U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit Thursday to Kabul where he told Afghan leaders that while the United States will soon begin withdrawing its remaining troops from the country, it remains committed to Afghanistan.“The partnership is changing, but the partnership is enduring,” Blinken said as he met with President Ashraf Ghani and other officials.The visit came a day after U.S. President Joe Biden announced all U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by September 11 of this year.“We respect the decision and are adjusting our priorities,” Ghani said Thursday.A senior State Department official told reporters that while the United States will no longer have military assets in Afghanistan, it will still be capable of confronting any threat that emerges.Blinken also spoke Thursday to a group of mostly U.S. soldiers at the American embassy, offering praise for the military’s efforts since the first forces were deployed to the country in 2001.“What you and your predecessors did over the last 20 years is really extraordinary,” Blinken said.While at the embassy, Blinken met with half a dozen Afghan civil society members, but made no comments while reporters were present.  Naheed Farid, a member of Afghanistan’s parliament who was part of the session, answered a reporter’s question about Afghanistan’s future by saying, “My views are very pessimistic.”President Joe Biden speaks from the Treaty Room in the White House on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, about the withdrawal of the remainder of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.Biden made his announcement in a televised speech on Wednesday, declaring that “war in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multi-generational undertaking.”He said the United States can no longer justify staying there two decades after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.   ”We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago,” Biden said at the White House. ”That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021.”    Biden spoke in the Treaty Room, the same place where, on October 7, 2001, then-President George W. Bush announced airstrikes on Afghanistan.    “We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, expecting a different result,” Biden said in his remarks. ”American troops shouldn’t be used as bargaining chips between warring parties in other countries.”   The U.S. leader said he is now the fourth president to oversee an American troop presence in Afghanistan — among two Republicans and two Democrats — and vowed to not pass the responsibility on to a fifth.       Biden, announcing the withdrawal would begin May 1, added that the United States would continue its diplomatic and humanitarian work in Afghanistan and ”we will continue to support the government of Afghanistan.”   The president, amid widespread concern his decision will lead to a wider civil war in Afghanistan, also said Washington and its allies would support training and help equip nearly 300,000 Afghan forces, as well as support peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban fighters.      He also called on countries in the region, especially Pakistan, but also China, India, Russia and Turkey, to do more to support Afghanistan.      FILE – Upon landing after a helicopter rescue mission, Tech. Sgt. Jeff Hedglin, right, an Air Force Pararescueman, or PJ, drapes an American flag over the remains of the first of two U.S. soldiers killed minutes earlier in an IED attack.The way forward   President Ghani said that he spoke to Biden in the hours prior to the official announcement and his government ”respects the U.S. decision and will work with our U.S. partners to ensure a smooth transition.”   On Twitter, Ghani added that Afghanistan’s security and defense forces ”are fully capable of defending its people and country, which they have been doing all along and for which the Afghan nation will forever remain grateful.”      Afghanistan’s proud security and defense forces are fully capable of defending its people and country, which they have been doing all along, and for which the Afghan nation will forever remain grateful.— Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) Taliban political deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, center, arrives with other members of the Taliban delegation for an Afghan peace conference in Moscow, Russia, March 18, 2021.Taliban reaction   The Taliban on Wednesday said it wants all foreign forces out of Afghanistan ”on the date specified in the Doha Agreement,” and that ”if the agreement is adhered to, a pathway to addressing the remaining issues will also be found.”    Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid added on Twitter, ”If the agreement is breached and foreign forces fail to exit our country on the specified date, problems will certainly be compounded and those (who) failed to comply with the agreement will be held liable.”     News of the U.S troop withdrawal plans had already prompted the Taliban to cancel its participation in a 10-day peace conference between Afghanistan’s warring sides later this month in Turkey.   President Biden warned the Taliban that if ”they attack us as we draw down, we will defend ourselves and our partners with all the tools at our disposal.”   Meanwhile, a pessimistic U.S. intelligence report predicted that a peace deal is unlikely in the next year and the Taliban — an enemy of the democratically elected government of Afghanistan — will make battlefield gains.    “The Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support,” said an unclassified version of the report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.   The U.S. ability to collect intelligence and act on threats will diminish when American troops leave Afghanistan, CIA Director William Burns testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee.     “When the time comes for the U.S. military to withdraw, the U.S. government’s ability to collect and act on threats will diminish. That’s simply a fact,” said Burns, adding that the United States would, however, retain ”a suite of capabilities.”  Several prominent senators of the opposition Republican party are assailing Biden’s troop withdrawal decision.   ”Apparently, we’re to help our adversaries ring in the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by gift-wrapping the country and handing it back to them,” said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor early Wednesday.      “I beg you, President Biden, reevaluate this. Don’t lock yourself in because things are going to change quickly in Afghanistan for the worse,” Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters following Biden’s speech. ”This is not going to end well for us.”  Biden’s decision is winning praise from those who believe the United States is no closer to winning the war today than it was more than a decade ago or would be in the future.    “President Biden has made the right decision in completing the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan,” said former President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president. ”There will be very difficult challenges and further hardship ahead in Afghanistan, and the U.S. must remain engaged diplomatically and through our development efforts to support the Afghan people, particularly those who have taken extraordinary risks on behalf of human rights.”    House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the ”previous approach of maintaining thousands of U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan has not led to a resolution, and a new approach is required.”   Some analysts view Biden’s decision as the best of an array of bad options.    “There’s probably no option that significantly reduces the level of violence. There’s also probably no option on the table to build the Afghanistan that the United States probably had in mind when they invested more than a trillion dollars in the war,” said University of Chicago Assistant Professor Austin Wright, whose research focuses on insurgents and Afghanistan.   Margaret Besheer at the UN, National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin, Ayaz Gul in Islamabad, and White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report
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President Joe Biden announced his plan to withdraw all 2,500 American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, months later than the May 1 deadline that the Trump administration and the Taliban agreed on last year. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
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Declaring that “war in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking,” President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that “it is time to end the forever war” and said he would withdraw all U.S. troops from that country by September 11.Biden, in a televised speech, said the United States could no longer justify staying there two decades after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.”We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago,” Biden said at the White House. “That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021.”Biden spoke in the Treaty Room, the same place where, on October 7, 2001, then-President George W. Bush announced airstrikes on Afghanistan.”We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, expecting a different result,” Biden said. “American troops shouldn’t be used as bargaining chips between warring parties in other countries.”The U.S. leader said he was the fourth president to oversee an American troop presence in Afghanistan — among two Republicans and two Democrats — and vowed to not pass the responsibility to a fifth.Biden, announcing the withdrawal would begin May 1, added that the United States would continue its diplomatic and humanitarian work in Afghanistan and “we will continue to support the government of Afghanistan.”FILE – A U.S. soldier walks past an American flag hanging in preparation for a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at Forward Operating Base Bostick, in Kunar province, Afghanistan, Sept. 11, 2011.The president, amid widespread concern his decision will lead to a wider civil war in Afghanistan, also said Washington and its allies would support training and help equip nearly 300,000 Afghan forces, as well as support peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban fighters.He also called on countries in the region, especially Pakistan but also China, India, Russia and Turkey, to do more to support Afghanistan.The way forwardAfghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, said that he spoke to Biden in the hours prior to the official announcement and that his government “respects the U.S. decision and will work with our U.S. partners to ensure a smooth transition.”On Twitter, Ghani added that Afghanistan’s security and defense forces “are fully capable of defending its people and country, which they have been doing all along and for which the Afghan nation will forever remain grateful.”Following his remarks, Biden headed to Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, where service members who died in America’s most recent wars are buried.”Look at them all,” the president said amid the rows of headstones.Asked by a reporter if the withdrawal decision was a hard one to make, Biden replied: “No. To me, it was absolutely clear.”    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss the withdrawal plans with NATO allies, said the United States remained committed to Afghanistan’s future.”Let me be clear, even with our troops home, we as an alliance, and the United States as a country, will continue to invest in and support the Afghan people and their chosen leaders,” Blinken told reporters following talks with NATO’s secretary-general. “We will also remain vigilant against any possibility that the threat of terrorism reemerges in Afghanistan.”FILE – U.S. soldiers load onto a Chinook helicopter to head out on a mission in Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2019.Biden’s decision will keep 3,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 deadline that had been agreed to in a deal Washington negotiated in Doha, Qatar, last year with the Taliban when Donald Trump was U.S. president.The spokesman for the secretary-general of the United Nations declined on Wednesday to endorse Biden’s decision.”We are not going to comment on military decisions. The U.N.’s focus remains on finding a political accord, on finding an accord that will be good for the people of Afghanistan,” said Stephane Dujarric.Taliban reactionThe Taliban on Wednesday said they wanted all foreign forces out of Afghanistan “on the date specified in the Doha Agreement,” and that “if the agreement is adhered to, a pathway to addressing the remaining issues will also be found.”Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid added on Twitter, “If the agreement is breached and foreign forces fail to exit our country on the specified date, problems will certainly be compounded and those [who] failed to comply with the agreement will be held liable.”News of the U.S. troop withdrawal plans had already prompted the Taliban to cancel participation in a 10-day peace conference between Afghanistan’s warring sides later this month in Turkey.Biden warned the Taliban that if “they attack us as we draw down, we will defend ourselves and our partners with all the tools at our disposal.”Intelligence reportMeanwhile, a pessimistic U.S. intelligence report predicted that a peace deal was unlikely in the next year and that the Taliban — an enemy of the democratically elected government of Afghanistan — would make battlefield gains.”The Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support,” said an unclassified version of the report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.The U.S. ability to collect intelligence and act on threats will diminish when American troops leave Afghanistan, CIA Director William Burns testified Wednesday to the Senate Intelligence Committee.”When the time comes for the U.S. military to withdraw, the U.S. government’s ability to collect and act on threats will diminish. That’s simply a fact,” said Burns, adding that the United States would however retain “a suite of capabilities.”Several prominent senators of the opposition Republican Party assailed Biden’s troop withdrawal decision.”Apparently, we’re to help our adversaries ring in the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by gift-wrapping the country and handing it back to them,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said early Wednesday on the Senate floor.”I beg you, President Biden, reevaluate this. Don’t lock yourself in, because things are going to change quickly in Afghanistan for the worse,” Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters following Biden’s speech. “This is not going to end well for us.”  Biden’s decision won praise from those who believe the United States is no closer to winning the war today than it was more than a decade ago or will be in the future.Obama: ‘Right decision'”President Biden has made the right decision in completing the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan,” said former President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president. “There will be very difficult challenges and further hardship ahead in Afghanistan, and the U.S. must remain engaged diplomatically and through our development efforts to support the Afghan people, particularly those who have taken extraordinary risks on behalf of human rights.”House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the “previous approach of maintaining thousands of U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan has not led to a resolution, and a new approach is required.”Some analysts viewed Biden’s decision as the best of an array of bad options.”There’s probably no option that significantly reduces the level of violence. There’s also probably no option on the table to build the Afghanistan that the United States probably had in mind when they invested more than a trillion dollars in the war,” said University of Chicago assistant professor Austin Wright, whose research focuses on insurgents and Afghanistan.Margaret Besheer at the United Nations, national security correspondent Jeff Seldin, Ayaz Gul in Islamabad, Patsy Widakuswara and Ken Bredemeier contributed to this report.
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Pakistan announced Wednesday that it would ban radical Islamist party Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan after its supporters clashed with law enforcement for a third day, leaving seven dead and injuring more than 300 police.Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the party was being banned under Rule 11-B of the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.”I have approved a proposal sent by the government of Punjab to ban the TLP,” Ahmed said. “We have also warned those who are funding the TLP.”The government will deal with an iron fist with those who take the law into their own hands.”The announcement came hours after Pakistani Rangers cleared major routes following clashes with TLP supporters who were blocking the roads.Ahmed added that Rangers would remain in all major cities of the country during Ramadan to maintain peace.The TLP launched a countrywide protest Monday after the arrest of its leader, Saad Rizvi. He was arrested before the April 20 deadline that TLP had given to the government regarding the expulsion of the French ambassador over the publishing of cartoons in France of the Prophet Muhammad.
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President Joe Biden is set to tell Americans on Wednesday that he is withdrawing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 because the country cannot justify staying there two decades after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.WATCH LIVE at 2:15 pm EDT “We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago,” Biden says in excerpts of his address released by the White House. “That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021.”“We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, expecting a different result,” Biden said.The U.S. leader said he is now the fourth president to oversee an American troop presence in Afghanistan — two Republicans and two Democrats — and vowed to not pass on the responsibility to a fifth.“After consulting closely with our allies and partners, with our military leaders and intelligence professionals, with our diplomats and development experts, and with Congress and (Vice President Kamala Harris), I have concluded that it is time to end America’s longest war. It is time for American troops to come home,” he says.He said the U.S. would continue its diplomatic and humanitarian work in Afghanistan and support the Kabul government.Biden said the U.S. and its allies would support training and help equip nearly 300,000 Afghan forces, as well as peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban fighters.Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Brussels Wednesday to discuss the withdrawal plans with NATO allies, and said the United States remains committed to Afghanistan’s future.“Together we have achieved the goals that we set out to achieve, and now it is time to bring our forces home,” Blinken said.FILE – U.S. soldiers load onto a Chinook helicopter to head out on a mission in Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2019.Biden’s decision will keep 3,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 deadline that had been agreed to in a deal Washington negotiated in Doha last year with the Taliban when Donald Trump was president.Taliban reacts
The Taliban on Wednesday said it wants all foreign forces out of Afghanistan “on the date specified in the Doha Agreement,” and that “if the agreement is adhered to, a pathway to addressing the remaining issues will also be found.”Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid added on Twitter, “If the agreement is breached and foreign forces fail to exit our country on the specified date, problems will certainly be compounded and those (who) failed to comply with the agreement will be held liable,”News of the U.S troop withdrawal plans had already prompted the Taliban to cancel its participation in a 10-day peace conference between Afghanistan’s warring sides later this month in Turkey.
Meanwhile, a pessimistic U.S. intelligence report predicted a peace deal is unlikely in the next year and the Taliban — an enemy of the democratically elected government of Afghanistan — will make battlefield gains.“The Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support,” said an unclassified version of the report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.Republicans react
Several prominent senators of the opposition Republican party are assailing Biden’s troop withdrawal decision.The Biden administration “plans to turn tail and abandon the fight in Afghanistan,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. “Precipitously withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake.”“A full withdrawal from Afghanistan is dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally. “President Biden will have, in essence, cancelled an insurance policy against another 9/11.”Biden’s decision is winning praise from those who believe the United States is no closer to winning the war today than it was more than a decade ago or would be in the future.“It has been harder in Washington to end a war than it is to start one,” said Quincy Institute Chief Executive Officer Lora Lumpe, a veteran humanitarian disarmament campaigner. “With this decision Biden has proven his ability to make the right calls even when they’re extremely difficult. The White House should be applauded for taking this off ramp from the 20-year-long war.”Ken Bredemeier and National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report from Washington, Ayaz Gul from Islamabad.
 
