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Taliban has an enemy to fight – ISIS

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The US has entered Afghanistan after 9/11 incident in the pretext of fight against terrorism. In that time Afghanistan was home to the Taliban, current Afghanistan ruler, and al-Qaeda terrorist group. The US blamed notorious al-Qaeda for the deadly incident and vowed revenge and was able to kill Osama bin Laden, the founder and first leader of al-Qaeda in Pakistan in 2011 and his successor Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike in Afghanistan just recently.

But the point is that when US entered Afghanistan there were the Taliban government and the presence of only al-Qaeda terrorist group, but how many terrorist groups are operating in Afghanistan now after US ended its 20 years of military presence in August 2021.

So reasonably, only al-Qaeda should have remained. Actually the number is much higher. There are over 20 terrorist groups, including the brutal Islamic State (IS), aka ISIS emerged under the very nose of US presence and the Afghan intelligence backed by the western countries. The group first appeared in 2014, and was taken lightly and even their presence was strongly denied until it carried out several deadly attacks, targeting mosques, shrines, hospitals, mortality clinics, wedding halls, passenger buses, Sikh temple and Hindu Gurdwara and etc… With the scope of these attacks, ISIS has been apparently pursuing an ideology of sectarian war, after failing to do so in Iraq and Syria.

It’s not the stop point, ISIS for years approached Taliban commanders, al-Qaeda fighters, Uzbekistan Islamic Movement and East Turkestan Islamic Movement with full preparations to further cement ties and find a strong foothold inside Afghanistan with their support.

Abdulrauf Hadim, one of the famous Taliban commanders joined ISIS and some members also pledged loyalty to the group after the death of Mullah Omar, the founder and leader of Taliban in Pakistan in 2013, but it was announced publicly in 2015.

Taliban is determined to fight against ISIS

But the Taliban has never shown any mercy to the ISIS, and never accepted it. Taliban has a strong resolve to fight ISIS terrorists and eliminate them from Afghanistan.

Taliban arrested over 670 ISIS militants in the last three months of their ruling starting from August 15, and also 25 hideouts of the group were destroyed in capital city Kabul, and eastern Nangarhar province during the span of time. Taliban also accused the former government of Ashraf Ghani for strengthening ISIS in order to use them against the Taliban during the war.

But still ISIS is posing a great threat to Afghanistan and also as a matter of worry for countries in the neighborhood and beyond. ISIS continues spilling blood in Afghanistan and intensified its attacks in the past several months and Taliban is seemingly are scrambling to quell the curtail terrorism waged by the terrorist group. In last several months, the terror group was particularly gruesome with its deadly attacks in Balkh, Kunduz, Kabul in which at least 100 people were killed and 200 more were wounded.

Russia, China and Iran can help

ISIS is following a revisionist policy by dividing the world into two – Darul Islamd and Darul Kufr, and a zero-tolerance or acceptance of the nation-state. This is the core reason which Russia, China and Iran among other regional countries described the presence of ISIS in Afghanistan as a big threat to their territorial integrity as well as peace and security of the region.

A senior Taliban official speaking to Harici said that ISIS is being used against the Taliban by the foreign powers as a pressure tool to terrify the current government and also to undermine the capability of the intelligence department.

“We will stop this deadly conspiracy against our innocent people. We started working day and night to neutralize ISIS terrorists,” the official told Harici, wishing to remain anonymous.

Without mentioning the name of any country, the official said some western countries are not happy with the Taliban ruling and shifted to support the ISIS to force the Taliban to accept their demands. “We fought for independence, we never accept any illogical demands of the foreign countries,” he said, and assured the Afghan citizens that Taliban security forces will ensure peace and security of the Afghans.

It poses a threat to the entire region

“ISIS is a phenomenon which is not only posing a threat to Afghanistan but to the region and beyond,” an Afghan expert Dr. Hikmat told Harici.

Concerns relating to ISIS have several dimensions and aspects, and according to Hikmat, it’s a project being run by the regional and world powers against the current Afghan government under Taliban leadership.

