“ “

Jacques Chirac

Volume Num. 4614 Saturday May 29, 2021 Jawza 08, 1400 www.Outlookafghanistan.net Price: 20/afs

www.outlookafghanistan.net@The.Daily.Outlook.AfghanistanOutlookafghanistan@gmail.com0093 799-005019/ 777-005019In front of Habibia High School,District 6, Kabul, AfghanistanQ

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ayTerrorism

Terrorism has become the systematic weapon of a war that knows no

borders or seldom has a face.

Pakistan, Uzbekistan Exchange Goods Through Afghanistan for The First Time

US ‘Rapidly’ Planning to Evacuate Afghan Interpreters: Milley

Defense Chief: US Pullout from Afghanistan ‘Slightly’ Ahead

Tehran, Kabul Discuss Multisided

Mutual Cooperation Milley said a “significant” number of interpreters and other employees could be targeted by Taliban mili-tants.According to reports, as many as 18,000 Afghans have applied for US visas to immigrate to the US under a special programme.But the scheme has been hit by de-lays, with applicants waiting for years.“We recognise that there are a signif-icant amount of Afghans that sup-ported the United States and sup-ported the coalition, and that they could be at risk,” Gen Milley said in remarks ...

President Joe Biden has ordered a full U.S. troop withdrawal by Sept. 11. Austin did not say when it may be complete.Austin said at a House Appropria-tions subcommittee hearing that the Defense Department’s proposed $715 billion budget will include money to help the military develop the capabilities to prevent attacks against the United States by terror-ist groups in Afghanistan.With the budget set to be released Friday, Austin provided few spending specifics to committee members asking about vari-ous priorities. ...

TEHRAN - Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for International and Legal Affairs Mohsen Baha-rvand and Afghanistan’s Deputy Foreign Minis-ter Meerwais Nab in a phone call reviewed coop-eration in various fields.Baharvand and Nab discussed regional issues and cooperation between the two countries.Nab lauded Iran’s support for the success of the Afghan peace talks.The two diplomats examined the Comprehen-sive Iran-Afghanistan Cooperation Agreement, holding the sixth meeting of the Joint Commis-sion on Economic-Trade Cooperation and major bilateral cooperation projects.In relevant remarks in early May, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman said his country is doing its best to maintain peace and stability in the neighborly and brotherly country of Af-ghanistan. ...

KABUL - The United States is “rap-idly” making plans to evacuate Afghan interpreters who worked for the US military, US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen Mark Milley has said.

WASHINGTON — Defense Sec-retary Lloyd Austin told Congress on Thursday that America’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan is “slightly” ahead of schedule, but he provided no details.

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KABUL - Deputy and Acting Foreign Minister Mirwais Nab met with Head of the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran (PAI) De-vision of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India Mr. JP Singh, to discuss the lat-est developments in the Afghan peace process, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.Both the leaders exchanged views on the new chapter of co-operation between Afghanistan

and the international communi-ty, as well as further strengthen-ing cooperation between the two countries. Expressing solidarity of the people and government of Afghanistan with India in its fight against Covid, Mr. Nab ap-preciated India ‘s comprehen-sive cooperation and efforts to ensure lasting peace in Afghani-stan. Mr. Nab also spoke about the latest developments in the Afghan peace process and the beginning of a new chapter in

security, political and develop-ment cooperation between Af-ghanistan and the international community and stressed the importance of continuation of India’s cooperation along with the international community’s support to peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. Mr. Singh high-lighted the purpose of his visit to Kabul and his meetings with the Afghan officials. The Indian del-egation, while emphasizing the importance of peace and pros-

perity in Afghanistan for the re-gion, assured Mr. Nab of India’s continued cooperation and sup-port to Afghanistan. Both sides discussed the latest develop-ments in the Afghan peace talks, the implementation of trade, transport and regional connec-tivity projects in trilateral frame-work, and stressed the need for the commencement of working groups within the framework of the Afghanistan-India Strategic Partnership. (Pajhwok)

Egypt’s Grand Mufti’s Fatwa on Peace, Security

in Afghanistan

A French Company to Print 390mn Afghani

Banknotes for Afghanistan

KABUL - The Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs (MoHRA) on Thursday said the grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Ibra-him Abdel-KarimAllam, has

The Afghan National Procure-ment Authority has announced that the French company, Abir-tour Fischer, will print 390 mil-lion Afghanis new bank notes

declared a detailed fatwa about peace and security in Afghani-stan at the request of the Af-ghan government.A statement from MoHRA re-ceived by Pajhwok Afghan News quoted the grand Mufti as declaring that peace, one of important principles of Islam, was paid less attention in Af-ghanistan. “Even the word Is-lam means peace,” he added.Allam in his fatwa said that there were many rules men-tioned in Islam for the protection of ...

for Afghanistan in the next nine months.Ahmadramin Ayaz, a spokes-man for the National Procure-ment Authority, said that a contract for the printing of these banknotes had recently been signed between Abirtour Fischer and the Afghan govern-ment.Ayaz added that the contract for printing 390 million new banknotes was worth $15.15 million.According to him, ...

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A Pakistani cargo truck transported medicine from Karachi to Tashkent, Uzbekistan through Kabul earlier this month. The cargo took back a shipment of leather products from Tashkent to Pakistan’s city of Faisalabad on May 13.This marked a major milestone for regional eco-nomic integration as Pakistan and Uzbekistan traded goods through Afghanistan for the first

time ever.Supported by the United States Agency for Inter-national Development (USAID), the shipment car-go is one of the five trial runs to test the feasibility of the various routes in the region. The USAID in collaboration with TCS Logistics (Pakistan), successfully launched the first pilot shipment to Central Asia under the Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) Convention, a customs agreement that facilitates the inter-national transport of goods.“The successful execution of the ...

India Reaffirms Commitment to Support Afghanistan

Page 2 May 29, 2021 Main Page

May 29, 2021 - A lot of activity could take place around home today. It could involve a number of visitors, or it could simply be a lot of work that needs doing. Either way, you might feel a bit frazzled, and the temptation to run away from it all might

be almost irresistible. Relax! There’s no need to stress out. Just do what needs to be done and enjoy the rest of the day.

May 29, 2021 - Today a number of chores around the home could have you feeling overwhelmed, Taurus. Family members might abandon you, leaving you disgruntled. Do the most pressing and leave the rest for when

they’re home! There might be a difference of opinion between you and your mate. Try to see both sides of the issue and circumvent any serious disagreements.

May 29, 2021 - Some minor but annoying communications could interrupt your routine today. You won’t appreciate the distraction, Gemini, but it’s best to take care of whatever it is and then go back to your tasks. You might have to spend part

of the day running errands. Traffic might have you frazzled. Spend the evening relaxing at home. You’ve worked hard and you deserve it!

Down

Across Yesterday’s Solution

1. “____ and crafts”, 2. Shopping place, 3. Smell, 4. Central area of a church, 5. Pieces of leg armor, 6. Traded, 7. A sharply directional antenna, 8. Not odd, 9. Is worthy of, 10. De-ductive, 11. Infantile paralysis, 12. Consumed, 13. Not barefoot, 21. Chart, 25. Bother, 26. Weightlifters pump this, 27. Exploded star, 28. Unwanted email, 29. Tools for star gazing, 30. Restaurant, 31. Contributes, 33. Rice beer, 34. Tiger Wood’s sport, 35. Puncture, 36. Rus-sian emperor, 38. Court cases, 41. Drunkard, 42. Early spring flower, 44. Hair goop, 45. A group of lions, 46. Alley, 47. Contagions, 48. Blockhead, 50. Raindrop sound, 51. Sister and wife of Zeus, 52. Meal in a shell, 53. Arab chieftain, 54. Anger, 55. Cheers

1. Betwixt, 6. Not the original color, 10. Mimics, 14. Radiolocation, 15. Overhang, 16. Ark builder, 17. Cache, 18. How old we are, 19. Countertenor, 20. Contour, 22. Misled, 23. Big wine holder, 24. A synthetic silklike fabric, 26. Arch of the foot, 30. Lifeboat crane, 32. Hemp cords, 33. Running light, 37. Egg-shaped, 38. Territories, 39. Murmurs, 40. People with the same name, 42. Kind of lily, 43. Seed spreader, 44. Tiger Woods is one, 45. Treaties, 47. Church bench, 48. Threesome, 49. Covering on a sofa, 56. Tuft, 57. Holly, 58. Female demon, 59. Doing nothing, 60. Ripped, 61. In a cold manner, 62. T T T T, 63. Resorts, 64. Stomata

Outlook Horoscope

Pisces (Feb.19-Mar.20)

Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb.18)

Capricorn (Dec.21-Jan19)

Scorpio (Oct.23-Nov.22)

Libra (Sep 23-Oct. 22)Cancer (June 21-July 20)

Sagittarius (Nov.23-Dec.20)

Leo (July 21-Aug. 21)Taurus (Apr.21-May 20)

Aries (Mar. 22-Apr.20)

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Virgo (Aug. 22-Sep 22 )

May 29, 2021 - Excessive food and drink could have you feeling rather sluggish and indifferent to everything. This can get in the way of your usual kindness and affection, but it shouldn’t. Get some rest,

take a stomach remedy, and get back to your old self! You might also be tempted to overspend at some point. Think about it first!