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Female journalists in Afghanistan are calling on Kabul to include their representative at peace talks to ensure media and women’s rights are protected. Samsama Sirat has more in this report.
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President Joe Biden is set to announce in a speech Wednesday that the United States will withdraw all of its forces from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks that triggered America’s longest war. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has the story.Camera:  Ahmadullah Archiwal 
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The Taliban said on Tuesday they would not attend a summit on Afghanistan’s future in Turkey this month until all foreign forces leave their country.”Until all foreign forces completely withdraw from our homeland, (we) will not participate in any conference that shall make decisions about Afghanistan,” tweeted Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban office in Qatar.His intervention came just hours after it emerged that the U.S. would withdraw its forces from Afghanistan about five months later than Washington had originally agreed with the insurgents.U.S. officials said President Joe Biden would withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.FILE – U.S. troops patrol at an Afghan National Army Base in Logar province, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2018.The drawdown, finally ending America’s longest war despite mounting fears of a Taliban victory, delays by around five months an agreement with the Taliban inked by former President Donald Trump to pull troops.There is a growing consensus in Washington that little more can be achieved in the conflict-torn nation.The decision came as Turkey announced an international peace conference on Afghanistan that the hosts hope could pave the way to a power-sharing arrangement.The conference, due to be held in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4, will seek to revive long-stalled peace talks that are being hosted in the Qatari capital Doha.
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U.S. intelligence agencies are not optimistic about the prospects for a peaceful Afghanistan with or without the presence of U.S. troops in the country.In a report on global threats issued Tuesday, intelligence analysts warned that the prospects for a peace deal between the Afghan government “will remain low” for the coming year.They further warned that the Taliban believe they can successfully use force to shape the political reality on the ground.”Kabul continues to face setbacks on the battlefield, and the Taliban is confident it can achieve military victory,” according to the report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).Afghan security forces “remain tied down in defensive missions and have struggled to hold recaptured territory or reestablish a presence in areas abandoned in 2020,” the report said.”The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield,” it added, cautioning that “the Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support.”The ODNI report, known as the Annual Threat Assessment, was put together and issued before word came from the White House on Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden will announce that U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan until September, missing a May 1 withdrawal deadline set under last year’s agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban.But the report is consistent with previous intelligence assessments that have likewise warned the Afghan government forces are vulnerable and could fall without persistent support from the U.S. and its allies.No decrease in Taliban violenceThe U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) warned the Defense Department’s inspector general in January that negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban were unlikely to lead to any meaningful reduction in violence.”The Taliban has calibrated its use of violence to increase political leverage against the Afghan government through military gains while generally avoiding activity that it believes would threaten the agreement with the United States,” the inspector general report said.DIA analysts also cautioned that it seemed as though Taliban leadership was intent on securing a U.S. withdrawal so it could seek a decisive victory over the Afghan government.More recently, the prospects for peace in Afghanistan were questioned in a report released last month by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).The Taliban “have not significantly changed their tactics,” the report said. “Each quarter since the (U.S.-Taliban) agreement was signed has seen a higher average number of enemy-initiated attacks compared to the same quarters in 2019.” Western intelligence officials likewise raised alarms about the prospects for Afghanistan without U.S. and coalition troops, warning in recent months they had yet to see any indications the Taliban would adhere to the bargain they made with the U.S.”I think we’ll know if there are signs of the #Taliban being serious about suppressing any potential future threats to the int’l community from #alQaida or not” per @EFittonBrown”As yet, we haven’t seen any evidence that they are”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) February 25, 2021An opportunity for terror groups?Concerns remain, as well, that terror groups such as al-Qaida and Islamic State continue to maintain a presence in Afghanistan and see the idea of a peace deal and a U.S. withdrawal as an opportunity.Al-Qaida, while weakened, remains entrenched within the Taliban’s command structures in Afghanistan, according to DIA analysis, while Taliban pressure on the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate, IS-Khorasan, has eased, allowing it to regroup and retrench.On Tuesday, a senior administration official sought to allay some of the concerns about al-Qaida and IS.”We are not taking our eye off of the terrorist threat or signs of al-Qaida’s resurgence,” the official said, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity.”In coordination with our Afghan partners and with other allies, we will reposition our counterterrorism capabilities retaining significant assets in the region to counter the potential reemergence of a terrorist threat to the homeland,” the official added. “We can address it without a persistent military footprint in the country and without remaining at war with the Taliban.”That type of approach, though, has worried both current and former officials, who have warned the fallout could be significant.”Afghanistan is more dependent on international support than ever before,” John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, warned during a virtual talk last month, noting that in addition to U.S. and NATO troops, Afghan forces are reliant upon thousands of trainers and contractors.”It may not be an overstatement that if foreign assistance is withdrawn and peace negotiations fail, Taliban forces could be at the gates of Kabul in short order,” Sopko said.Retired U.S. General and former Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus has also warned that pulling out U.S. troops “could prove quite catastrophic.””We shouldn’t be so U.S.-centric as to think that just by withdrawing our forces that the war ends,” Petraeus told VOA’s Press Conference USA on April 6. “We should have a sustained, sustainable commitment to that country and enable the Afghan security forces and key institutions in their struggle with the insurgents who are eroding the security.”
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Activists who are members of an Islamist party in Pakistan clashed with police and refused to unblock highways across many parts of the country for a second day Tuesday to protest the arrest of their leader. 
  