It’s a crystal fact that ISIS is fighting the current government, but the positive point is that Taliban has a clear standpoint against this brutal group, and they have already arrested dozens of them.

“But still there is a huge concern. If the interests of regional countries and beyond are dispirited in Afghanistan, they may turn to use ISIS against each other and abuse the Afghan soil,” Mr. Hikmat said.

In such a scenario, Hikmat said that China, Russia, Iran and Central Asian countries have their own concerns, and they support any efforts against ISIS for the sake of peace in the region.

There is a need for formation of a regional coalition against ISIS, otherwise, the fire will soon erupt to other countries and dealing with a bigger wild snake would be highly costly.

At the same time other extremist groups who have inactive presence could soon turn into active. “Extremist groups are not acceptable for the Afghan people, and the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri adds more salt to the wounds of Afghans,” the expert added.

The Taliban, indeed, is fighting against ISIS with a strong commitment and honesty, but at somehow they could not able to control ISIS’s influence and rescue the Afghan people from its scourge of terrorist activities.

Discussions over Pakistan

However, all the blame is attributed to the controversial neighbor Pakistan and has been accused of implementing and taking such projects from “west and east.”

“The Army and intelligence of Pakistan (ISI) working with US and UK to maintain their interests in Afghanistan and unfortunately the wrong policy of Pakistan lead to the influence of terrorist groups into the region,” the war pundit believes.

Optimistic and pessimistic scenarios

Meanwhile, Taliban can benefit from growing regional perceptions of ISIS as a grave threat, repeatedly like Russia, China and Iran could help Taliban to fight this group. It also raises a chance for the Taliban to receive support from other countries for counter-terrorism purposes.

In an optimistic circumstance, ISIS would not have a significant impact on Afghan society nor find a concert response from the Afghans due its foreign origin but to carry more deadly attacks. Over 30 worshippers were killed and dozens more wounded in Wednesday evening’s blast inside a mosque in Afghan capital Kabul.

In a pessimistic view, ISIS will approach to recruit the criminals released from jails in line with the general amnesty declared by the Taliban soon after regaining power in August. Also poverty is the main reason where ISIS sees it as an opportunity to strengthen its rank. During winter time, when many Afghans were scrambling with food, ISIS focused on recruiting personnel but switched to deadly attacks soon at the beginning of summer.

They use poverty to persuade people

ISIS can’t use Islamic rules and regulation as the core reason for its war, but definitely use joblessness and poverty as a propaganda tool in a country where its people are facing a severe humanitarian crisis. It’s not a big decision for improvised Afghans to join ISIS in return for salaries in dollars.

“Afghanistan would never become a ISIS stronghold and we promise this to our citizens,” the senior Taliban official said.

The Afghans have suffered miserably in the last 43 years due to the war, the official assured to work for an Afghanistan to live in peace with itself, neighbors and world far away from extremist groups.

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Corruption in the most war-hit country

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Credible sources in Argavi district of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province say that the previous mayor of the Taliban in this district collected about 12 million Afghani from the municipal revenue and did not deposit it into the government account. According to the sources, two of the accused who are in cahoots with this local Taliban official fled the country and went to Iran, while the Taliban mayor is currently in the district but yet to clear the government accounts.

Also, the director of agriculture of this district owes about 14 million Afghanis to the Taliban regime for the collection of “Ashroozkat” and besides that, he has embezzled hundreds of thousands of Afghanis. On the other hand, the previous police commander of the Taliban has also given two million and 800 thousand Afghanis for the sale of shops at Mandavi Gate in Vahdat city of the same district.

The Taliban, who claimed to fight financial and administrative corruption in Afghanistan, have now become the biggest perpetrators of corruption. Citizens of the country in different provinces are complaining about the increase in bribery, and extortion by the Taliban. Reliable sources have confirmed to Harici that some officials openly accept bribes.