May 29, 2021 - Boredom and apathy could tempt you to run to the mall and spend a lot of money on luxuries. You might over-indulge in food and drink. This can make you feel better temporarily, Cancer, but

in the end all you will have is an empty wallet and a stomachache. Treat yourself, but don’t throw caution to the wind. This feeling will pass by tomorrow, and you don’t want to regret your day!

May 29, 2021 - Social events or group ac-tivities may prove draining today, as a lot of people might want to take advantage of your talents. Your kind, accommodat-ing nature might cause you to try to make

everyone happy, Libra, but this isn’t realistic. You might stress yourself to the point of not caring what gets done. Be discriminating about what you commit to doing.

May 29, 2021 - Today you might be with friends who want to go out on the town and spend money. Shopping, eating in fancy restaurants, or going to dance

clubs could be in their plans. This is fine, Capricorn, as long as you don’t get caught up in the excess. Find a happy medium between spending too much and acting like a party pooper.

May 29, 2021 - Excess is the word for today, Scorpio. You may feel overly op-timistic and enthusiastic about every-thing, and you could throw yourself into it all a bit too eagerly. You could take on

more than you can handle. There is the danger of tir-ing yourself out physically. You could also go the other way and become very lazy, not wanting to do much of anything. Remember, moderation is the best approach.

May 29, 2021 - Pressure and worries in-volving home and family could get in the way of your concentration today, Aquar-ius. There may have been a quarrel with a household member that weighs on

your mind. The best way to deal with this is to give yourself and everyone else time to cool down. Later you’re likely to find that it has all blown over.

May 29, 2021 - Organizing your office and paying bills are likely to be on your agenda today, Pisces. You could feel overwhelmed by the tasks, and

you might be tempted to put them off. It’s better to take it slowly until you get everything done. You don’t have to do them all at once. This should lessen the stress. Spend a quiet evening at home.

May 29, 2021 - News of unforeseen success could come your way today, leaving you reeling and breathless. You might feel a bit dazed, Virgo, like you don’t know what to

do with yourself. It might take a while to gather your-self. A lot of letters and phone calls may come your way, some routine, some congratulatory. You could write or call a number of your friends. Some errands may be necessary.

May 29, 2021 - Today you might feel a lit-tle depressed and apathetic, like you don’t care what happens right now. You might

try to get your mind off those feelings by spending money. This works, Sagittarius, but don’t spend any more than you have to. These feelings really have more to do with the past than the present. If old pain wells up, let it go. Tomorrow all will seem a lot better!

anticipation arena centerchasm conditional crude damage dinner dress expand federal grit groupguise hang heart horde lease local nightmare orchard races ranger remain require resist sadness scrap sense stand

KABUL - Haroon Hakimi has been appointed as Deputy Minister at the Ministry of In-formation, Culture, Youth and Tourism, according to a media report on Thursday.In this position, Haroon’s port-folio covers the culture and arts of the whole country of Afghan-istan, and he serves as the first deputy to the Minister. He be-gan his work there on May 10.Haroon received his Executive Master of Arts in National Se-curity Affairs from IWP in 2020, has just been appointed.He commented: “My goals are to preserve and protect the rich, diverse, and ancient heritage of the country, as this has been a crossroads of civilizations and a hub for the people for thou-sands of years.”He hoped to adjust the culture

KABUL - The Presidential Pal-ace (ARG) has announced that the list of members and the working framework of the High Council of Government has been finalized.According to ARG, the first meeting will be held in the near future and that the “structure and mechanism” of the council has also been finalized.In addition, Latif Mahmood, the president’s deputy spokesman said: “The agenda and proce-dure has been finalized.”But Mohammad Mohaqiq, the president’s security and politi-cal adviser, told Ariana News that despite disputes over the number of members and the decision-making authorities of the council, the body is not ex-

in keeping with the needs of the time, to encourage public sentiment for peace and against extremism by keeping alive people’s historical memory of the nation and their ancestors, and to enhance Afghan cultural diplomacy, as he has served in and studied that field for over a decade.“I will do my best to revive the arts of a country af-fected by decades ...

pected to be formed soon.“Disputes have complicated the situation a bit and it is not expected to be convened in the coming days. Also there are some objections regarding the council’s decision [authority],” Mohaqiq said.Mohaqiq also said a num-ber of people loyal to him in four provinces ...

Shia Clerics: Govt Failed to Prevent School Attack

Efforts Underway to Improve on Telecoms Services: ATRA

Afghans Returning from Iran May Spread Covid-19

Haroon Hakimi Appointed Deputy Cultural Affairs Minister

Mohaqiq Dispels Reports That New Govt High Council

Is Ready to Commence

KABUL - The Shia Ulema Council and families of the stu-dents who were killed in the attack on the Sayed al-Shuhada school in Kabul on May 8, ac-cused the Afghan government on Thursday of negligence in preventing the attack.They said that a security plan was shared with the Presiden-tial Palace, but no action was taken by the government.The Shia Ulema Council called on the government to identify the perpetrators behind the attack, refer them to the inter-national courts and investigate the fate of Shukria, a student who is still missing after the Kabul school attack.Fatima, 9, is a third grade stu-dent who lost her 19-year-old sister Fatima in the attack on the school.“Now that my sister is not here, I can’t sleep, I think that she will come back in the morn-ing,” she said. “The govern-ment security agencies should be directed to define more ef-fective and comprehensive se-curity measures,” said Ustad Fayaz, a spokesman for the Shia

KABUL - Officials of the Af-ghanistan Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ATRA) on Thursday marked World Telecommunication and Infor-mation Society Day and said that Afghanistan has witnessed great achievements in this sec-tor but that efforts are being made to roll out more ...

ZARANJ - Daily at least 1,000 Afghans return to Afghanistan from Iran, something that has increased the risk of Covid-19 spread in the country, an offi-cial in Nimroz province said on Thursday.The Refugees and Repatriation Department (RRD) of southern Nimorz province says there ...

Ulema Council.“I couldn’t find her wherever I went including hospitals, I also asked the government, but did not get a response,” said Abdul-lah, Shukria’s father.“Isn’t it a clear act of genocide? I swear upon God, it is a geno-cide. You call yourself a govern-ment, you claim to be statesmen, if they are part of your country, then respond to them,” said Mo-hammad Arif, the father of one of the victims.The attack on Sayed-ul-Shuhada High School in the west of Kabul left at least 87 students dead and 186 more wounded. Some of the survivors are still suffering from the psychological impact of the attack. (TOLO NEWS)

NATO Chief Says Afghan Forces Can Cope Alone

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BRUSSELS — NATO has helped provide security in Afghanistan for almost two decades but the government and armed forces in the conflict-torn country are strong enough to stand on their own feet without international troops to back them, the head of the military organization said Thursday.NATO took charge of security ef-forts in Afghanistan in 2003, two years after a U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban for harboring former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Fewer than 9,000 troops remain, including up to 3,500 US personnel, and they are scheduled to leave by Sept. 11 at the latest.“I think that the Afghans, they also realize that we have been there now for 20 years and we have invested heavily in blood and treasure in Afghanistan,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told The Associated Press, aboard a U.K. aircraft car-rier involved in wargames off the coast of Portugal.“Afghanistan has come a long way, both when it comes to building strong, capable security forces, but also when it comes to

social and economic progress. At some stage, it has to be the Af-ghans that take full responsibil-ity for peace and stability in their own country,” Stoltenberg said in an interview.But as NATO troops leave, much of the country stands as contest-ed ground. The government in Kabul holds hold sway in towns and cities, but the Taliban domi-nate the countryside. Some of the heaviest fighting this year took

place just this week, in Laghman province in the east.Stoltenberg said that NATO countries would continue to sup-port Afghanistan through civil-ian experts who will help to ad-vise government ministries, by funding the security forces and with support for slow-moving peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban.He said that NATO is also “look-ing into the possibility of provid-

ing some training out of country for the Afghan security forces, but no final decision has been taken.”U.S. military leaders are still grappling with how best to carry out President Joe Biden’s order to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by September while helping Afghan forces and monitoring the threat that prompted the U.S. in-vasion of the ...

