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KABUL: The Afghan defense officials reacted to allegations of a Pakistani official regarding the alleged destructive role of India, calling it baseless.

General Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, in response to the allegations of the Pakistani official, said that New Delhi had no military presence in Afghanistan, rejecting the misunderstanding of Islamabad claiming that the country was fuelling anti-Pakistan feelings with its presence in Afghanistan. He said India was only providing training and study opportunities to Afghan army cadets. Pakistans Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said that the state was serious about improving relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Speaking to a private news channel, the minister claimed strained relations between the two countries were due to Indian influence on Afghanistans side. India has played a major role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime and has invested over $2 billion in various reconstruction and infrastructure projects. The construction of the major Salma Dam, the new Afghan parliament building, Zaranj-Delaram highway, and some other projects are among key investments India has made in the country.

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Afghanistan rejects Pak claim of India's destructive role - The News International

WASHINGTON A U.S. soldier was killed while conducting operations against ISIS in Afghanistan late on Saturday, a U.S. military spokesman said in a message posted on Twitter.

"The soldier was mortally wounded late Saturday during an operation in Nangarhar Province" in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. Navy Captain Bill Salvin said in a message on the official Twitter account of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.

The unnamed soldier was a Special Forces operator, Salvin told Reuters separately.

He was the first U.S. soldier casualty in Afghanistan in 2017 for the Resolute Support mission, a NATO spokesman confirmed to NBC News. The circumstances of his death were unclear.

In 2016, nine American service members were killed in action in Afghanistan as part of the mission.

Related: NATO is Nervous, and Its Biggest Concern Is the White House

ISIS's offshoot in Afghanistan, known as the Sunni jihadist group's so-called Khorasan Province, is suspected of carrying out several attacks on minority Shi'ite Muslim targets. U.S. officials say intelligence suggests ISIS is based overwhelmingly in Nangarhar and neighboring Kunar province.

Estimates of its strength in Afghanistan vary. U.S. officials have said they believe the movement has only 700 fighters, but Afghan officials estimate it has about 1,500.

The Afghan Taliban, which is trying to overthrow the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, is fiercely opposed to ISIS and the two have clashed as they seek to expand territory and influence.

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American Soldier Killed in Afghanistan in Anti-ISIS Operation: US Military - NBCNews.com

The evenings are no longer mundane for the people of Afghanistan. For the last few days, in all the major cities and provinces, the roads go deserted post seven oclock.

Even if you come across a few people roaming around in the streets of Kabul, Kandahar or Jalalabad, be sure they are heading to sports cafes.

And all this, just to watch their local boy Rashid Khan in the Indian Premier League (IPL)!

When the rookie leg-spinner was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping Rs. 4 crore in the IPL auction in February, the cricket fraternity had its eyebrows raised over the inclusion of a rather unknown cricketer. That too, from an associate nation like Afghanistan!

But two games into the tournament, the IPL seems to have found its latest sensation in Rashid, who is making all heads turn with his sensational performance for the Sunrisers.

After scalping two wickets in the opening game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the 18-year-old Afghan continued his golden run, picking up three wickets against the Gujarat Lions on Sunday. And, it was riding on his spell that the Sunrisers tamed the Lions. I wanted to try him (Rashid) in the first six, and he said give me the ball. Hes a superstar in the making, adds great dynamics to our team, is how Sunrisers skipper David Warner describes the Afghan after Sundays game.

While the Aussie has already found a new superstar in Rashid, Afghanistans national coach Lalchand Rajput, too, admits that Rashid has the potential to be a superstar. He is not intimidated by the batsmen. He is someone, who is never afraid to take chances. In both the games in the IPL, he has proven that he is meant for bigger things, Rajput, who plays a key role in honing Rashids skills, tells Sportstar.

While his team-mates in Afghanistan call Rashid a down-to-earth young cricketer, Rajput believes that its his sharpness that works well for the spinner. Thats his biggest USP. Like a genuine good bowler, he provokes the batsmen to fall into his trap, Rajput says, adding that this smart approach will help Rashid go a long way. He is just two matches old in the IPL, but you cant make that out from his expressions. You wouldnt expect a newcomer to challenge senior batsmen, but Rashid has done that perfectly. It seems, he has been playing IPL for years now, Rajput adds.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Shafiq Stanikzai, who played a key hand in Rashids international debut, feels that the IPL will not only help the youngster improve his game, but will also give him a new identity. He (Rashid) is already a star in Afghanistan, and with such a performance in the IPL, he has only raised the bar, Stanikzai says.