Despite the Taliban’s claim of fighting corruption, the citizens of the country complain that members of this group are involved in widespread corruption. According to these citizens, the Taliban are deeply involved in corruption and extort money from every project under different titles. Also, there is no accountability and transparency in the implementation of development and government programs by the Taliban.

Embezzlement scheme: Taliban officials escaped to Iran with millions of Afghani

Sources in Argavi district of Badakhshan province say that a person known as “Qari Zubair”, the former mayor of this district, has pocketed 12 million Afghanis of municipal revenue. According to the sources, two of his accomplices named Nasir and Zainullah escaped from Afghanistan and went to Iran. These sources say that “Qari Zubair” has also converted and sold a part of the gate of Vahdat Shahr Clinic, which was towards the city, into a shop.

Sources add that currently a person named Shamsuddin known as “Mola Sham”, who was previously the deputy mayor of Ergo, has been appointed as the mayor of this district.

According to sources, this figure of the Taliban is a “professional thief and debtor of the people” and after being appointed as a supervisor, he paid off his debts, married two wives, bought several homes and cars. According to the sources, this local Taliban official is illiterate and now Zubair, the former mayor of the Taliban in Ergo, is supporting him.

It is also said that “Mola Sham” has cut down the trees in the streets of Vahdat city, which people have maintained for years, under the pretext of widening the road, and has destroyed the green space of this city. According to the sources, after people protested on social networks, local Taliban officials from Faizabad prevented the continuation of cutting trees in this district.

Moreover, Maulvi Sirat, the former Taliban police commander for Ergo district, has converted the Mandavi gate of this district into a shop and sold it to the public for two million and 800 thousand Afghanis.

Several high-ranking Taliban officials are involved in corruption

These sources also say that another person named Qari Hamed, the director of agriculture of Argo district, who was responsible for collecting “Ashrouzkat” for the Taliban, is in debt of about 14 million Afghanis and he himself has admitted to this. This is the only amount that he admitted and the hundreds of thousands of other Afghans he pocketed, he has no account with the Taliban in this regard.

These concerns have been raised while in the new report of the Transparency International Organization, Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban has been placed in the 165th position in the global ranking of the fight against corruption in 2024, falling three places.

In this ranking, Afghanistan is in 165th place with 17 points. Transparency International annually ranks 180 countries based on perceived levels of corruption, from 0 (very corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

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Final stages of Yoon’s impeachment trial: Key issues

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South Korea’s Constitutional Court has become the site of a fierce political battle as it prepares to rule on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol in early March.

Since January 14, the court has held 10 hearings to determine whether Yoon committed constitutional violations serious enough to warrant his impeachment in early December with a martial law declaration that was later cancelled. More than two-thirds of the National Assembly voted in favor of his impeachment.

The court is expected to approve or reject the impeachment in early March after a final hearing on February 25.

Nikkei Asia compiled the prominent discussions about the process:

What were Yoon’s orders when he sent troops to the National Assembly?

President Yoon sent troops to the National Assembly after declaring martial law on the night of December 3. This action was interpreted as his intention to neutralize the legislature, which has the constitutional right to demand the lifting of martial law.

Lawyers for the National Assembly said Yoon ordered commanders to remove lawmakers from the main hall, preventing them from passing a motion to lift martial law. Yoon’s lawyers argued that this was done to maintain order in the parliament and to protect people from possible accidents.

Kwak Jong-geun, the former commander of the Special Warfare Command who is currently under arrest, admitted that Yoon had called Kwak to order ‘staff’ out of the main hall because a quorum had not yet been reached. The officer said he did not act on that order.

During Tuesday’s hearing, a lawyer for the assembly said: “[The president] used the national armed forces as his personal troops and involved them in a coup.”

Yoon disputed this and said he never used the term ‘personnel’ to describe the people in question. In Korean, the words for lawmakers, staff, and agents sound similar, though they are different.