tions and transactions, and assigns them a rating that combines Western-style credit scores with more expansive and intrusive reputational scores based on their public and private behavior. These ratings have real consequences for people’s access to em-ployment, finance, and social services, as well as their freedom to travel.Then there is the question of how governments should view and manage the private sector’s use of such tools and technologies. Policymakers must decide how to regulate immensely powerful digital platforms, and how to engage with large and small firms to stimulate innovation and drive inclusive growth.Although digital technologies are recent inventions, the question of how to balance government effectiveness and individual lib-erty is far older. In 1936, John Maynard Keynes noted that, “The authoritarian state systems of today seem to solve the problem of unemployment at the expense of efficiency and of freedom.” But, he added, “it may be possible by a right analysis of the problem, to cure the disease whilst preserving efficiency and freedom.”Meeting this challenge will require governments to adhere to four key principles. First, states must be responsive to citizens’ needs. In designing and delivering public services, they need to work outside-in, from the perspective of the people who use them, rather than inside-out, from public officials’ viewpoint. Countries like the Netherlands are doing this in areas such as social care. Second, the state must be inclusive, and balance the interests and needs of different groups of citizens. In designing social-security and employment laws, for example, governments must weigh the needs of employers against those of job seekers. This is the goal of Denmark’s “flexicurity” system, and of experi-ments with universal basic income schemes around the world.Third, states need to experiment. They should constantly test new initiatives in pilot programs to reduce the risk of failure, evaluate them, and then scale up the ones that work. The United Kingdom has done this in education and criminal justice through the Behavioural Insights Team and the What Works foundations. Fourth, states must be entrepreneurial. That means proactively engaging with new technologies and firms, regulating them in innovative ways, and cultivating them so that they flourish. Examples include the UK’s regula-tory sandbox approach to fostering the fintech and autonomous-vehicle sectors.With the world reeling from the pandemic and struggling to address complex systemic issues such as climate change, it is vital that we return to the fundamental question of politics: how a government should be. If we don’t ask it – and ask it often – we risk ending up with a government we would never choose.

Second, social mobility has been made very easy in such societ-ies. Social mobility basically means movement from one social class to another. For example, it has not been very difficult for a person taking birth in a lower class to work hard, develop the capability and move to the middle and even to upper class. There have been equal opportunities for almost all the members of the societies to excel in their lives and become rich. The reverse has been maintained as well, i.e. the people born in rich families but not working hard have been pushed to the lower strata. Social mobility has been able to provide some oxygen for the social setup to inhale so that it must keep on living.The societies like Afghanistan where the wealth has poured in without much accountability and weak check and balance sys-tem, the stratification has led to sufferings. The upper class in Afghanistan cannot be said to be in the form as it exists in an industrialized society. Rather, it includes the landlords, tribal heads and religious leaders. Both political and economic systems tend to revolve around these people who are in total control of entire wealth and its distribution. Further, it is also true that all these people do not seem to have the ability for what they are gifted.They, in pursuit of their own benefits, have only made the op-portunity of development favor themselves. The poor people of Afghanistan, who have been badly stricken by decades of wars, have only suffered the worst manifestations of poverty. There are millions who do not have the basic requirements of life and are compelled to live their lives in the remotest areas, without much support and attention. Food, cloth, shelter and other require-ments like education and security are non-existent for them. And at the same time, there are people who own properties worth millions of dollars. These are all the results of an intense stratifi-cation. The poor do not seem to be having many opportunities of improvements in their lives and that means that social mobility, which can provide oxygen to a stratified society does not exist, while the social injustice is on the rise. The law and order system, instead of treating everyone alike, has served the purpose of the upper-class alone. The current scenario if goes unchecked can bring further misery to Afghan society.

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind

The Challenges and Opportunities of Regional Economic Cooperation

in Afghanistan

Chairman / Editor-in-Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Email: outlookafghanistan@gmail.comPhone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019

www.outlookafghanistan.net

The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authers and do not reflect the views or opinions of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan.

Sajjad Aasim is a PhD scholar in International Relations. He canbe reached at sajjad.aasim@hotmail.co

Since the formation of the so-called democratic system in Af-ghanistan, after the downfall of Taliban, security is not the only

issue in the country, though most of the concentration has been given to it. There are many other social and economic issues that have crept within Afghan society and they have the capacity to eat out the roots of Afghan society slowly and gradually. Among these problems, the issue of growing stratification between the rich and the poor is the most frustrating one. It does not only point to the fact that there has been uneven development in the society, but also reveal the fact that most of the people of the society remain distant from the advantages and services that have been taken on their names. As a matter of fact, the differences seem to be intensifying and are affecting the society in so many negative ways. It has not been the stratification of a society in different classes that causes much trou-ble to a society rather it is that the stratification has become intense, which has caused the society to suffer or even suffocate.The aid and assistance that came to the country in the last 20 years for the development purposes do not seem to have benefited the needy people of the society rather they have been accumulated by certain authoritative people who use them for their own benefits and grandeur, which has further boldened the boundaries between the rich and poor classes. Though the stratification into rich and poor classes existed in Afghan society earlier as well, but it has changed its primitive shape; even in the urban regions the strati-fication is more like modern upper-class and lower-class division.In fact, the current economic system does not seem to be working and there are controversies regarding the future of the system. In fact, if studied closely, it can found that Afghanistan’s economic system is based on capitalist system, and this system has been working for so many countries; however, there are few pre-requi-sites that are maintained to a varying extent by these countries that have been helping the system to develop instead of facing a failure. First, it has been made sure that justice should be maintained in its true spirit, i.e. it must not favor only the upper class; rather the upper class itself should be treated by the law and order system in the same way as the other two classes; namely, lower, middle and upper classes. In simpler terms, social stratification has not been changed to social injustice.

For over a century, the size and role of the state has been a hotly debated issue, and

is so once again in the wake of COVID-19. Should governments involve themselves in ever more areas of social and commercial life, or does more government necessarily mean less freedom and more waste? On one side are libertarians, who regard governments as at best incompetent and inefficient, and at worst a threat to individual liberty. This is the intellectual tradition of Friedrich A. Hayek and Milton Friedman, and of political leaders like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.Ranged against them are statists, who think government is inher-ently benevolent and seek to expand its powers to influence society and the economy. This is the view of Fabian socialists and central planners, contemporary politicians such as US Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and European political parties like Greece’s Syriza, Italy’s Five Star Movement, and Spain’s Podemos.But today, new digital technologies and organizational structures can enable states to balance policy effectiveness with citizens’ free-dom. Governments can be both big and small, generous and fru-gal, and deeply involved in people’s lives while stopping short of meddlesome intrusion. This is particularly important during crises such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, when the state must play a crucial role. In the past two decades, the internet, social media, smartphones, and cheap computers and software have enabled private-sector firms to do more with less, thereby upending entire sectors from media and music to retail and travel. That revolution is now coming to the state. Governments around the world increas-ingly have access to technologies – as well as to accompanying or-ganizational models such as delivery skunkworks, policy labs, and behavioral-insights units – that profoundly alter the potential scale and scope of what they can achieve. For good or ill, policymakers can now build a vast state apparatus quickly and at low cost.These developments have three major implications for how the state functions. For starters, governments can potentially deliver services better, faster, and at lower cost. If Amazon, Google, and Facebook can harness big data to provide a huge number of cus-tomers with a seamless and efficient experience, while relentlessly seeking to improve it, surely governments can do the same for their citizens. In India, for example, the federal government gave over one billion citizens a unique digital identity in just over five years at a cost of less than $1 per person. More worryingly, govern-ments can also use digital tools to gain greater control over their citizens, monitor them more closely, and accrue more power. If Big Tech has been able to gain so much influence over people’s lives, then these same technologies could be much more dangerous in the hands of governments.For example, the Chinese government’s Social Credit System uses digital technologies to track citizens’ and businesses’ interac-