The CEO still remembers that evening of 2015, when the then chief selector Dawlat Ahmadzai convinced him to allow a young Rashid to travel to Zimbabwe. The team was touring Zimbabwe then, and had lost the first game miserably. Thats when, Dawlat bhai suggested that Rashid be sent to Zimbabwe, Stanikzai recollects.

It took Stanikzai 15 minutes to give an approval, and Rashid was on his way to Zimbabwe the next day. He played the next match, and we won. He has always been a game-changer, Stanikzai adds.

While Sunrisers skipper Warner is excited with Rashids form, he admits that the absence of Bangladesh speedster Mustafizur Rahman has done a piece of good to the Afghan. With Fizz (Mustafizur) unavailable, Rashid has stepped up and filled the gap, Warner admits.

And, Rajput who was the coach of the Virat Kohli-led India U-19 team that won the World Cup in 2008 feels that a strong mindset has helped Rashid. He is a big fighter, and that is a big plus for him. I have seen talents like Sachin (Tendulkar) and Virat from close quarters, and Rashid also has that potential, the senior coach points out.

The Afghan Board, however, isnt planning any special coaching programme for Rashid. After the IPL, the players will travel to the West Indies for a series, and after that, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid will be participating in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for the first time. We have a busy schedule, and Rashid will definitely learn a lot from the international leagues, Stanikzai hopes.

Some of the Australian franchises are keen on having Rashid on board for the BBL. We too want the deal to work out, Stanikzai says.

From just another rookie talent to grabbing the headlines life has been quite exciting for the youngster. And, as the IPL slowly moves into the crucial phase, Rashid will hope to make this summer the one to remember.

After all, its not everyday that you get noticed!

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Rashid's IPL exploits bring Afghanistan to a standstill - Sportstarlive

"We're calling (Russia and Iran) out," Haley told "State of the Union" anchor Jake Tapper. "But I don't think anything is off the table at this point. I think what you're going to see is strong leadership. You're going to continue to see the United States act when we need to act."

Haley's comments came after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told lawmakers he would look into stepping up sanctions on both countries, whose leadership supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who US officials say is responsible for a chemical weapons attack against civilians last week.

But the Russians are denying that Assad had anything to do with the chemical attack. A spokesman for the Russian defense ministry said the US had no proof of chemical weapons at the air base.

Haley disagreed, telling Tapper that the US government has evidence.

"What we've seen is, you know, in our meetings this week, we were told of the evidence," she said. "We saw the evidence. The President saw the evidence. All of that is naturally classified. And I'm sure when they can declassify that, they will."

"I was trying to give warning and notice to the members of the Security Council and the international community that (Trump) won't stop here," she said Sunday, adding. "If he needs to do more, he will do more."

"Yes, that will part of the discussions when I visit Moscow next week is to call upon Foreign Minister (Sergey) Lavrov and the Russian government to fulfill the obligation it made to the international community when it agreed to be the guarantor of the elimination of the chemical weapons," he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week." "And why Russia has not been able to achieve that is unclear to me. I don't draw conclusions of complicity at all, but clearly they've been incompetent and perhaps they've just simply been out-maneuvered by the Syrians."

Haley echoed his comments in somewhat harsher tones on "State of the Union." Asked whether she thought Russia was trying to help Assad cover up the use of chemical weapons, Haley said either Moscow knew Assad had weapons that would be used or they were "played for fools by Assad and kept in the dark."

"So they now have to answer for this," she said. "How can they with a straight face cover for Assad, because if they're covering for Assad, then what are they really saying? They're saying by covering for Assad that they knew that it was there, or they were incompetent by having chemical weapons there in the first place.

"There's a lot of answers that need to come from Russia," Haley said, adding that she thought some of those answers would come during Tillerson's meeting in Moscow.

"When the Trump administration uses the words regime change, they are talking about a military effort to remove Assad," Markey told Tapper. "And that would mean putting American young men and women on the ground in battlefield conditions in order to accomplish that goal. I don't think there's any appetite in the United States for a massive additional military presence."

Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, said Sunday that he saw the situation as a "great opportunity" for Russia.

"Well this is part of the problem in Syria, is Russia's sponsorship of this murderous regime," McMaster said on "Fox News Sunday." "And so we would want to appeal rationally to Russia -- this is a great opportunity for the Russia leadership to re-evalute what they're doing. Why they're supporting a regime that commits mass murder against its own people."

Meanwhile, Syrian state media reported Sunday that Russia and Iran are drawing red lines after the US strike.

"We will respond strongly to any aggression on Syria," the two Syrian allies said in a joint statement that flashed in a banner on Syrian state television. "Russia and Iran will not allow America to dominate the world."

The Kremlin also issued a statement Sunday on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's discussion of the situation in Syria by phone. They said the US actions against a sovereign state violatied international law and called for an objective, unbiased investigation of all the circumstances of the chemical weapons incident, the statement said.

