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PESHAWAR: Abdul Latif Pedram, a prominent Afghan lawmaker and the head of the National Congress Party, is facing backlash after he called for the recognition of the Durand Line as an official border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On Sunday, Pedram told reporters in Kabul, I once again announce that the Line is an international border and Afghanistan and Pakistan should respect each other and respect the border of each other and refrain from interfering in internal affairs of each other, he was quoted as saying by the Voice of Americas Afghan service.

Pedram is also the leader of Afghanistans Tajik ethnic group.

Shortly after his statement, the Afghan senate witnessed a heated debated. This is not acceptable to the people of Afghanistan. That side of the Line is our land and it belongs to us, said senate speaker Fazel Hadi Muslimyar, as quoted by Tolo News, if anyone has any kind of imagination in this respect, it is unacceptable.

There is not a single Pashtoon in Pedrams party - this coward man, said another senator.

The Durand Line, which runs over 2,000 km between Pakistan and Afghanistan, was first drawn up in 1893 under British colonial rule. Afghanistan disputes the legitimacy of much of the border.

Last month, Pakistan announced that it would be fencing off this northwestern border to prevent the infiltration of terrorists and smugglers from crossing over. Work on the barrier has already begun in the Bajaur and Mohmand districts of Pakistans federally administered tribal areas.

Pedram is under immense pressure, said Meelad, a Kabul-based freelance journalist, Everyone in Afghanistan is demanding for him to take his statement back. It is a matter of serious discomfort here.

Calls for a recognised border are in stark contrast to the popular opinion amongst lawmakers in Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai, the countrys former president, echoed the sentiment last month when he said Afghanistan would never accept the Durand Line as an international border. His statement was in response to Pakistan unilaterally closing the two main border crossings for 32 days, after a blitz of bombings in the country, which were traced back to militants in Afghanistan. Pakistans Prime Minister later reopened the Pak-Afghan border as a gesture of goodwill.

See the article here:
Durand line comment sparks uproar in Afghanistan - Geo News, Pakistan

A defence official said Mattis and Doval talked about China and there were a number of concerns with respect to Pakistan...counter-terrorism, nuclear weapons.

Presence of terror safe havens in Pakistan, aggressive Chinese behaviour and the Afghanistan situation dominated last months meeting between US Defence Secretary Gen (retd) James Mattis and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, according to an American defence official.

They talked a lot about China...the concern about China sometimes bullying some of its neighbours in the region. There was concern about that, a US defence official told PTI about the Mattis-Doval meeting at the Pentagon on March 24.

This was the highest-level interaction of Mattis with a top Indian official after becoming the Defence Secretary.

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China is also very important to the US with regard to the North Korea situation, said the defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan and Afghanistan were the two major topics of discussion between the two leaders, the official said.

They talked about Pakistan, the official said, adding that Doval talked more on the issue than Mattis.

There was not a whole lot specifics. We have a number of concerns with respect to Pakistan...counter-terrorism, nuclear weapons. They talked a little bit about that. It is obviously a concern of Indias and it is an important player in the region and the world, the defence official said.

The US would like to see Pakistan in a situation with it where they can have a productive relationship, the official said.

They talked a lot about Afghanistan...and the need to try to get it...just finish it (the war). It has been going on (for) too long, the defence official said.

The official explained that this meant finish the operations and leave (Afghanistan) in a stable state.

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While successive US administrations have praised Indias developmental assistance in Afghanistan, some recent media reports both in India and the US have referred to Trump Administrations desire of enhanced military role of India in the war-torn country.

The official said he did not recall any such conversation during the Pentagon meeting.

Reflecting on the meeting, the official said the Defence Secretary is very keen on India.

Mattis recognises the important role that it plays in the region and the world and Its unique position vis-a-vis Pakistan, vis-a-vis China, said the defence official.

Secretary Mattis wants to have a solid defence relationship with India, the official said.

The Secretary was interested in listening from the NSA what Indias perspective was on most of these issues, both regional and global.

I think, the NSA probably did most of the talking. It bodes well for the future. I think, he (Mattis) wants to have a solid defence relationship with India, the official said in response to a question.

Doval made a quite visit to the United States for a few days around March 20, during which he also met the Homeland Security Secretary Gen (retd) John Kelly and US National Security Advisor Lt Gen H R McMaster.