How To Cope Efficiently The Stratification in Afghanistan

The State’s New Balancing Act

By: Sajjad Aasim

Page 3 May 29, 2021 Editorial and Opinions

By: Jaideep Prabhu

Locating in heart of Asia, Afghanistan can create macroeconomic and po-litical opportunities in the region and even global level. As Afghanistan

bordered by six countries including Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajiki-stan in the north, it has a great position to link the markets of South Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, and China. Therefore, Afghanistan, as transit and transport hub, can benefit billions of people in the region, but has not been successful in exploiting this unique central location. To talk about the challenges and opportunities this central area in regional economic cooperation, we need to raise several questions about this topic such as how can we exploit from the unexploited geo-economic location of this country? How this location has been defined in last two decades, and what were weakness and threats? What are the regional agendas and poli-cies of Afghanistan about regional economic Cooperation? What regional mechanisms are needed to overcome the current challenges? And more importantly what are the role of regional and global powers in the success and failure of the macroeconomic projects of this central area? Undoubtedly, the geo-strategic position of Afghanistan can create tens of macroeconomic projects in the region, but there are different challenges and barriers which have deprived Afghanistan and regional countries from the benefits of this location. The first and most important factor is the empowerment of terrorist groups, drug cultivation and trafficking, ISIS, organized crimes, and more importantly the senseless rivalries of regional powers which made our coun-try the center of instability and crisis instead of benefiting from its unique land-link location. The second factor which can be raised here is the uncon-structive approach of global powers. Although they know where the nets and bases of terrorist groups are and who supports them, they avoid this big issue and so it has prevented the formation of a single dynamism for collec-tive cooperation in the region. The big regional projects such as Turkmenistan Gas Transmission Projects from Afghanistan to Pakistan and India (TAPI) Tajikistan Power Transmission through Afghanistan to Pakistan, Railway In-frastructure and Roads between Regional Countries and also other big proj-ects which play important role in creating revenue and security sources in Afghanistan and also in the region have faced serious threats and challenges. The success and effectiveness of these types of projects requires security and strong regional will and cooperation of international and regional powers. The third factor which has acted as a barrier against regional cooperation and exploitation from the geo-economic location of Afghanistan is our internal weaknesses. Unfortunately, the apparatus of our foreign policy has not been successful in holding a balanced and neutral policy in the region. Accord-ingly, we have not been successful in national oneness because of failing in having an inclusive and pluralistic policy at the national level. As long as we are not united and not have a fair, moderate, pluralistic political system, we would not be strong enough to defend this land and country. We must learn lessons from the past that any monopolistic mentality will not lead to peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, some circles including Taliban have not learned from the past and are addicted to act as an inheri-tor of past monopolistic policies which were based on exclusion, injustice, ethnicity, oppression, and xenophobia. Based on this monopolistic view, the Taliban entered the politics of Afghanistan by destroying and shedding blood while fattened by the intellectual origins of Islamic fundamentalists. With dogmatic and monopolistic views towards power, they have not only has blocked the way of progress and development of Afghanistan but also has challenged the regional economic cooperation. Now, the national and international community unanimously insist on securing peace in Afghani-stan, but they stand against universal values and veto everyone’s wishes; the resistance of these groups to the peace process has added to the complexities of war and peace in Afghanistan while every day a new dimension is added to it. However, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has gained some relative achievements in the last two decades in regional cooperation. In fact, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has shown strong will in strength-ening regional cooperation in the last two decades. The foreign policy of Af-ghanistan based on the principles of strengthening regional cooperation has been one of the important achievements of Afghanistan’s foreign policy over the past decade. The increasing role of Afghanistan in the development of regional cooperation has been recognized in numerous declarations by coun-tries in the region. for example, the Declaration of Good Neighborhood 2002, the Declaration of 2003 Dubai, the 2003 Berlin Agreement, the 2004 Bishkek Conference, the 2005 Kabul Conference, and dozens of conferences and agreements during the presidency of Ashraf Ghani have emphasized on the defining of Afghanistan’s vital role in regional cooperation and connectivity. In general, Afghanistan has moved towards regional cooperation in the last two decades, but it has been negatively influenced by different factors as above-mentioned. Firstly, it is interest of the regional countries to sup-port forming a fair, moderate and pluralistic system in Afghanistan so as to overcome the common threats threatens the regional cooperation and con-nectivity. Secondly, we must note that Afghanistan alone cannot address the obstacles to realizing its full potential as a regional hub and needs a regional approach to turn these weaknesses into core competencies. This regional ap-proach may include regional cooperation, regional integration, and the at-traction of investment in Afghanistan’s infrastructure that will turn it into a regional hub for trade and transit. Third, the Afghan government should avoid adopting any hostile economic policies preferring one than others. It is also advisable that the Afghan government and other regional actors avoid intermingling the economy and politics.

NO COMMENTSJaideep Prabhu, Professor of Indian Business and Enterprise and Di-rector of the Centre for India & Global Business at Cambridge Judge Business School, is the author, most recently, of How Should a Gov-ernment Be? The New Levers of State Power (Profile Books, 2021).

Page 4 May 29, 2021

(21) 3 Officers Face…called Ellis’ death a homicide due to a lack of oxygen caused by restraint, with an enlarged heart and methamphetamine intoxication as contributing factors.The death made Ellis’ name synonymous with pleas for justice at protests in the Pacific Northwest. His final words — “I can’t breathe, sir!” — were captured by a home security camera, as was the retort from one of the officers: “Shut the (exple-tive) up, man.”“Ellis was not fighting back,” the prob-able cause statement said, citing video recorded by three witnesses.The case marks the first time the attorney general’s office has charged police offi-cers with unlawful use of deadly force.All three previously served in the Army, the attorney general’s office said, and as police officers all had taken training on crisis intervention. Collins, 38, and Bur-bank, 35, had each been an officer for four years by March 2020 after serving eight years in the Army. Rankine, 32, joined the department in 2018 after six years in the Army and two as a security contractor for the U.S. State Department.Police reform activists have long be-moaned the prevalence of former sol-diers in civilian departments, saying they tend to be more aggressive than called for. (AP)

(22) Berlin Pledges …Herero living in the Germany colony perished between 1904 and 1908, while 10,000 of an estimated 20,000 Nama peo-ple died during the same period. Many survivors of the rebellion were later cap-tured and placed in concentration camps, where they were used as slave labor. Mistreatment and poor conditions at the camps led to countless deaths.Germany began talks with the Namib-ian government in 2015 in order to agree upon a “future-oriented reappraisal of German colonial rule.” Berlin claims that representatives of the Heroro and Nama communities played an active role in the negotiations. However, a Herero chief quoted by media dismissed the settle-ment as a “sellout.”The agreement is scheduled to be signed by Maas in the Namibian capital, Wind-hoek, next month, and then will be sent to the parliaments of both nations for ratification. Assuming that the declaration is ap-proved by both countries, German Presi-dent Frank-Walter Steinmeier is then expected to issue an official apology for the crimes in front of the Namibian par-liament. (RT)

(23) Knife-Wielding …The stabbing comes one week after French police officers held a demonstra-tion outside the National Assembly and called on President Emmanuel Macron’s government to protect them against vio-lence and to introduce tougher punish-ment for those who attack law-enforce-ment officers.Unions have complained that the gov-ernment is failing to protect officers from violence against the police and the state. In the preceding month, one policeman had been killed during a drug raid while a police force employee was stabbed to death outside her station. (RT)

(24) Russian Hack ….“At least a quarter of the targeted organ-isations were involved in international development, humanitarian, and human rights work,” Burt wrote.“This is yet another example of how cy-berattacks have become the tool of choice for a growing number of nation-states to accomplish a wide variety of political ob-jectives, with the focus of these attacks by Nobelium on human rights and humani-tarian organizations.”The US government has explicitly linked the SolarWinds attack to Russia’s intel-ligence service, the SVR, and imposed sanctions on 32 Russian entities and ex-pelled diplomats in April. The agency was also allegedly involved in the 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Con-vention.fter going undetected for months, the SolarWinds breach was identified by the private security company FireEye in De-cember, underscoring the increased so-phistication of the operation, which was named after a US-based company that develops system management software for use in businesses and organisations.Breaches at the Treasury Department, National Telecommunications and Infor-mation Administration and Department of Commerce, among other agencies, sent shock waves through the US intel-ligence community.Microsoft President Brad Smith previ-ously described the SolarWinds hack as “the largest and most sophisticated at-tack the world has ever seen”.Russia’s spy chief has denied respon-sibility for the breach, but said he was “flattered” by the accusations from the US and the UK that Russian foreign intel-ligence was behind such a sophisticated cyber-operation. (Aljazeera)

assured them of UNHCR’s continued support.Afghanistan today has a population of nearly 35 million people, the majority of them young, facing insecurity and eco-nomic challenges. Millions also remain displaced within the country and outside as refugees, generously hosted by coun-tries such as Iran and Pakistan despite the devasting impact of COVID-19 pan-demic, the statement said. (ATN)