Pakistani officials and witnesses have reported that attempts to disperse stick-wielding protesters in some areas triggered violent clashes that killed at least four people, including a policeman, and wounded scores of others.  
  
More than 60 law enforcement personnel also were among those injured. Video showed wounded policemen, with some surrounded by protesters, and official and public vehicles damaged or set on fire. Police officers fire teargas as they move to disperse the supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) Islamist political party during a protest against the arrest of their leader, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Apr. 13, 2021.  
Members of the radical Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan, or TLP, took to the streets in major cities Monday shortly after authorities in the eastern city of Lahore detained their leader, Saad Rizvi. 
  
Officials and travelers said the ensuing blockades of major roads that are entry and exit routes to cities have caused hours of traffic jams, paralyzed businesses and disrupted routine life in Pakistan. 
  
TLP activists also have blocked some of the key roads into the national capital, Islamabad. FILE – Khadim Hussain Rizvi, leader of Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) Islamic political party, gestures as he addresses the supporters during a rally to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir, in Lahore, Pakistan, Aug. 9, 2019.Rizvi’s arrest was apparently meant to deter his group from organizing rallies demanding the expulsion of France’s ambassador over the reprinting of cartoons in a French magazine depicting the Prophet Muhammad, an act condemned as blasphemous.
  
The violence disrupted critical oxygen supplies for COVID-19 patients in the country’s most populous province of Punjab, of which Lahore is the capital, said Yasmin Rashid, the provincial health minister. 
  
Pakistan is currently struggling to contain what officials say is a third wave of the pandemic. Officials reported Tuesday that at least 4,000 coronavirus patients were undergoing treatment in intensive care units in hospitals. FILE – People gather for COVID-19 vaccine doses at a vaccination center in Karachi, Pakistan, March 22, 2021.  
Last week, Rizvi urged Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government in a statement to abide by a deal Rizvi claimed was recently struck with his group to expel the French envoy by April 20. 
  
Government officials, however, maintain they only pledged to place and debate the issue in parliament. 
  
Khan chaired a cabinet meeting Tuesday, where he approved the deployment of the paramilitary rangers force in different cities to assist police in maintaining law and order. 
  
Federal Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry told a post-meeting news conference in Islamabad the government was trying to resolve the crisis peacefully and promised the situation would soon be brought under control. 
  