"Here's what I think Assad's telling Trump by flying from this base: 'FU,'" Graham said.

Graham called that a "serious mistake."

"[I]f you're an adversary of the United States, and you don't worry about what Trump may do on any given day, then you're crazy," he said.

CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali and Merieme Arif in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Excerpt from:
Haley on Russia and Iran: 'I don't think anything is off the table' - CNN

Usually in the weeks before Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, downtown Tehran is jammed with traffic as shoppers pick up gifts in the brightly lighted shops surrounding the British and German embassies.

But this year, the streets were noticeably quieter, the popular clothing and home appliance stores reporting much less business around the holiday in March.

Compared to last year, our sales were down at least 10%, said Mehdi Mosavi, 27, standing idle in his fathers menswear shop. In fact, in the past five years our sales have been plunging.

The ongoing financial crunch in Iran, always the No. 1 topic on many Tehran residents minds, has taken on added significance ahead of next months presidential election, a test of voters support for President Hassan Rouhanis efforts to stabilize an economy battered by international sanctions and official mismanagement.

Moderates and reform-minded Iranians, who back Rouhanis reelection, argue that macroeconomic trends have improved and that inflation has dropped from stratospheric levels since he took office in 2013.

Bringing down 44% inflation to less than 8% in less than four years is an economic miracle, Majid Ansari, the vice president for legal affairs, said recently.

But conservatives who oppose the president argue that ordinary Iranians have seen their purchasing power drop. They find plenty of evidence among city dwellers, who make up 70% of Irans 80 million-plus population and report a slack job market and significantly less spending on nonessential items.

Ali Rezavand, who owns a barbershop near Tehran University, said clients who used to come for haircuts every two weeks now wait six to seven weeks between visits.

Haircuts are like sunglasses it is an elastic good, not a staple, said Rezavand, 40. I can tell you that my income has been diminishing year in and year out.

Mohammad Moradi, a 23-year-old working behind the counter at a small grocery, said he has lost nearly a third of his business.

People simply cannot afford to buy anything but their staple foods, said Moradi, cracking open sunflower seeds in his empty shop. When it comes to ice cream or biscuits, or anything to eat for fun, they think twice.

The Nowruz holiday served as a moment of stock-taking as the Persian calendar year drew to a close and campaigning for the May 19 election heated up.

Although most international sanctions against Iran were lifted more than a year ago, after Rouhanis government agreed to curbs on its nuclear program, some unilateral U.S. restrictions remain and have hampered economic recovery.

Conservatives seeking to unseat Rouhani, a relative moderate who has tried to patch up relations with the West, have mounted a political offensive, saying the president misled Iranians into believing the nuclear deal would bring economic relief.

Even conservative former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has joined the anti-Rouhani chorus. Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has told him not to run again, so the rabble-rousing Ahmadinejad is instead backing the candidacy of his former vice president, Hamid Baghaei, who served seven months in jail on corruption charges.

A populist who retains a following among working-class Iranians, Ahmadinejad has called on Rouhani to restore cash payments to civilians that the president discontinued because they contributed to runaway inflation.

At a recent news conference in Tehran, his first in years, Ahmadinejad rattled off a list of economic problems he ascribed to the current administration.

Our people are suffering from soaring prices, severe diminishing of purchasing power, unprecedented weakness in [factory] production, a widening gap between the haves and have-nots, widespread corruption and discrimination, unemployment and a reduction of social capital, Ahmadinejad said, accusing the government of manipulating figures.

Sayyid Laylaz, an economist close to the reformist camp, said Ahmadinejads policies were so detrimental to Irans economy that remedial measures will take four or five years.

Under Rouhani, Iran has all but ended costly gasoline imports and increased sales of Persian carpets to the U.S. and other countries, Laylaz said.

If people are patient, purchasing power will return to what it was more than 12 years ago, before President Ahmadinejad came into office, he said.

Rouhani remains popular, especially in urban areas, and the fractious conservatives have yet to coalesce around a challenger. Although the hard-line Guardian Council has the final say on the slate of candidates, many analysts believe Khamenei will support Rouhanis candidacy in order to preserve continuity amid growing tensions with the Trump administration.

But the economy will remain the key issue in the campaign.

Ali Amiri, a retired primary school principal who now sells imported cars, said his income has dropped by more than 50% as more Iranians opt to lease domestic vehicles. Luxury car sales have all but dried up, the 60-year-old said, and some of his remaining customers have tried to cheat him.

I have survived two heart attacks because of my clients bounced checks, he said, joking.

Special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran and Times staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia

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