(8) BLA’s Top ...incident.No one claimed responsibility for the at-tack so far.The Afghan Ministry of Interior has not commented in this regard.This comes after at least six civilians were killed after a suicide bomber targeted a civilian vehicle in Aino Mina Township in Kandahar city on Monday this week.Sources meanwhile said that Aslam Baloch, the leader of the Baluchistan Lib-eration Army (BLA) was among those killed in the attack. While the Pakistani media reported that Asalam Baloch was the mastermind of the suicide attack on the Chinese embas-sy in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, a number of political experts described Baloch as a migrant in Afghanistan.The Baloch separatist Aslam Baloch was living in Afghanistan’s Kandahar prov-ince since 2005.Aslam Baloch has been one of the main-stream critics of the Pakistani govern-ment. He had sustained wounds in the past after a clash with Pakistani security forces. (ATN)

(9) Taliban Accuses US ...testimony that under Prime Minister Imran Khan, there will be no American base on Pakistani soil,” Qureshi said as quoted by Anadolu Agency.The Pentagon this week insisted the US commitment to the region is not waver-ing.“Just because we are removing our troops and ending our military mission in Afghanistan doesn’t mean that we’re walking away from the region,” Penta-gon Spokesman John Kirby told report-ers on May 24. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.According to an AP report, last week Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, said negotiations with Afghanistan’s neighbors for over-flight rights and troop basing are “mov-ing forward” but will take time.US-controlled installations in Afghani-stan are also being returned to the Af-ghan Defense Ministry, and so far, five installations have been handed back, said the Defense Department. (TOLO NEWS)

(10) Family Seeks ...security agencies should share the out-comes of their investigation with the family of the former jihadi commander.Ziayayee was killed on May 2.“He was martyred in a mysterious way ... we want it to be investigated,” said Khalilurrahman Ziayee, the son of Per-amqol.“Our security agencies should share the information that they have about the in-cident and share the names of those who perpetrated the incident,” said Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Coun-cil of National Reconciliation. (TOLO NEWS)

(11) Al Qaeda Retains ...said that the Taliban made substantial progress on counter-terrorism commit-ments.CNN citing an official suggested al Qa-eda was about 18 months away from be-ing able to launch attacks on the West, and capable of launching regional attacks from Afghanistan by the end of the year.The senior Afghan intelligence official was cited as saying that the Taliban’s peace pledge to the Trump administra-tion “was just like a joke between them-selves. They knew that this will not hap-pen.”Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban negotiator in Doha, rejected the allegations.He said the government in Kabul had for the past two decades wanted “to create suspicion to make foreign forces stay,” so they “will then stay in power and have billions to make their bank accounts big-ger.”Shaheen said the Taliban’s agreement with the United States specified they would not permit Afghanistan to be used to attack the United States or its allies. “If we do, we create problems for ourselves, and there will be no peace in Afghani-stan. War after war. It is against our in-terest.” (1TV NEWS)

(12) NATO Chief ...country 20 years ago.Biden and Stoltenberg will meet with the other leaders of the 30-nation military al-liance on June 14 to usher in a new era in trans-Atlantic ties after four tumultuous years of the former Trump administra-tion. The other big issue will be Afghani-stan, although no Afghan leaders are due to attend the Brussels summit.

Asked about the impact of leaving Af-ghanistan without the security guaran-tee that has helped keep the Taliban at bay, Stoltenberg conceded that “there are risks entailed to the decision of end-ing NATO’s military mission in Afghani-stan. We have been very transparent and clear-eyed about that.”“At the same time, to continue to stay means that we will also have to take some risks; the risk of more fighting, the risk of being forced to increase the number of troops there, and the risk of remaining with a (military) mission,” he said.It remains unclear what level of security might be needed, and who would pro-vide it, to protect international embas-sies spread around the capital Kabul. The city’s airport, the main international gateway to Afghanistan, and the route to it must also be protected.Stoltenberg said that NATO plans to provide financial support to keep Kabul airport up and running, but — just a few months before the alliance ends its big-gest, costliest and most ambitious mis-sion ever — the details of how all this might play out remained unclear. (AP)

(13) Mohaqiq Dispels ...have received military training to fight the Taliban.“Those weapons which were wrapped in felt will be pulled out,” he said adding: “We are both men of peace and men of war. Let no one think that we have fall-en.”Meanwhile, Hezb-e-Islami, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and Jamiat-e-Islami, led by Salahuddin Rabbani, op-pose the current composition of the High Council of Government.“Every institution that is created must have a clear framework, structure and competencies. This council must have the power to decide,” said Abdul Fatah Ah-madzai, spokesperson of the Rabbani-led Jamiat-i-Islami.”The council is said to have 18 members, but some parties are calling for a limit on the number of members. (ATN)

(14) Haroon Hakimi ...of war and forgotten for a long time. Promoting the narrative of peaceful co-existence through arts is one of my main goals for this position,” said Haroon.His IWP education will be helpful in his work: “We are a country suffering from insurgencies, and my portfolio covers the field where minds and hearts are to be targeted. I was equipped with the knowl-edge and strategies for being influential in that field at the IWP.”Haroon further commented: “I sincerely thank H.E. President Ashraf Ghani for appointing me to serve as the Deputy Minister for Culture and Arts. My prom-ise is to serve my country.” (Pajhwok)

(15) Efforts Underway ...services.Omar Mansoor Ansari, head of ATRA, said that endeavors are underway to pro-vide equal services to all citizens across the country.“We want those who dominated on in-ternet networks, whether it is ATRA or Ministry of Telecommunication to iden-tify and block the accounts, and bring the perpetrators to justice,” said Shinwari.A presidential adviser, meanwhile, raised the issue of fake social media ac-counts which he said should be blocked.“We expect telecommunication net-works, especially internet providers, to identify and block fake accounts, and see that the perpetrators are brought to jus-tice,” said Malalai Shinwari, a presiden-tial adviser.To mark the day, Afghanistan telecom-munication companies also showcased their services during an expo Thursday in Kabul. (ATN)

(16) Afghans Returning ...is lack of resources and facilities to get all incoming Afghans tested for Covid-19, a claim the Public Health Department re-jected.This comes as four health officials, in-cluding three ladies, have been assigned by the Health Department on border with Iran in Nimroz province to check the temperature of incoming AfghansNimroz Refugees Department:Deputy Head of Health Department Mir-wais Arab said: “Up to 2,000 Afghans enter Afghanistan from Iran daily. The problem is some people enter the country without Covid-19 test and they transfer the pandemic with them to the country.”He asked the Public Health Ministry to take serious notice of the situation and increase the number of health officials who conduct Covid-19 test on the border.(Pajhwok)

(17) UN Commemorates…challenges and threats faced by UN peacekeepers are immense. They work hard every day to protect some of the world’s most vulnerable, while facing the dual threats of violence and a global pandemic, he said.Despite COVID-19, across all UN peace-keeping missions, the blue helmets have

not only been adapting to continue to deliver their core tasks, they are also as-sisting national and community efforts to fight the virus, he said. “I am proud of the work they have done.”“We salute the dedication and bravery of all our peacekeepers -- women and men, the young and the slightly older -- and we remain grateful for their service and sacrifice. They deserve our full support, and we must continue to work together to do all that we can to improve their safety and security and give them the tools to succeed,” said Guterres.Among the 129 Dag Hammarskjold Medal winners were two Chinese blue helmets: Chen Shun and Wang Xudong.Chen served with the UN-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and Wang with the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.At the ceremony, Major Steplyne Nyabo-ga, a Kenyan military officer who served with UNAMID, was awarded the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for 2020. (Xinhua)

(18) Australia’s Great…the key conservation and rehabilitation activities.“Enhancing the resilience of our amazing islands and reefs through activities such as controlling invasive pests, re-planting native vegetation to support species like seabirds and turtles and trialling the ap-plication of reef rehabilitation techniques is a task our rangers are uniquely placed to do,” Ley said.This vessel will provide the ideal plat-form from which to conduct these proj-ects, said the minister.Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the vessel will strengthen the capacity of Reef Joint Field Management Program in remote lo-cations of the reef, and help rangers and specialists do their jobs more efficiently and safely.Scanlon also said the reef contributes 6.4 billion Australian dollars (4.94 billion U.S. dollars) to the economy every year and supports around 64,000 jobs. (Xin-hua)