“It is the state of Pakistan that has to make such decision. No group or party has the authority to dictate its decisions to the state of Pakistan,” Chaudhry said when asked whether the government had given assurances to TLP that the French envoy would be asked to leave the country. 
  
TLP activists nearly besieged Islamabad late last year over the issue and ended the protest only after the government signed the alleged deal with the group. 
  
The religious group has risen to prominence in Pakistan in recent years and has held major demonstrations to pressure the government against repealing or reforming the country’s harsh blasphemy laws, which critics say often are used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal disputes. 
  
Critics and Pakistanis in posts on social media demanded the government strictly deal with the protesters to discourage them from threatening the state and undermining public life in the future.  
  
“When you appease them, they will just push back harder. This has long been the Pakistani state’s predicament with the TLP and its ilk. And this is no longer just a domestic matter; the TLP’s current demands relate to the French ambassador,” tweeted Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia program at Washington’s Wilson Center.
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All U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn by September 11 – the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a senior administration official announced on Tuesday. President Joe Biden “made the determination and is announcing tomorrow that the best path forward to advance American interests is to end the war in Afghanistan after 20 years, so that we can address the global threat picture as it exists today, not as it was two decades ago,” said the official. US to drawdown troops in #Afghanistan from May with goal of having all of them out by 9/11 of this year — the 20th anniversary of the Al Qaeda attacks, announces a senior US official.— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) April 13, 2021A clear-eyed assessment of the best path forward is to focus on the ongoing peace process between the Taliban and the Afghan peace process and US troops won’t be a bargaining chip in those talks, says the official.— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) April 13, 2021″This is not condition-based,” says the senior administration official of the 9/11 2021 deadline.— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) April 13, 2021The government of Turkey announced on Tuesday it will host a 10-day peace conference between Afghanistan’s warring sides from April 24. That surprise announcement came after a Taliban spokesman the previous day said his group would not attend a peace conference that had been tentatively planned to take place in Turkey later this week. “The conference will focus on helping the negotiating parties reach a set of shared, foundational principles that reflect an agreed vision for a future Afghanistan, a roadmap to a future political settlement and an end to the conflict,” according to the Turkish foreign ministry. US Envoy Discusses Turkey Peace Huddle With Afghan RivalsTaliban say internal consultations are ongoing to decide whether to attend the US-proposed multination conferenceThe decision, however, keeps 3,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 deadline that had been agreed to in a deal Washington negotiated last year with the Taliban.   “We’ve long known that military force would not solve Afghanistan internal political challenges would not end Afghanistan internal conflict. And, so, we are ending our military operations while we focus our efforts on supporting diplomatically the ongoing peace process,” said the senior U.S. official. If Taliban attack US or allied forces “we will hit back hard,” says the senior official.— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) April 13, 2021News of the troop withdrawal decision by Biden comes the same day as a pessimistic U.S. intelligence report predicted a peace deal is unlikely in the next year and the Taliban – an enemy of the democratically-elected government of Afghanistan – will make battlefield gains.“The Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support,” according to the unclassified version of the report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.“The real question now is whether after withdrawing its troops, the U.S. will continue to help the Kabul government and the Afghan people keep the Taliban at bay,” Husain Haqqani, former ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, told VOA.“The Taliban have shown no interest in peace and the Doha process only reinforced their belief that U.S. eagerness to leave Afghanistan outweighed its concerns about that country’s future,” noted Haqqani, the South & Central Asia director at the Hudson Institute.
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For Ramadan this year, Magdy Hafez has been longing to reclaim a cherished ritual: performing the nighttime group prayers called taraweeh at the mosque once again.
Last year, the coronavirus upended the 68-year-old Egyptian’s routine of going to the mosque to perform those prayers, traditional during Islam’s holiest month. The pandemic had disrupted Islamic worship the world over, including in Egypt where mosques were closed to worshippers last Ramadan.
“I have been going to the mosque for 40 years so it was definitely a very, very, difficult thing,” he said. “But our religion orders us to protect one another.”
Still, “It’s a whole other feeling, and the spirituality in Ramadan is like nothing else.”  
Egypt has since allowed most mosques to reopen for Friday communal prayers and for this Ramadan it will let them hold taraweeh, also with precautions, including shortening its duration.
 
