Pentagon chief orders review of US withdrawal from Afghanistan
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Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Afghan Taliban deny role in disappearance of US citizen
Afghanistan's Taliban authorities on Thursday denied involvement in the disappearance of a US citizen in Kabul, after Washington announced a $5 million reward for information on his whereabouts. Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked for a telecommunications firm, was abducted along with his driver in the Afghan capital in 2022, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI notice from 2024 said it was 'believed that Mr. Habibi was taken by Taliban military or security forces.' The US State Department last month said it was 'offering a reward of up to $5 million for certain information leading to the location, recovery, and safe return' of Habibi, directly accusing the Taliban authorities' intelligence unit for his disappearance. The Taliban authorities on Thursday said they were investigating 'a petition' made by Habibi's family, describing him as an null "Afghan citizen' only. 'No evidence has been uncovered indicating that he has been detained by any entity affiliated with the Islamic Emirate,' government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, using the Taliban authorities' name for their administration. 'As a legitimate governing authority, the Islamic Emirate has no reason to detain or conceal any individual merely suspected of criminal activity.' Mujahid 'categorically' rejected the involvement of the General Directorate of Intelligence. The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, months after the US and NATO withdrew most of their forces from the country following a two-decade war against the then insurgent group. Their government has not been recognized by any country. A Taliban government spokesman did not immediately respond to request for details on the number of US citizens detained in Afghanistan. Multiple US citizens have been released from Taliban custody this year, however. In March, American woman Faye Hall was released after two months in prison after she was arrested for reportedly having an unauthorized drone. The British couple she was arrested with are still in detention. In January, the Taliban government released two Americans, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, for an Afghan detained in the United States in an exchange mediated by Qatar.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Ukraine Scrambling for Clarity as US Downplays Halt to Arms Shipments
US officials on Wednesday downplayed a White House announcement that Washington was pausing some weapons shipments to Ukraine, after the war-battered country was caught off-guard and appealed for clarity. Ukraine is contending with some of Russia's largest missile and drone attacks of the three-year war, and a halt to the provision of munitions -- especially for air defense -- would be a significant blow to Kyiv. "The Department of Defense continues to provide the president with robust options regarding military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told journalists Wednesday. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce meanwhile told reporters that "this is not a cessation of us assisting Ukraine or of providing weapons. This is one event, and one situation, and we'll discuss what else comes up in the future." The White House had said Tuesday that it is halting some key weapons shipments to Ukraine that were promised under the Biden administration, without providing details on which weapons programs were affected, said AFP. It said the decision was taken after a review of US defense needs and of its military assistance to foreign countries. Moscow reveled in the decision, saying that it could bring the end of the war closer. Politico and other US media reported that missiles for Patriot air defense systems, precision artillery and Hellfire missiles are among the items being held back. But the State Department's Bruce said Wednesday that "the president has also indicated his remaining commitment regarding Patriot missiles," Bruce said, referring to an air defense system that has played a key role in defending against Russian attacks. Kyiv has long feared halts to US aid after Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, having criticized the tens of billions of dollars in support and weapons sent by his predecessor, Joe Biden. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening address that Kyiv and Washington were clarifying details on supplies. "Continued American support for Ukraine, for our defense, for our people is in our common interest," he said. The Ukrainian foreign ministry summoned John Ginkel, the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Kyiv, in a rare diplomatic move that is usually reserved for foes and rivals, not vital allies, indicative of the uncertainty about what the cuts would mean for Kyiv. Under Biden, Washington spearheaded Western support for Ukraine, with Congress having approved more than $100 billion in aid, including $43 billion in weaponry. Trump instead has pushed the two sides into peace talks, including in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- who rejected pleas for a ceasefire and demanded that Ukraine cede more territory if it wants Moscow to halt its invasion, which was launched in 2022. 'Consistent pressure' Trump has refused to announce new aid packages and Kyiv has been corralling Washington's European allies to step up their support. Kyiv remains "seriously dependent" on US arms supplies, a high-ranking source in the Ukrainian military told AFP. "Europe is doing its best, but it will be difficult for us without American ammunition," the source added. A May report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that Europe "had only made limited progress" in strengthening its defense industries. But it said that "continued US aid remains extremely important for Ukraine's long-term effectiveness on the battlefield." In Moscow, the Kremlin said that reducing weapons deliveries to Kyiv would help end the conflict. "The fewer the number of weapons that are delivered to Ukraine, the closer the end of the special military operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to a question by AFP, using Russia's term for its more than three-year-long offensive. Escalating drone attacks Russia ramped up attacks on Ukraine in June, launching nearly twice as many missiles and more than 30 percent more drones than in May, according to an AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force data. Kyiv was in June subjected to at least four fatal attacks that left more than 40 people dead. Its residents are worried that a cessation of US aid would leave the capital even more vulnerable. "We had gotten used to seeing America as a country of values, a country that defends democracy," Igor Stambol, a Kyiv resident, told AFP. "But there is hope that they will remember their values," the 36-year-old added.