(19) What Abubakar…“In security management, you don’t give the enemy opportunity to plan,” he said. “Sadly, one issue with Nigeria is they are giving the enemy time to plan. Instead, the military should carry out an offen-sive attack against the remnants of Boko Haram in Sambisa forest because their morale is currently down,” he told Al Jazeera. (Aljazeera)

(20) ‘Terrorising a…a roundabout packed with police and army soldiers.“Out of nowhere, five men stormed out from a silver car nearby and surround-ed us. I couldn’t see any of their faces,” Saadi told Al Jazeera, days after he was released.“They assaulted me and were shoving me around and forced me into that same car. Thankfully, my brother managed to run away, so they only got me.”Inside the car, Saadi was blindfolded and was threatened with death. He did not know where he was going, and did not know what he had done wrong.“They threatened to kill me and constant-ly used foul language. They insulted my mother, my sister and my whole family,” he said.“I asked them to stop, but with every at-tempt to respond I was met with a beat-ing.”“They hit my whole body – my head, my arms, my legs. My face was swollen but I would have rather died than be humili-ated,” Saadi said.‘Worried about my family’Upon arriving at the police station, his arms and feet were cuffed together. Even though his head was bleeding, he did not get any medical attention.For three hours, while in pain, he was not allowed to contact members of his family or a lawyer.“I wasn’t scared, I just didn’t want them to punish my parents for something I may have done. I was really worried about my family, more than anything,” Saadi said.A female police officer who spoke Ara-bic interrogated him. According to Saadi, she tried to make him confess for things he said he had not done.“They accused me of assaulting a police officer and throwing rocks – but I didn’t do any of that.”His father, Shadi Saadi, told Al Jazeera he received a call from the station about his son “three hours after his arrest”.The wave of mass detentions is aimed at punishing Palestinian citizens of Israel for their participation in protests against settler violence, the Israeli forces’ crack-down on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the military’s 11-day bombardment of Gaza, legal experts and rights groups told Al Jazeera.In a statement, the Israeli police said more than 1,550 Palestinians have been arrested since May 9. (Aljazeera)

(1) Egypt’s Grand ...humans, a reason Islam has forbidden as-saulting others, threatening the health of others and creating fears for them.The grand mufti said Islam counted the murder of one person as the murder of the whole humanity and it was called even worse than the destruction of the home of God (Masjid al-Haram Mosque).Islamic rules emphasis that the country should be protected against any threats as Allah has tasked humans to work to flourish the earth, not for its destruction, he said.He added that Islam mentioned serious punishment for those who threaten the security of countries, spread anarchy on land and create chaos.“Chaos and fear is created by allowing murder of people, creating mischief, looting people’s belongings and making people of a society enemy of each other”.Allam said calling a government infi-del based on various claims or targeting people on the excuse that they are disbe-lievers as well as killing people under the name of AmrbilMaroof in non-Islamic countries were other types of anarchy.He said Shariah has forbidden war with those who do not pose a danger. He men-tioned another Quran verse, “And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but don’t transgress the limits. Truly, Al-lah does not like the transgressors.” Allam also mentioned some verses from Quran that forbid violations of agree-ments. (Pajhwok)

(2) A French Company ...the project of printing 390 million Af-ghanis of new banknotes, which includes 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 Afghani banknotes, belongs to Da Afghanistan Bank (Central Bank of Afghanistan).These banknotes are expected to be print-ing in the next 9 months, according to Ayaz. (Wadsam)

(3) Tehran, Kabul ...“We are concerned about what is hap-pening in Afghanistan, and we have done our best for the peace and stability of Afghanistan,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday May 3, adding, “We are in contact with the Afghan government and other groups to achieve results.” (Fars News Agency)

(4) Defense Chief: US ...U.S. military commanders have said they will monitor and counter threats from al-Qaida and the Islamic State group from outside the country once U.S. forces leave Afghanistan later this summer. Militants are expected to try to regroup after U.S. and coalition forces depart.So far, officials have acknowledged that the U.S. does not yet have any agree-ments for basing or overflights from any of Afghanistan’s countries. (AP)

(5) US ‘Rapidly’ Planning ...his office released on Thursday.“A very important task is to ensure that we remain faithful to them, and that we do what is necessary to ensure their pro-tection and, if necessary, get them out of the country if that is what they want to do.“There are plans being developed very, very rapidly here, not just interpret-ers but a lot of other people that have worked with the United States.”Last month, US President Joe Biden an-nounced that American troops would fully withdraw from Afghanistan by Sep-tember 11.US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that the withdrawal was proceeding slightly ahead of pace. (1TV NEWS)

(6) Pakistan, Uzbekistan ...first pilot to Tashkent will build confi-dence among traders and transport op-erators from both sides to adopt TIR for cross border trade and transit and boost regional trade integration and connectiv-ity,” said USAID in a statement.The TIR Convention was signed in 1975 under the auspices of the United Na-tions Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Pakistan acceded to the TIR Convention on July 24, 2015 and was de-clared as a ‘TIR operational country’ by the IRU on April 19, 2018. TIR is widely used for international transit of goods in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia and is being rapidly adopted in Afghanistan and Central Asian countries which are all contracting parties to the Convention. (Wadsam)

(7) UNHCR Calls ...part of UNHCR initiatives, working with the Afghan government, to help refugee returnees better reintegrate.“Support in health, education and live-lihoods that benefits host communities, internally displaced people and refugee returnees alike are all key components of the peace process”.During his visit, he met with the First Vice-President Amurallah Saleh, Minis-ter of Refugees and Repatriation, Noor-e-Rahman Akhlaqi and the Deputy Minis-ter of Foreign Affairs, Mirwais Nab, and

Berlin Pledges Reparations after Recognizing Namibia ‘Genocide’

Carried Out by German Colonial Troops

Russian Hack Targeted USAID, Human Rights Groups,

Microsoft Says

Knife-Wielding Attacker Injures Policewoman Near Nantes, France,

Suspect on the Run – Report

Page 5 May 29, 2021 International Page

‘Terrorising a Generation’: Israel Arresting Palestinian Children

Azerbaijan Accuses Armenia of Shooting as Border Tensions Rise

Assad Wins Syria’s Presidential Election Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Protection to be Enhanced

with new Barge

Horror, Heroism Mark Deadly Shooting at California Rail Yard

What Abubakar Shekau’s Reported Death Means for

Nigeria SecurityLAGOS- Abubakar Shek-au, longtime leader of Ni-geria’s Boko Haram armed group, was reported dead – again.While details remain murky, local media re-ports citing intelligence sources claimed Shekau detonated his suicide vest when rival fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) tried to capture him in his hideout in Sambisa forest in north-eastern Nigeria.Shekau has been reported killed or seriously wound-ed several times in recent years, including in official statements released by Nigeria’s military – only to resurface in online vid-eos weeks later to ridicule such declarations. This time, the Nigerian army has said it is investigating the reports and has yet to issue a definitive state-ment.Still, the reports have been

SYDNEY - The protec-tion of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is expected to be enhanced with a barge to be built with a cost of 5 million Australian dollars (3.86 million U.S. dollars) to expand the protection flotilla.The 19-meter vessel will be based in Towns-ville of the northeast-ern Queensland state, which is designed to carry a small excava-tor, earthmoving ma-chinery or 4WDs, and a rigid hulled inflatable, the state announced on Thursday.With a cruising speed of 20 knots, the floating ranger station is expect-ed to operate up to 270 days a year and provide

DAMASCUS - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has won his fourth seven-year term in the 2021 presidential race, the Syrian par-liament announced on Thursday.Hamoudeh Sabbagh, the parlia-ment speaker, said that Assad won 95.1 percent of the vote as op-

Germany has formally acknowledged that its military committed ‘genocide’ against the African peoples who lived in what is now Namibia, and has an-nounced that it will set up a fund to atone for its colonial-era crimes.Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a state-ment on Friday that Germany recognized the “atrocities” car-ried out by its colonial troops against the Her-ero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908, adding that Berlin wanted to “find a com-mon path to genuine reconciliation in mem-ory of the victims.”He said that, going for-ward, Germany will in an official capacity