Ramadan, which begins this week, comes as much of the world has been hit by an intense new coronavirus wave. For many Muslims navigating restrictions, that means hopes of a better Ramadan than last year have been dashed with the surge in infection rates though regulations vary in different countries.
A time for fasting, worship and charity, Ramadan is also when people typically congregate for prayers, gather around festive meals to break their daylong fast, throng cafes and exchange visits.  
Once again, some countries are imposing new restrictions. But concern is high that the month’s communal rituals could stoke a further surge.
“The lack of adherence that happened last Ramadan, hasty lifting of the curfew imposed at the time and re-opening of places of congregations … led to grave consequences that lasted for months,” said Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
“We have a lot of worries of a repeat of what had happened last Ramadan, especially since Ramadan coincides with another important holiday, which is Easter,” he said by email. Orthodox Christians mark Easter on May 2.
In Pakistan, new case numbers grew from fewer than 800 a day at the start of the month last year to more than 6,000 a day a few weeks after Ramadan ended. Officials largely attributed the increase to Pakistanis flouting restrictions. After a dip, the country is back up to more than 5,000 new cases a day.  
Iran on Saturday began a 10-day lockdown amid a severe surge in infections that followed a two-week public holiday for Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Economic hardship also looms over the month for many. In war-torn Syria, Abed al-Yassin was concerned about what his iftar — the meal at sunset breaking the fast— will look like this year.
“It will be difficult to even have fattoush,” al-Yassin said, referring to a salad that is a staple of the holy month in his country.  
He’s spending his second Ramadan in a tent settlement near the Turkish border after he was driven from his hometown last year during a Russian-backed government offensive that displaced hundreds of thousands.  
“Our main wish is to return to our homes,” said al-Yassin, who lives with his wife, three sons and daughter in a tent. He relies mostly on food aid, he said. Camp residents have recently received bags of lentils, pasta and bulgur and receive bread on daily basis.  
Lebanon is being squeezed by the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, exacerbated by the pandemic and a massive deadly explosion in Beirut in August.  
“We are going through a period when some people are fasting whether during Ramadan or not,” said Natalie Najm, an insurance broker. Even with her job, she can barely cover food costs, she said. “What about others who lost their jobs?”
To prevent large gatherings in Ramadan, Saudi Arabia has forbidden mosques from serving iftar and suhoor, a meal just before the fast’s start at sunrise.  
Many Muslim religious leaders, including in Saudi Arabia, have tried to dispel concerns about getting the coronavirus vaccine in Ramadan, saying that doing so does not constitute breaking the fast.  
With new infections exceeding earlier peaks in India, Muslim scholars there have appealed to their communities to strictly follow restrictions and refrain from large gatherings, while asking volunteers and elders to look after the needy.
Last year’s Ramadan in India was marred by rising Islamophobia following accusations that an initial surge in infections was tied to a three-day meeting of an Islamic missionary group, the Tablighi Jamaat, in New Delhi.
In Pakistan, authorities are allowing mosques to remain open during Ramadan with rules in place that include barring worshippers over 50 years old and requiring masks.  
But given how rules were widely ignored last year there, doctors have been asking the government to close mosques.
“We are very concerned about the gatherings,” Dr. Qaiser Sajjad, secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association, said Sunday. He urged the government and Pakistan’s clerics to put together a better plan during Ramadan to stop the spread of the virus.  
“We must learn from the previous year,” he said. Sajjad is calling for a complete lockdown of the eastern city of Lahore.
Afghanistan is leaving it up to worshipers to watch out for each other, keep their distance and stay away from the mosques if they are feeling ill.  
“Saving a human life is an obligation … you can’t put the life of a human in danger or at risk at all,” said Sayed Mohammad Sherzadi, head of Hajj and religious affairs department for Kabul province.
Malaysia has some movement restrictions in place and has declared a coronavirus emergency that suspended Parliament until August following spikes in infections. But it has lifted last year’s ban on taraweeh prayers and Ramadan bazaars, which sell food, drink and clothes, though strict measures will be in place.
Back in Egypt, Nouh Elesawy, undersecretary for mosque affairs at the country’s Ministry of Endowments, had a message to the faithful ahead of the start of the month: “If you want the houses of God to remain open, adhere to the precautionary procedures and regulations.”
Ramadan also typically has a distinct cultural and social flavor for many.
In Egypt, giant billboards bearing the faces of celebrities advertise Ramadan television series, a favorite pastime for many. In bustling markets around Cairo’s Al-Sayeda Zainab Mosque, shoppers browsed stalls stacked with decorative Ramadan lanterns in vibrant colors, inspected the offerings and bargained for a deal.
In another Cairo neighborhood, people posed with a giant Ramadan lantern towering over one street and snapped photos.  
One Ramadan tradition in Egypt that remains a casualty of the virus for the second year is the “Tables of the Compassionate,” communal charity iftars where strangers would break bread together at free meals served on long tables on the street.  
The tables may be gone, but not the month’s spirit of giving.  
Neveen Hussein, 48, said colleagues brought her “Ramadan bags” filled with rice, oil, sugar and other staples to distribute to needy families. It’s an annual tradition, she said, rendered more urgent by a pandemic that has hurt the livelihoods of many of those already struggling.  
“This is a month of mercy,” she said. “God is generous, and this is a month of generosity.”
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When plotted on a graph, the curve of Bhutan’s COVID-19 vaccination drive shoots upwards from the very first day, crossing Israel, United States, Bahrain and other countries known for vaccinating people rapidly.
Those countries took months to reach where they are, painstakingly strengthening their vaccination campaigns in the face of rising coronavirus cases. But the story of Bhutan’s vaccination campaign is nearly finished — just 16 days after it began.
The tiny Himalayan kingdom wedged between India and China has vaccinated nearly 93% of its adult population since March 27. Overall, the country has vaccinated 62% of its 800,000 people.
The rapid rollout of the vaccine puts the tiny nation just behind Seychelles, which has given jabs to 66% of its population of nearly 100,000 people.Its small population helped Bhutan move fast, but its success has also been attributed to its dedicated citizen volunteers, known as “desuups,” and established cold chain storage used during earlier vaccination drives.
Bhutan received its first 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from neighboring India in January, but the shots were distributed beginning in late March to coincide with auspicious dates in Buddhist astrology.  
The first dose was administered by and given to a woman born in the Year of the Monkey, accompanied by chants of Buddhist prayers.
“Let this small step of mine today help us all prevail through this illness,” the recipient, 30-year-old Ninda Dema, was quoted by the country’s Kuensel newspaper as saying.  
Dr. Pandup Tshering, secretary to the Ministry of Health, said jabs were still being provided to those who could not get vaccinated during the campaign period and that the country had enough doses to cover its entire population.
Bhutan has recorded 910 infections with the coronavirus and one COVID-19 death so far. It has a mandatory 21-day quarantine for all people arriving in the country. All schools and educational institutions are open and are monitored for compliance with COVID-19 protocols, Tshering said.
Bhutan is the last remaining Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas. But the country has transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a democratic, constitutional monarchy.
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Analysts say India’s concern that isolating Myanmar’s military, which staged the country’s February 1 coup, will drive it closer to China, and fears of instability in a country with a long common border are driving a desire by New Delhi to engage the regime to resolve the crisis there.The United States and other Western democracies are imposing economic sanctions to put pressure on Myanmar’s military, which has mounted a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, resulting in hundreds of deaths since it ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Critics have questioned why India, the world’s largest democracy, has not denounced the junta more strongly, but analysts say New Delhi believes sanctions may not be the way to defuse the crisis.“From India’s perspective, keeping a channel of communication open with Myanmar’s military is very important,” said Harsh Pant, head of the Strategic Studies Program at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.“We don’t want a situation where China is the only country talking to them and see another country in India’s neighborhood go into the Chinese orbit,” he said.India’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, K. Nagaraj Naidu, told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Myanmar Friday that “lack of engagement will only create a vacuum which will be counterproductive.”He said that “we therefore support all initiatives to engage with Myanmar and resolve issues peacefully without further bloodshed,” even as he condemned the use of violence.After its initial cautious response, India has taken a stronger stance in recent days as the crisis in Myanmar has mounted, calling for an end to the violence and urging the military to release the hundreds of political prisoners now being held in Myanmar.”We stand for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar,” Arindam Bagchi, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman, told reporters in New Delhi this month. “India is ready to play a balanced and constructive role to resolve the crisis,” he said.India’s more emphatic response came days after the presence of its military attaché at an Armed Forces Day parade in Myanmar raised questions about New Delhi’s attendance and drew condemnation from Myanmar’s pro-democracy Civil Disobedience Movement. The March 27 celebrations coincided with a savage crackdown that saw at least 100 protesters killed.Family members cry in front of a man after he was shot dead during a crackdown on an anti-coup protesters by security forces in Yangon, Myanmar, March 27, 2021.Calling India “one of the greatest democracies in the world,” the movement asked on Twitter “why do you shake hands with the generals whose hands are soaked with our blood.”India was the only major democracy among the eight countries that sent representatives to the celebration. The others were China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand and Russia.“I don’t think India’s presence was meant to send a message of support or validate the coup,” Gautam Mukhopadhaya, India’s former ambassador to Myanmar, said.“I find it difficult to believe that India would lean on the side of the military in the current context when it is very clearly against its own people,” he said.He said, though, that India and Southeast Asia countries have taken a more nuanced approach to the situation in Myanmar because of worries about large-scale instability in a neighboring country and would prefer to seek a negotiated solution.“We have security stakes different from powers in the West. My expectation is that India will use whatever equities it has with the military to try and talk the generals back,” he said.India has built ties with the Myanmar government during the past decade as it has sought to offset China’s influence in the country that provides it with an overland route to the Indian Ocean, a strategic waterway where Beijing has steadily increased its footprint.Myanmar’s army has cooperated with New Delhi in destroying hideouts of insurgents who operated in India’s northeastern states and sought sanctuary across the border in Myanmar. New Delhi has also increased defense and economic ties with the country in recent years.An Indian national flag flies next to an immigration check post on the India-Myanmar border in Zokhawthar village in Champhai district of India’s northeastern state of Mizoram, March 16, 2021.There have been missteps in India’s approach in the wake of the recent coup, say analysts. As refugees from Myanmar escaping the junta’s harsh crackdown fled into India, the federal government asked local authorities to stop their influx and deport those who had crossed over.However, northeastern states have called for a “humanitarian” response to the refugees, with whom they share ethnic ties, and are providing shelter to an estimated 700 who have crossed over.Myanmar nationals including those who said they are police and firemen and recently fled to India, flash the three-finger salute at an undisclosed location in India’s northeastern state of Mizoram, near the border, March 15, 2021.Mukhopadhaya, who was India’s ambassador between 2013 and 2016, said he believes Myanmar’s military has made a “serious miscalculation” and will find it difficult to suppress the growing civilian protests. He said he is optimistic that India will make “pro-people” choices as the situation evolves in the neighboring country in the coming weeks.However, most agree that isolating Myanmar is not a choice for New Delhi in a changing geopolitical situation where many now view China as a threat.“If the objective of the United States in particular and Western powers in general is to manage China’s rise, then you have to look at countries through a more complex prism,” Pant said. “Wherever the West has isolated countries, China has filled the void.” 
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Police in eastern Pakistan have registered blasphemy accusations against two female Christian nurses and launched an investigation into a crime that carries the death penalty in the majority-Muslim nation.The accusation against members of the minority community is the latest in a series of controversial blasphemy cases in Pakistan, where critics say such charges often are motivated by personal vendettas, or religious hatred. Police said that Muslim coworkers at a government hospital in the city of Faisalabad accused the nurses Friday of insulting Islam by removing and desecrating a wall-hanging that contained verses from the Quran. The allegations quickly spread around the building and provoked scores of staffers to stage a demonstration to demand legal action against their Christian colleagues. An enraged Muslim mob, largely activists of an Islamist party from a nearby locality, later also joined the crowd. Witnesses said an angry protester assaulted one of the nurses, Mariyum Lal, with a knife and injured her before riot police arrived at the facility to take both the women into “protective custody” and get them out of the hospital building. Lal reportedly told police she had been asked to clean up the cupboard of the hospital’s female head nurse, who is Muslim. Lal said that while doing the job, she removed the adhesive wall-hanging and gave it to the head nurse before finishing the night shift along with the other accused Christian colleague and returning home. Lal said the next morning the head nurse in the presence of other Muslim staffers accused her of desecrating the holy inscription. Human rights groups say blasphemy cases lately have increased in Pakistan, where blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue. Those who are accused are sometimes lynched by mobs even before they reach court. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) last year designated Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern because of its “systematic enforcement” of blasphemy and other controversial laws against religious minorities. 
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Officials in Afghanistan said Friday that Taliban insurgents killed at least nine security force members and captured more than 13 others in an attack in western Herat province, next to the border with Iran.
 