Kwak said Kim Yong-hyun, then defense minister, told him to remove the lawmakers from the hall. Kim, on the other hand, said he asked the commanders to remove the agents, not the lawmakers, and that the commanders may have misunderstood. The parliament’s lawyer said such an allegation did not make sense because the former defense minister could simply order them to stand down if they were spies.

Did Yoon order the arrest of politicians?

The second issue was whether Yoon ordered the police chief and military commanders to arrest politicians, judges, and journalists who opposed him.

Parliamentary representatives said Yoon had ordered the police chief, a special forces unit commander, and an official of an espionage agency to arrest a dozen people together. They included Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, House Speaker Woo Won-shik, and Han Dong-hoon, then leader of the ruling People Power Party.

Hong Jang-won, a former deputy director of the National Intelligence Service who was in charge when martial law was declared, said Yoon told him in a phone call to ‘catch them all.’ Hong also said he later received a list from the defense counterintelligence command. Yoon and his lawyers denied the allegation, arguing that it was meaningless because the spy agency had no arrest powers. The lawyers also questioned the authenticity of the memo containing the list. However, the court accepted the note as evidence.

Why did Yoon send soldiers to the election commission?

Yoon argued that he ordered Kim, a former defense minister, to send troops to the National Election Commission’s office building in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, to check the agency’s electronic system because he had a report prepared by the spy agency in 2023 that said it was problematic.

Assembly representatives said Yoon sent troops to take over the commission’s servers because he believed a rumor that the 2024 general election was rigged.

Yoon’s lawyers also alleged Chinese meddling in South Korean elections, citing some media reports but providing no evidence.

Did martial law harm the country and the people?

Kim Yi-su, a senior lawyer for the assembly, said the president’s reckless behavior has deeply hurt the country.

“The collapsing economy is facing a bigger crisis. Political polarization is deepening. And it has left a shameful trauma on the entire military. People want healing and restoration,” he said.

Yoon and his lawyers, on the other hand, claimed it was a ‘peaceful martial law’ and intended only as a temporary warning to the public against ‘massive’ pressure from the opposition Democratic Party. At a hearing earlier this month, the ousted president argued four times that ‘nothing happened’ and that martial law was lifted without harming anyone.

What will happen next?

Both sides will present their final arguments to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, February 25. The court will then decide whether to uphold the dismissal.

As stipulated by the constitution, the decision requires the approval of six of the eight judges, as one seat on the nine-member court is vacant. If the court upholds the impeachment, Yoon, who is currently suspended, will be immediately removed from office, and a presidential election will be held within 60 days.

If the court rejects the case, Yoon will be reinstated.

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Chinese universities integrate DeepSeek AI to drive tech innovation

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This month, universities in China are experiencing an artificial intelligence breakthrough, a ‘Sputnik moment’ for China, based on DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup that has attracted much attention.

The move comes as Chinese authorities aim to boost scientific and technological innovation in schools and universities that could create new sources of growth for the world’s second-largest economy.

DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based startup, has been showered with praise by Silicon Valley executives and US tech company engineers, who say its DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1 models are on par with the most advanced models from OpenAI and Meta.

Shenzhen University in the southern province of Guangdong said this week that it has launched an artificial intelligence course based on DeepSeek, which will help students learn about security, privacy, ethics, and other challenges, as well as the underlying technologies.

‘How to strike a balance between technological innovation and ethical norms will be explored,’ it said.

Zhejiang University in eastern China announced in February that it had started organizing special DeepSeek courses.

Jiao Tong University in Shanghai said on its official WeChat account that it uses DeepSeek to upgrade AI learning tools in its courses. Renmin University of China has also applied DeepSeek ‘in multiple fields, injecting new power for teaching and research, campus office.’

In January, China released its first national action plan to build a ‘strong education nation’ by 2035, saying it aims to establish a ‘high-quality education system’ with accessibility and quality ‘among the best in the world.’

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng attended a rare meeting on Monday with President Xi Jinping and some of the biggest names in China’s tech sector, such as Alibaba.

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