Russian hackers be-hind the SolarWinds cyberattack, a huge campaign that saw the widespread hacking of several United States federal agencies, have launched a new round of attacks targeting “government agencies, think tanks, consul-tants, and non-govern-mental organizations”, according to Microsoft.This week’s wave of at-tacks by the Nobelium group targeted about 3,000 email accounts of more than 150 or-ganisations spanning 24 countries, with the largest share of the at-tack targeting the US, Tom Burt, the tech gi-

A policewoman has re-portedly been stabbed several times in La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, France, leaving her with serious injuries. Officers are hunting the suspect, who is thought to be on foot, after his car was found in the town.Police sources told BFMTV the attack oc-curred around 10am (8am GMT) on Fri-day morning in La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, in Loire-Atlantique. The assailant had report-edly entered the town’s police station before attacking a policewom-an, stabbing her several times.The officer was injured

met with mixed reac-tions and raised questions about the security impli-cations in the country.“What a Shekau death means is the Islamic State [ISWAP] is set to come out as the dominant player in the other side of the conflict, which of course means more problems for the Nigerian military,” Confidence MacHarry, geopolitical security ana-lyst at Lagos-based SBM Intelligence, told Al-jazeera.For more than a decade, the Nigerian army has struggled to contain Boko Haram’s violent attacks in northeastern Nigeria, in a worsening conflict that has also spilled over into neighbouring Cam-eroon, Chad and Niger. More than 30,000 people are estimated to have been killed and some 3 million forced from their homes....(More on P4)...(19)

overnight accommoda-tion for seven rangers, and up to 24 for day trips.The barge will play an important role along-side other initiatives aimed at protecting the reef, by supporting rangers to undertake ex-tended patrol and infra-structure management duties, including pro-tecting marine area and island national park.The new barge is expect-ed to enable the rang-ers to better respond to incidents, and conduct compliance, diving and research operations.Australia’s Environ-ment Minister Sus-san Ley said the barge would help prioritize ...(More on P4)...(18)

posed to 88.7 percent in the 2014 election. He said that about 14 million of the estimated 18 million eligible voters inside and outside Syria cast their votes, with a turn-out rate of 78.64 percent.Huge crowds of Assad support-ers filled the Umayyad Square, the

main square in the Syrian capital of Damascus, to celebrate Assad’s win, waving Syrian flags and post-ers of Assad, while national music was blaring from loudspeakers.Banners supporting Assad adorned the square and main streets in the capital.Assad’s win was largely anticipat-ed as his competitors in the race are a low-profile opposition figure and a former cabinet minister.The election was held on Wednes-day with the polling stations open until midnight. The Syrian gov-ernment has been encouraging voters to cast their votes for the “future of Syria.”On July 17, 2000, Assad succeeded his father Hafez al-Assad as the Syrian president. Under the cur-rent Syrian constitution adopted in 2012, the president of Syria has the right to run for office twice, which means that this would be Assad’s last term in office. (Xinhua)

refer to the events as a “genocide.”Maas also announced that as a “gesture of rec-ognition of the immea-surable suffering,” the German government would create a fund to-taling €1.1 billion ($1.34 billion), which will go towards infrastructure, healthcare and train-ing programs for the affected communities. The money will report-edly be paid out over 30 years. The Herero and Nama tribes were nearly wiped out during a rebellion against Ger-man colonial forces in what was then known as German South West Africa. It’s believed that 65,000 of the 80,000 ...(More on P4)...(22)

ant’s corporate vice president, wrote in a blog post on Thursday.Notably, the Russian group was able to gain access to an email mar-keting account used by the State Department’s international aid agen-cy, USAID, from which it targeted other organ-isations.The New York Times reported the breach ap-pears to target the type of groups who have re-vealed Russian attacks on dissidents or have been vocal about the alleged state poisoning of prominent Russian opposition figure Alex-ey Navalny....(More on P4)...(24)

in the lower limbs, ac-cording to reports, and is seriously injured. She has been taken to hos-pital.Officers are now on the hunt for the assail-ant, who is believed to be on foot, after his ve-hicle was discovered in the town. More than 80 gendarmes and three dog units have been deployed along with a police helicopter. On Twitter, the National Gendarmerie called on residents to “avoid the area” and to “strictly follow the instructions of the police.”The attacker’s moti-vations are currently unknown....(More on P4)...(23)

UN Commemorates Its Fallen Peacekeepers

SAN JOSE- Taptejdeep Singh died trying to save others from a gunman. Kirk Bertolet saw some of his coworkers take their last breaths.And friends, family and survi-vors were left to mourn after nine men died this week when a disgruntled coworker hauling a duffle bag full of guns and am-munition opened fire at a North-ern California rail yard complex,

apparently choosing his targets and sparing others. Samuel Cassidy, 57, turned the gun on himself Wednesday morning as sheriff’s deputies rushed in at the Santa Clara Val-ley Transportation Authority in San Jose.Investigators were still trying to determine Friday what might have set off Cassidy, who for years apparently held a grudge

against the workplace he detest-ed. The victims were Alex Ward Fritch, 49; Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernan-dez, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; and Lars Kepler Lane, 63.The minutes-long attack was marked by both horror and her-oism. (AP)

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secre-tary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday laid a wreath to honor more than 4,000 UN peacekeepers who lost their lives since 1948, and presided over a virtual ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjold Medal was awarded posthumously to 129 peacekeepers, who lost their lives in 2020 and in the first month of 2021.Thursday’s events formed the an-nual observance of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, which falls on May 29.“Our fallen peacekeepers, uni-formed and civilian, lost their lives due to malicious acts, in accidents and as a result of illness, includ-ing COVID-19. They came from 44 different countries and diverse backgrounds but were united by a common purpose: to serve our great organization, promote peace and security and improve the lives

timate sacrifice will not be forgot-ten, and they will always be in our hearts.”The ...(More on P4)...(17)

of some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” he told the Dag Hammarskjold Medal ceremony in honor of the 129 fall-en peacekeepers.

“We are forever in their debt. I offer my sincere condolences to their families and friends and I hope that the medals pre-sented today offer some comfort. Their ul-

3 Officers Face Arraignment in Black Man’s Restraint Death

SEATTLE – Five weeks after ex-Minneapo-lis policeman Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, three Washing-ton state officers have been charged in the death of Manuel Ellis: another Black man who pleaded for breath un-der an officer’s knee.Washington Attorney General Bob Fergu-son charged officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins, who are both white, with second-degree murder Thursday af-ter witnesses reported that they attacked Ellis without provocation.Timothy Rankine, who is Asian, faces a charge of first-degree manslaughter. He is accused of kneeling on

Ellis’ back and shoul-der as he died from a lack of oxygen, ac-cording to a probable cause statement filed in Pierce County Superior Court.All three were in cus-tody by Thursday eve-ning and were sched-uled to be arraigned Friday. Their attorneys did not respond to messages seeking com-ment.Ellis, 33, died on March 3, 2020 — Tasered, handcuffed and hog-tied, with his face cov-ered by a spit hood — just weeks before George Floyd’s death triggered a nationwide reckoning on race and policing.The Pierce County medical examiner ...(More on P4)...(21)

Thirteen-year-old Mohammed Saadi was kidnapped, blindfold-ed, beaten and threatened with a gun to his head by five men in his hometown of Umm al-Fahem.It was May 20 and Saadi was among thousands who gathered for a funeral procession held for Mohammed Kiwan, a 17-year-old boy who was shot by Israeli police a week earlier.At the time, tensions escalated in occupied East Jerusalem over Israel’s planned forced expul-sion of Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah, attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and Israel’s military assault on Gaza, leading thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel to protest on a near-daily basis across towns and cities in Israel.The five men had been near the march for Kiwan in Umm al-Fa-hem, a town in central Israel that is predominantly inhabited by

Palestinians with Israeli citizen-ship.They covered their faces with masks and scarves and were dressed like any Palestinian in Is-rael participating in a sit-in.Except they were armed and belonged to a part of the Israeli police’s Musta’ribeen unit – an undercover unit made up of Is-

raelis disguised as Palestinians. Its agents usually attend Pales-tinian protests with the intention of arresting demonstrators.In the past, they have even killed Palestinians.When the march ended, at around 8pm, Saadi and his 15-year-old brother headed home. They ap-proached...(More on P4)...(20)