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Afghan refugees stuck in Pakistan as Germany halts entry program
BERLIN/ISLAMABAD: In a cramped guesthouse in Pakistan's capital, 25-year-old Kimia spends her days sketching women — dancing, playing, resisting — in a notebook that holds what's left of her hopes. A visual artist and women's rights advocate, she fled Afghanistan in 2024 after being accepted on to a German humanitarian admission program aimed at Afghans considered at risk under the Taliban. A year later, Kimia is stuck in limbo. Thousands of kilometers away in Germany, an election in February where migration dominated public debate and a change of government in May resulted in the gradual suspension of the program. Now the new center-right coalition intends to close it. The situation echoes that of nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared to settle in the United States, but who then found themselves in limbo in January after US President Donald Trump took office and suspended refugee programs. Kimia's interview at the German embassy which she hoped would result in a flight to the country and the right to live there, was abruptly canceled in April. Meanwhile, Germany pays for her room, meals and medical care in Islamabad. 'All my life comes down to this interview,' she told Reuters. She gave only her artist name for fear of reprisal. 'We just want to find a place that is calm and safe,' she said of herself and the other women at the guesthouse. The admission program began in October 2022, intending to bring up to 1,000 Afghans per month to Germany who were deemed at risk because of their work in human rights, justice, politics or education, or due to their gender, religion or sexual orientation. However, fewer than 1,600 arrived in over two years due to holdups and the cancelation of flights. Today, around 2,400 Afghans are waiting to travel to Germany, the German foreign ministry said. Whether they will is unclear. NGOs say 17,000 more are in the early stages of selection and application under the now dormant scheme. The foreign ministry said entry to Germany through the program was suspended pending a government review, and the government will continue to care for and house those already in the program. It did not answer Reuters' questions on the number of canceled interviews, or how long the suspension would last. Reuters spoke with eight Afghans living in Pakistan and Germany, migration lawyers and advocacy groups, who described the fate of the program as part of a broader curb on Afghan asylum claims in Germany and an assumption that Sunni men in particular are not at risk under the Taliban. The German government says there is no specific policy of reducing the number of Afghan migrants. However, approval rates for Afghan asylum applicants dropped to 52 percent in early 2025, down from 74 percent in 2024, according to the Federal Migration Office (BAMF). POLITICAL SHIFT Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021. Since May 2021 Germany has admitted about 36,500 vulnerable Afghans by various pathways including former local staff, the government said. Thorsten Frei, chief of staff to Germany's new chancellor Friedrich Merz, said humanitarian migration has now reached levels that 'exceed the integration capacity of society.' 'As long as we have irregular and illegal migration to Germany, we simply cannot implement voluntary admission programs.' The interior ministry said programs like the one for Afghans will be phased out and they are reviewing how to do so. Several Afghans are suing the government over the suspension. Matthias Lehnert, a lawyer representing them, said Germany could not simply suspend their admissions without certain conditions such as the person no longer being at risk. Since former chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germany's borders in 2015 to over a million refugees, public sentiment has shifted, partly as a result of several deadly attacks by asylum seekers. The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), capitalizing on the anti-migrant sentiment, surged to a historic second-place finish in February's election. Afghans Reuters spoke with said they feared they were being unfairly associated with the perpetrators, and this was putting their own lives at risk if they had to return to Afghanistan. 'I'm so sorry about those people who are injured or killed ... but it's not our fault,' Kimia said. Afghan Mohammad Mojib Razayee, 30, flew to Germany from Cyprus in March under a European Union voluntary solidarity mechanism, after a year of waiting with 100 other refugees. He said he was at risk after criticizing the Taliban. Two weeks after seeking asylum in Berlin, his application was rejected. He was shocked at the ruling. BAMF found no special protection needs in his case, a spokesperson said. 'It's absurd — but not surprising. The decision-making process is simply about luck, good or bad,' said Nicolas Chevreux, a legal adviser with AWO counseling center in Berlin. Chevreux said he believes Afghan asylum cases have been handled differently since mid-2024, after a mass stabbing at a rally in the city of Mannheim, in which six people were injured and a police officer was killed. An Afghan asylum seeker was charged and is awaiting trial. 'YOU DON'T LIVE' Spending most days in her room, surrounded by English and German textbooks, Kimia says returning to Afghanistan is unthinkable. Her art could make her a target. 'If I go back, I can't follow my dreams — I can't work, I can't study. It's like you just breathe, but you don't live.' Under Taliban rule, women are banned from most public life, face harassment by morality police if unaccompanied by a male guardian, and must follow strict dress codes, including face coverings. When security forces raided homes, Kimia said, she would frantically hide her artwork. The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and local culture and that they are not targeting former foes. Hasseina, is a 35-year-old journalist and women's rights activist from Kabul who fled to Pakistan and was accepted as an applicant on to the German program. Divorced and under threat from both the Taliban and her ex-husband's family, who she says have threatened to kill her and take her daughter, she said returning is not an option. The women are particularly alarmed as Pakistan is intensifying efforts to forcibly return Afghans. The country says its crackdown targets all undocumented foreigners for security reasons. Pakistan's foreign ministry did not respond to request for comment on how this affects Afghans awaiting German approval. The German foreign ministry has said it is aware of two families promised admission to Germany who were detained for deportation, and it was working with Pakistan authorities to stop this. Marina, 25, fled Afghanistan after being separated from her family. Her mother, a human rights lawyer, was able to get to Germany. Marina has been waiting in Pakistan to follow her for nearly two years with her baby. 'My life is stuck, I want to go to Germany, I want to work, I want to contribute. Here I am feeling so useless,' she said.