Provincial Governor Sayed Wahid Qatali told VOA that late Thursday insurgents targeted two security bases in Koshan and Ghorian districts close to the Iranian border.   Qatali confirmed government forces suffered casualties, saying the assailants also blew up the bases and took at least 13 Afghan personnel hostage.
 
The Taliban claimed in a statement it killed 13 government forces in the attack and captured 22 others, though insurgent claims are often inflated.  
 
Separately, at least five Afghan forces were reportedly killed in a pre-dawn gun battle with the Taliban in eastern Nangarhar province.US, Russia peace huddles  
 
Unrelenting warfare continues in the conflict-torn country as preparations are underway for arranging a U.S.-proposed conference in Istanbul, Turkey, later this month to accelerate the peace process between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
 
Russia said Friday it is also considering organizing another meeting in support of the peace process like the one Moscow hosted last month, where Afghan rivals were in attendance along with senior diplomats from the United States, China and Pakistan.
 
“The plans to hold another Moscow format meeting are still in place,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters at a news conference.  
 
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Thursday the Istanbul gathering will be “Afghan-owned” and build on recent international meetings in support of the peace process.  
 
“This upcoming conference, it’s meant to help Afghan negotiators to make progress, to make progress in their negotiations, and will complement the peace talks that are currently ongoing in Doha,” said Price.FILE – A general view shows talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 12, 2020.US-Taliban deal
 
The State Department spokesman referred to the dialogue Taliban leaders started last September with a Kabul government-appointed team of negotiators in the capital of Qatar in line with a February 2020 agreement Washington signed with the insurgent group to end the two-decade-long Afghan war.  
 
The U.S.-Taliban deal requires all American and NATO-led allied troops to leave Afghanistan by May 1.  
 
U.S. President Joe Biden is reviewing the pact to determine whether to meet the deadline and pull the last about 3,000 American troops from the country, along with several thousand partners from allied nations.
 
Biden’s reassessment comes as the so-called intra-Afghan peace talks have stalled for most of the time, without making any significant headway, and battlefield violence has intensified to record levels.  
 
The deadlock in the peace talks prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month to write a letter to Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, putting forward Turkey to host the two Afghan adversaries for talks under the auspices of the United Nations.
 
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu subsequently confirmed his country would host the meeting, saying “Turkey is trusted by both parties of the negotiation.”
 
The Taliban has warned it will resume attacks on foreign forces in the country if the Biden administration fails to honor the deal.  
 
The U.S. military has not suffered a single casualty since the signing of the agreement, which bound the insurgents to halt attacks on international forces.
 
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova asserted Friday that Moscow understands neither the U.S. nor the Taliban intent to terminate the deal.
 
“Despite the difficulties in the implementation of this treaty, we see the interest on the part of the participants of the agreement to preserve this document, which helps us to further our goals in (achieving) the peaceful settlement in Afghanistan,” Zakharova said.  
 