Azerbaijan has said that one of its soldiers was wounded after Arme-nian forces opened fire along the shared border, accusations that Arme-nia denied. Friday’s claim marks the latest in a series of incidents be-tween the two ex-Soviet rivals. In a statement, the Az-eri defence ministry said Armenian forces had fired from several direc-tions at its positions in Nakhchivan, an Azeri enclave separated from the remainder of Azer-baijan by Armenian ter-ritory.The soldier was wound-ed in the shoulder, giv-en first aid and taken to

hospital, it said.Armenia’s defence min-istry denied Baku’s as-sertion, Russia’s TASS news agency reported.The simmering border dispute comes after last year’s six-week war over the Nagorno-Kara-bakh region. The region is interna-tionally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, even by Armenia, but is pop-ulated and until recently was controlled by ethnic Armenians. Friday’s al-leged clash came a day after Azerbaijan cap-tured six Armenian ser-vicemen in the Kelbajar district, west of Nago-rno-Karabakh. (Aljazeera)

Kabul Bamiyan Herat Mazar Kandahar Ghazni Jalalabad Mostlysunny

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Daily Outlook Weather Forcast

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www.thedailyafghanistan.net@The.Daily.AfghanistanThedailyafghanistan@yahoo.com0093 799-005019/ 777-005019In front of Habibia High School,District 6, Kabul, Afghanistan

Back Page Saturday May 29, 2021

Mir Abdul Nabi Bangulzai one of the top commanders of the “pro-independence” armed group Baloch Libera-tion Army (BLA) was killed Thursday morning in an armed attack in Kandahar province of Afghanistan, Pa-kistani media outlets report-ed.According to reports, Ban-gulzai,57, was killed in PD3 of Kandahar city. Pakistan’s defense and mili-tary forums, however, have confirmed the report.Bangulzai who belonged to the Baduzai Bangulzai tribe of Baloch was affiliated with the “pro-independence” armed group Baloch Libera-tion Army since 2002 and was one of the top commanders of the group.The BLA has yet to confirm the ...

KABUL - President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has said that the withdrawal of foreign forces paved the way for opening a new chapter of regional coop-eration, according to a statement from Presidential Palace on Fri-day.Addressing a gathering marking the Higher Education and Voca-tional Studies Week, the presi-dent said with the pull out of

TAKHAR - The family of prominent ex-jihadi commander Amir Peramqol Ziayee, who was killed earlier in the month in Takhar province, on Thursday criticized the government for not disclosing the results of its investigations.Ziayee’s son said that there are speculations that his father was targeted by a drone strike.Critics have said that the government never launched an investigation into the incident.Meanwhile, Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council of National Reconcilia-tion (HCNR) said that the ...

foreign forces Afghanistan will not go to isolation.He added decision about the withdrawal of foreign forces was imminent and one day they should have left the country adding that it was the responsi-bility of Afghans to protect this land.“I stand by Afghanistan because it is our country, democracy is a huge circle but the Taliban are a

small group. The Taliban want to kill us but we want to hug them to construct this country. We should be ready to ensure our national unity and this need sacrifice,” he said. “In peace talks what we want to stress upon is the election of the head of the state by the people. Today a teacher is the president and to-morrow someone else will be the president,” he said. (Pajhwok)

Taliban in a new statement has accused the United States of seeking a military presence in the region, “especially in Pakistan,” as part of its efforts to maintain surveillance in Af-ghanistan, warning that it will lead to “more bloodshed” in the country if it takes place.The statement published on Fri-day says that the Doha agree-ment has been “repeatedly” violated by the US and that it has led to the continuation of violence in Afghanistan. The US has rejected claims on viola-tion of the Doha agreement.Taliban says that some media reports have said that the US will keep its presence along the Durand Line for surveillance using Pakistan’s territory and airspace. This will mean that the US will maintain its presence in Bagram and Shindand—bases in Afghanistan—and that if this happens, the Taliban “will con-tinue their jihad” as in the past, the statement says.The Taliban has asked Pakistan not to facilitate the continuation

Al Qaeda continues to thrive in Afghanistan under Taliban pro-tection, and remains connect-ed to its franchises across the globe, CNN reported on Friday citing Afghan intelligence of-ficials.The report cited October raid targeting senior al Qaeda mili-tant al-Rauf, also known as Abu Muhsen al-Masri, in Ghazni province as evidence of al Qae-da’s growth. The operation against al-Rauf netted al Qaeda messages be-tween Afghanistan and Syria, one Afghan official said. Two rare US strikes against al Qaeda militants in Syria’s Idlib prov-ince followed in the ten days af-terwards, although US officials played down any connection. On Taliban-al Qaeda bonds, the official said it is “now much deeper than we think.”“It is not only now an ideologi-cal connection, it’s also a family connection. There are intermar-riages. And that is impossible for Taliban to stop, and to not allow [al Qaeda] to do some-thing outside” the country.

of “Afghanistan’s occupation;” otherwise, if it happened, it will be “a mistake” and a “big blun-der” for Pakistan.However, Pakistan has ruled out the possibility of allowing the US to operate a military base or conduct drone operations in Afghanistan from its soil. On May 26, Pakistani For-eign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told Pakistan’s Senate that there are no such arrange-ments with Washington, Islam-abad’s longtime ally in the so-called war against terrorism.“Let this House and the Pa-kistani nation be a wit-ness to my ...

The official said al Qaeda is giv-en sanctuary by the Taliban in exchange for expertise in fund-raising and bomb-making. The terrorists “collect money from different parts of the world and give it to the Taliban,” the offi-cial explained. “They train sui-cide bombers and help them in strategic thinking. In return, the Taliban provide them shelter.”This comes as while announc-ing withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan last month, US President Joe Biden said that al Qaeda was “degraded,” and US had “accomplished that objective.”US special envoy Zal-may Khalilzad ...

BLA’s Top Commander

Killed in Afghanistan:

Reports

Taliban Accuses US of Seeking Regional Bases

Post-Withdrawal

977 New Cases of COVID-19, 18 Deaths Reported in Afghanistan

Family Seeks Answers Over ‘Mysterious’ Killing

of Commander Ziaye

9 Government Funded Uplift Schemes Completed So Far This Year: Ministry

UNHCR Calls for Greater Support for Afghans

Al Qaeda Retains Global Reach Under Taliban Protection

Foreign Troops Pull Out Open New Chapter of

Regional Cooperation: President

KABUL - Nine development projects funded by government are completed in the first four months of ongoing solar year while work on 389 is underway, a survey from the Ministry of Economy said on Friday.Among the completed projects are laboratories for the exami-nation of construction materi-als, infrastructure construction for women, construction of worship places for Indian mi-norities, purchase of equipment for airports, hundreds of drink-ing water projects, electricity supply line from Uzbekistan, women markets construction, Kochi women empowerment schemes and others.

United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in a released statement on Friday has called for greater support from the international commu-nity for Afghanistan’s people, including those displaced with-in its borders and refugees seek-ing safety outside the country.The appeal comes at the end of a four-day visit by UNHCR’s As-sistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou, who was on his first trip to the coun-try.“Afghanistan is at a critical and historical juncture,” said Mazou. ‘’With ongoing efforts to find peace, relief and development activities also need to be scaled

Millions of people in the coun-try will direct and indirectly get benefited from the completion of these schemes. According to the ministry’s survey infra-structure, natural resources, ed-

up simultaneously.”He raised concerns about the continued violence which has been causing new displacement. Over 100,000 Afghans have been internally displaced due to con-

ucation, agriculture and health related schemes are given pri-ority in these projects, adding that average development work stood at four percent this year. (Pajhwok)

flict so far in 2021.During his visit to Kabul prov-ince’s Qarabagh district, he inaugurated the Akakhail Boys’ and Girls’ High School. Both are ...

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KABUL - The Ministry of Public Health on Friday reported 977 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 3,800 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry also reported 18 deaths and 157 recover-ies from COVID-19 in the same period. The new cases were re-ported in Kabul (350), Herat (7), Kandahar (63), Balkh (99), Nangarhar (30), Takhar (41), Baghlan (20), Kunduz (56), Nimroz (6), Faryab (8), Parwan (69), Logar 50), Ghazni (27), Laghman (25), Pan-jshir (20), Zabul (2), Uru-zgan (13), Khost (3) and Nuristan (10) provinces. Deaths were reported in Kabul (10), Kandahar (5),

Balkh (1), Kunduz (1) and Logar (1) provinces. The ministry reported that the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 70,107, the total number of reported deaths is 2,899, and the total number of recoveries is 57,119. So far, 462,860 samples have been tested in gov-ernment centers and there

are 10,089 known active COVID-19 cases in the country, data by the min-istry indicates. According to Johns Hop-kins University, the num-ber of deaths from COV-ID-19 globally is more than 3,511,570 and the number of known global corona-virus cases is 168,979,381. (TOLO NEWS)