations. Faisal said, “In order to hold a transparent election, we need to use technology and we have discussed this with UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan) and the European Union”. Tolonews
Mohammad Arif Shah Jahan Appointed New Governor of Farah
According to a statement from Presidential Palace, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has appointed Mohammad Arif Shah Jahan as the new governor of western Farah province. He was referred to the post of governor by the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) and the president approved his appointment. Previously he worked as National Directorate of Security (NDS) director in Ghazni province and also remained representative of Ghazni in Wolesi Jirga. He would replace Mohammad Asif Nang who served as Farah governor more than two years. Pajhwok
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Sopko Highlights Major Corruption Cases among Afghan Forces
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John F. Sopko, at an event in Duke University in the United States made shocking remarks on ‘corruption’ among Afghan forces. He said that the combination of corruption and poor leadership in the security forces in Afghanistan is the root cause for their ‘ineffectiveness’. According to him, “Without question, the top two challenges in Afghanistan are corruption and the lack of capacity of the Afghan security forces. And in many cases, the two go hand in hand”. He further said that Commanders in the Afghan military steal the food that you pay for and force their soldiers to buy it back. We hear story after story of commanders who steal the fuel, sell it to the Taliban, who take the weapons we-you-pay for and sell it to the Taliban. Tolonews
Russian Relations with Taliban Growing: US General
A top US general in Europe has said that he had seen Russian influence on Afghan Taliban insurgents growing and raised the possibility that Moscow was helping supply the militants, whose reach is expanding in southern Afghanistan. He raised suspicion over the increasing interaction between Taliban and Russian officials. Pajhwok
Pakistan Encourages Taliban to Attend Moscow Meeting
Seven Afghan Taliban leaders held talks with Pakistani official in Islamabad last week in an attempt to press the group into peace talks ahead of international conference on Afghanistan in Moscow next month. They were being encouraged to attend the meeting in Moscow in which establishing security and peace across Afghanistan would be the burning topics to discuss. Pajhwok