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Officials in Afghanistan said a plane carrying a high-profile Pakistan parliamentary delegation was turned back Thursday as it was about to land in Kabul after explosives were found at the airport.The large Pakistani delegation was to stay in the Afghan capital for three days under the leadership of Asad Qaiser, speaker of the lower house of Parliament, or the National Assembly.Qaisar and his delegation were invited by his Afghan counterpart, Mir Rahman Rahmani.Abdul Qadir Zazai, a spokesperson for the Afghan Parliament, said that during construction work, a digging team found old “unexploded ordnance” in part of the airport. The discovery prompted the control tower to refuse landing permission to several planes, including the one carrying the Pakistani guests, he explained.NATO helps with detonationZazai said NATO-led military personnel later helped the Afghan partners carry out a controlled detonation of the ordnance to defuse the threat. It was not immediately known who planted the explosives.Both Rahmani and Qaiser agreed to reschedule the visit, Zazai said.Pakistani special envoy to Afghanistan, Mohammed Sadiq, who was also part of the delegation, tweeted that a “security threat” prompted the postponement of their visit.As the plane was about to descend, the control tower informed them that the airport had been closed. Sadiq wrote. “New dates for the visit will be decided after mutual consultations.”Islamabad has lately stepped up its diplomatic outreach to improve traditionally strained relations with Kabul, which blames Pakistan for sheltering leaders of the Taliban who are waging a deadly insurgency to dislodge the Afghan government.Pakistani officials reject the charges and in turn allege that fugitive anti-state militants have established sanctuaries in Afghan border areas where they plot attacks against Pakistan.Drone strikes kill militantsU.S. drone strikes have in recent years killed important Pakistani militant commanders in Afghanistan.Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,600-kilometer border. The traditionally porous frontier has long encouraged militants to move in both directions and undertake subversive acts in both countries.Islamabad has in the past few years unilaterally erected a robust fence along most of the Afghan border. Officials say the work on the remaining portion is expected to be completed later this year.Pakistani military officials insist the fencing effort has significantly deterred all illegal crossings, leading to improved security in Pakistan.Afghan students allowed to study in PakistanIslamabad also has relaxed visa restrictions for Afghans and recently increased the number of scholarships for Afghan students keen to study in Pakistani institutions.Pakistan is also credited with arranging peace talks between Taliban leaders and the United States that led to the signing of a landmark agreement between the two adversaries in February 2020, setting the stage for U.S. troops to begin a phased withdrawal from Afghanistan.The U.S.-Taliban deal also encouraged the insurgents to open direct peace talks last September with representatives of the Afghan government to negotiate a permanent end to years of war. But the dialogue, being hosted by Qatar, has since stalled.
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Human rights and women’s rights groups in Pakistan are demanding a public apology from Prime Minister Imran Khan for his statement linking women’s clothing to causes of rape.“This entire concept of veil in our religion (Islam) is to avoid temptation in the society. Not everyone in the society has the will power to control (himself). The more you raise the level of obscenity in a society, the more it’ll have an impact,” Khan said Sunday in a live television broadcast during which he was answering callers’ questions.In a protest held Thursday outside the National Press Club in capital Islamabad, activists expressed outrage and demanded a public apology.“I feel that it is not just the women of Pakistan, it is also the men of Pakistan who have been slapped in the face by the prime minister because he said that men are unable to control themselves, they can’t control the temptation of seeing women in public without being veiled,” said activist Tahira Abdullah.Earlier in the week, a statement of condemnation signed by hundreds including several rights groups, and circulated on social media, demanded not just an apology but also urgent gender sensitization training for the prime minister, his entire cabinet, and all members of the government.“It is rape apologia to link the crime of rape, which is a crime of power and control, with “temptation” and “obscenity”. This reflects a lack of understanding of the causes of sexual violence, provides justification and further emboldens those who perpetrate this heinous crime,” the statement said.A government spokesman said Khan’s comments were distorted.“[W]hile expressing deep concern about it, the prime minister spoke about the societal responses and the need to put our efforts together to eliminate the menace of rape completely,” the spokesman said in a written statement sent to media Wednesday.It also said the prime minister remained committed to “utilize all avenues at the government’s disposal to tackle the incidence of rape.”However, individuals and rights groups continued to demand an apology and said Khan showed a lack of understanding of the issue.“If vulgarity was the reason for rape, Mr. PM, why would young boys in madrassah’s get raped? What about the very young girls . . . and dead women, who are pulled out of their graves to rape. What vulgarity do they spread?” questioned Islamabad resident Fatima Atif at Thursday’s protest.Activist Safir Ullah demanded Khan educate himself on gender issues.“He needs to understand gender discrimination. Only then he will understand the severity of his statement. I think he does not understand what he has said and its repercussions on the society,” he said.FILE – Members of civil society groups take part in a rally to condemn the incident of rape on a deserted highway, in Karachi, Pakistan, Sept. 12, 2020.The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a non-profit entity, said it was “appalled” by the remarks and said it showed a “baffling ignorance of where, why, and how rape occurs.”Khan, who was a cricketer of international fame, had a reputation as a womanizer before he turned to politics and became devoutly religious.  He has since blamed sexual content and obscenity for an increase in rapes and a breakdown in family units.“When I went (to Britain at 18 years of age), they used to have one divorce in 17 marriages. Today, they have a 70% divorce rate and increasing,” he said.In India, he said, the film industry was partly responsible for New Delhi being called the rape capital of the world.Rights groups said his statements were equivalent to victim blaming.“Rape is perpetrated by rapists and it’s culture is strengthened by rape apologists. PM @ImranKhanPTI must apologize for this callous and damaging remarks and desist from blaming the victims,” rights group Women’s Action Forum wrote in its statement on Twitter.Rape is perpetrated by rapists and it’s culture is strengthened by rape apologists. PM @ImranKhanPTI must apologize for this callous and damaging remarks and desist from blaming the victims .
Read full statement of condemnation here :https://t.co/GoQsgmgkHPpic.twitter.com/MrFoBRR5QL
— Women’s Action Forum – Karachi Chapter (@WAFKarachi) April 7, 2021One activist at Thursday’s protest said it was time for Khan’s supporters to step up.“His voters need to hold him to account,” said William Pervez. “Our voters have turned into blind supporters of their leaders.”Khan’s British ex-wife, Jemima Goldsmith, hoped the remarks were a mistranslation of his words.“The Imran I knew used to say, ‘Put a veil on the man’s eyes not on the woman’,” she tweeted.She also recounted an incident in Saudi Arabia years ago when an elderly woman told her she was harassed by young men while in her abaya and niqab (face covering) until she revealed her face.“The problem is not how women dress!” Goldsmith said. 
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Khidirnazar Allakulov, 65, is a man with a mission: He aims to change the Uzbek political landscape with his new movement called the “Truth and Development” Social Democratic Party.   But before Allakulov and his party can begin to reform a system he says is “evil” and “does not value its citizens and does not serve them in any way,” he’s going to have to get his party recognized.    “Truth and Development” proclaimed itself a party on March 8, 2021, and applied to be registered on April 7 with about 20,000 signatures from its supporters. The Justice Ministry has a month to consider and respond.   Campaigning for Uzbekistan’s October 24, 2021, presidential election starts in July. Allakulov could be his party’s candidate — if it actually gets on the ballot. “I’m not against the current constitutional system or aim to overthrow it,” he said. “But I’m against the current leadership and oppose the way Uzbekistan is run now.”    Khidirnazar Allakulov, leader of the new political group the “Truth and Development” Social Democratic Party, talks with VOA’s Navbahor Imamova in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. (VOA)Since its independence in 1991, like other countries in Central Asia, Uzbekistan has struggled to overcome its legacy of Soviet rule. Islam Karimov ruled with an iron fist for 27 years from 1989 to 2016. His successor, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, launched reforms aimed at rebalancing elements of Uzbek politics, devolving some powers from the executive to parliament, the Oliy Majlis.    Currently, Uzbekistan has five political parties. They are vocal about their platforms and introduce initiatives in parliament. Senate chairperson Tanzila Narbayeva even argues that the Oliy Majlis is now independent. “We don’t take orders even from the president’s office,” Narbayeva told VOA. But none of these lawmakers dares to oppose the president, and all five are integral to the ruling elite.    FILE – The members of the Uzbekistan Senate are seen during their session in Tashkent, Aug. 26, 2005.Talking to VOA in Tashkent, Allakulov says he is the only man in Uzbekistan who has a track record of standing against what he calls a corrupt Uzbek government. He victoriously fought the dictatorship through 14 court cases — and took his grievances to the United Nations, which sided with him and reminded the Uzbek government of its legal obligations.    Following graduation from what is now Tashkent State University of Economics, he worked his way up to head Termez State University. Allakulov says he always stood against corruption, mostly losing to the system, because stealing and bribery are ways of life in Uzbekistan.         But Allakulov was fired as university rector and faced suits accusing him of corruption. By 2016, he had been indicted and seemed to have been just another part of the system he claims to want to change.    Allakulov rose through established institutions and, in that sense, also represents Uzbekistan’s old guard. To his critics, he belongs to the same generation of arrogant, egoistic, self-righteous men who already run Uzbekistan.”How different are you really?” VOA asked.     Allakulov agreed he does not represent new blood. “But I’m honest and said ‘no’ when the government pushed me to be corrupt, lie, steal, and violate rights.   “I suffered for years to clear my name, protect my wife and children from the hate my court cases created. It cost me my career. As an economics professor and holder of the highest academic degrees, I could have written books, shared knowledge and educated generations of Uzbeks. But instead,” he said, “I fought for my honor and family.”     But even as he has opposed the system, Allakulov has done well from it economically through his family construction business in southern Uzbekistan.    Allakulov attributes his success not to the Uzbek system but to his training in Washington. Because of what he learned in a 1990s exchange program, he says, he was able to put his money in the right places. He maintains it was that business savvy that allowed him to keep his wealth even as he battled Tashkent, local authorities, and the courts.    “I’m no angel! Not everything I have done has been correct or honorable. But I’m here openly discussing my commitment to change the country.”    If he can create a true opposition party, it would be a significant change for a country that has never held free or fair elections, according to international observers such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. One consistent criticism has been that Uzbek elections always lack competition and real choices for voters. And its neighbors fare little better. Kyrgyzstan is the only Central Asian country that earns relatively higher marks for its elections; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan – like Uzbekistan – have always lacked basic freedoms and fall short of the requirements for democratic elections.       Allakulov says his party can fill that void, but complains about harassment and barriers to political entry. Allakulov says he has not gone to the General Prosecutor’s Office because he does not trust it, or any part of the government.   But the authorities deny those claims. Avazbek Madaminov, head of the Justice Ministry’s NGO Department, tells VOA that his office maintains a neutral position, and is a responsible body for applicants to register as a nongovernmental organization or political party.   Avazbek Madaminov heads Uzbek Justice Ministry’s department dealing with the civil society, including NGOs and political parties. (VOA)”If these allegations have any basis, this group should file a formal complaint. If we receive them, we will pass them to the relevant entities to investigate.”    Allakulov accuses the ministry of sharing confidential information with the security services, who, he says, have bullied him and his followers for months. “The government has done everything it can to block our way and try to distract us from our mission.” Madaminov dismisses these assertions.   “Truth and Development,” Allakulov says, wants separation of powers and rule of law. But all five existing parties more or less say the same thing. And Mirziyoyev himself claims that he is committed to ensuring Uzbekistan will be “a true democratic and just society.”     The more VOA pushed Allakulov for clarity on his program and ideas, the more his responses suggested that these things are a work in progress. He was often vague, mostly rhetorical, and offered few coherent ideas that were not much different from those espoused by existing parties.  Allakulov says he will tackle corruption, human rights and rule of law, Central Asian unity, and economic development. Mirziyoyev’s agenda looks similar but Allakulov argues his party’s strategy and tactics would differ dramatically.    Once registered, he said, “we will disclose our concrete plans.”    Senate Chairperson Narbayeva tells VOA that public pressure for fairness should guide the system to hold proper presidential elections. She said new parties should “follow the procedures. That’s the way to get registered.” If that happens, Allakulov’s party may have an opportunity to make good on its promises of reform.    
 