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Pakistan, China, Afghanistan dominated Mattis-Doval meet: US official - Hindustan Times

Taliban forces in Afghanistan plan to extend their control of provinces in which they already have a heavy presence in the upcoming spring offensive, a spokesman told the German dpa news agency in an interview.

Zabihullah Mujahid on April 3 said the militants will press their advantage during the campaign in the provinces of Helmand and Oruzgan in the south, Farah and Faryab in the west, and Sar-e Pul and Kunduz in the north.

U.S. military officials say the Western-backed government in Kabul controls less than 60 percent of the country.

Mujahid said the Taliban will form provincial commands instead of having units operating across several provinces as part of a new strategy.

He said the Taliban will focus on capturing provincial capitals.

Meanwhile, Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told dpa that Afghan forces will focus on pushing insurgents out of their strongholds.

Part of that effort will include increasing the strength of the armys elite special forces. He said the force should be doubled in size by 2020.

Top U.S. military commanders have said the war against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan has ground to a stalemate.

Some 8,400 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan since most NATO forces withdrew in 2014, leaving security mainly to Afghan forces.

See more here:
Taliban Sets Out Spring Offensive Battle Strategy In Afghanistan - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

Yahoo7 News on April 4, 2017, 9:53 pm

A top level investigation is underway after a young Adelaide woman serving in Afghanistan tried to take her own life, blaming bullying within the defence force.

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In a case similar to that of a local police sergeant last month, her cry for help was posted on Facebook.

The bombshell message was posted just before 7.30pm on Friday along with an image from a popular young medic from Adelaide.

"I have been shunned. Made to feel less than human, a burden, the message continued.

"To the Australian headquarters in Afghanistan you need to rethink, you are failing them."

The emotional post sparked a frantic race against time to save her and assistance seems to have arrived just in time.

The young woman was flown to the intensive care unit of a German hospital, where she remains.

A rapid response organisation helping prevent veteran suicides was part of the rescue effort.

"Weve responded to over 100 incidents in the past six months. We often work with veterans who are placed internationally.

Late on Tuesday the Defence Department issued a statement saying its providing support to the woman in Landsthuhl, Germany and her family.

It says all factors of the incident are under investigation.

Last month, Ashley Meek, a west coast police officer and defence force member took his life, blasting both organisations on social media minutes beforehand.

His deaths also under investigation.

Hell be remembered at a memorial service at the Penong Hotel on Sunday.

See the rest here:
Top level investigation after Adelaide woman's Afghanistan suicide attempt - Yahoo7 News

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More specifically, the trio was charged with insulting the Prophet and insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran with text messages, per the UKDaily Mail.Evidently, insulting the Supreme Leader only gets you 16 months in jail but insulting Mohammed is a capital offense. The Center for Human Rights in Iran notes that if a person accused of insulting Mohammed claims his words were due to anger or a mistake, the court can reduce the sentence to 74 lashes instead of death.

Dehghan was sentenced to death, even though the CHRI says he was told he would receive a pardon if he confessed to his crimes and repented of his actions. The Center notes he only had four days remaining in his military service at the time of his arrest.

Asource told the CHRI:

Security and judicial authorities promised Sinas family that if they didnt make any noise about his case, he would have a better chance of being freed, and that talking about it to the media would work against him. Unfortunately, the family believed those words and stopped sharing information about his case and discouraged others from sharing it as well.

One of his co-defendants was given a seven-year prison sentence reduced to three years on appeal, while the other, Mohammad Nouri, has also been sentenced to death.

According to the UKIndependent,the exact content of the messages sent by the three defendants on the Line messaging application has not been made public.

Dehghan has been held in the notorious Arak prison where a source told the CHRI he is suffering from depression and often cries. The source also said Dehghan is held in a ward with drug convicts and murderers who broke his jaw a while ago.

He is running out of options to escape the death sentence, which was upheld by the Iranian Supreme Court in January. In an interview on March 28th, Dehghans lawyer said a request for judicial review of his sentence has been filed.

AccordingtoSinaslawyer, steps have been taken for a judicial review, and with the good news were hearing from him, God willing this case will come to end positively as soon as possible, said Dehghans mother.

However, another human-rights organization called Article 19 has complained Dehghans court-appointed lawyer failed to adequately defend him at trial.

Article 19 said the case demonstrates how Iranians are at the mercy of a system where forced confessions, false promises, and threats to family members undermine not only national judicial processes but the international standards Iran has signed up to.

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Iran Sentences 21-Year-Old to Death for 'Insulting the Prophet' Online - Breitbart News