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The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) reports it is covering the cost of health insurance for an additional 20,000 Afghan refugees in Iran. This boosts the number of refugees to 120,000 who will be able to access medical care for COVID-19 and other illnesses under Iran’s national health plan.
 
Iran hosts nearly 800,000 Afghan refugees.  Over the past year, the UNHCR has paid insurance premiums for 100,000 of the most vulnerable refugees. Given the dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it now has boosted that number by another 20,000.
 
UNHCR spokesman Babar Balloch says Iran is one of only a handful of countries in the world that allows refugees to sign up for its national health insurance and receive the same treatment as its nationals.     
 
“The national insurance scheme allows for free COVID-19 treatment and hospitalization.  It also subsidizes the cost of surgeries, dialysis, radiology, laboratory tests, out-patient care and more.  However, many refugees are not able to afford the premium costs,” he said.   
 
Balloch said the pandemic has severely affected the ability of refugees to earn a living as they usually rely on precarious and unstable jobs. The cost of health care, he said, is unaffordable for most refugees as it represents about 40% of a refugee family’s monthly expenses.   
 
And, yet, in the time of COVID, accessing treatment could be a matter of life or death. The World Health Organization reports Iran is the most COVID-affected country in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The latest data show more than 1.9 million cases, including 63,000 deaths.
 
The UNHCR warns fewer refugees are likely to seek treatment for urgent health needs if they are unable to afford health insurance. The agency says it may not be able to continue subsidizing the cost of insurance premiums for the refugees due to its tight budget. The agency notes this year’s UNHCR funding appeal of $97 million is only 7% funded.  
 
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Russia reaffirmed Wednesday it will enhance security cooperation with Pakistan by strengthening the South Asian nation’s “potential” to fight terrorism, which is to include supplying Islamabad with the “relevant military” hardware. “We believe this [cooperation] serves interests of all states of the region,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in the Pakistani capital before concluding his landmark two-day official visit.In his talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Lavrov said the two countries agreed to increase the frequency of their joint military drills and maritime exercises to fight terrorism and piracy.Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, April 7, 2021.Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, April 7, 2021.The chief Russian diplomat last visited Pakistan in 2012, and the ensuing years saw a marked improvement in Moscow’s otherwise strained and mistrustful relations with Islamabad.The distrust stemmed from Islamabad’s decision to side with the U.S.-backed Afghan armed resistance of the 1980s that forced Moscow to withdraw Soviet occupation forces from Afghanistan. Afghan peace Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia and Pakistan are working closely to help in peace-building efforts in neighboring Afghanistan. He said both sides agreed to “further facilitate” a deal through an “inclusive political dialogue to put an end to the civil war” between Afghan’s warring parties in the conflict-torn country.”We are, just like our Pakistani partners, seriously worried about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, and by the rise of terrorist activities and the march of ISIL (an acronym for Islamic State) in north and east of the country,” Lavrov said.Moscow maintains contacts with the Afghan government and the Taliban waging a deadly insurgency against the U.S.-backed Kabul administration.Russia has hosted several Afghan peace meetings in recent months, with envoys of Kabul and the Taliban among the attendees. FILE – Taliban political deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, center, arrives with other members of the Taliban delegation for an Afghan peace conference in Moscow, Russia, March 18, 2021.The latest gathering happened last month in Moscow, where senior diplomats from the United States, China and Pakistan also were in attendance, together with representatives of the Afghan adversaries. Qureshi, while speaking alongside Lavrov, described the March 18 Moscow meeting as “successful” and said he discussed with his Russian counterpart the possibility of arranging another such conference to further the Afghan peace process.Islamabad traditionally also maintains close ties with the Taliban and has long been accused by Kabul of sheltering insurgent leaders on Pakistani soil.Pakistan rejects the charges and is credited with bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table for peace talks with Washington that culminated in a landmark agreement in February 2020. US-Taliban deal President Joe Biden’s new administration, however, has been reviewing the U.S.-Taliban deal, which requires all American and NATO-led foreign troops to leave Afghanistan by May 1. The reassessment stems from concerns the Taliban have not eased violence, and hostilities will intensify if international forces withdraw from the country in the absence of a political deal between warring Afghans. Biden said last month it will be tough for the U.S. to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by May 1 for logistical reasons, prompting the Taliban to threaten they would resume attacks on foreign troops in the country if Washington fails to honor the deal. Gas pipeline Lavrov and Qureshi both reported Wednesday that construction by Russia of a 1,100-kilometer gas pipeline will begin soon in Pakistan. The pipeline, linking the southern port city of Karachi to the eastern city of Lahore, will cost an estimated $2 billion and is expected to transport up to 12.4 billion cubic meters of gas annually.”We are making necessary efforts to start the construction of the north-south gas pipeline — the flagship project in the energy sector,” the Russian foreign minister said. “We hope that all remaining technical issues will be agreed upon in the very near future.”The project, officials say, will open a fast-growing gas market for Russian energy companies.The steady growth in bilateral ties saw trade between Russia and Pakistan last year hitting an all-time high of $790 million, an increase of 46 percent, mainly due to large supplies of Russian wheat to help Islamabad bridge its domestic shortfalls.FILE – A shipment of Russia’s Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine arrives at Kosice Airport, Slovakia, March 1, 2021.Qureshi said Islamabad also intends to buy about 5 million doses of the Russian-developed Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine to boost Pakistan’s efforts with its recently launched program to inoculate its population against the pandemic. Lavrov said Russia also will look into a request put forward by Pakistan to help the country ultimately manufacture the vaccine. Before departing Pakistan, the Russian foreign minister also met with Prime Minister Imran Khan and the country’s military chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.Khan reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to “expeditiously conclude the requisite legal process” for the gas pipeline project and begin work as quickly as possible, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.”Pakistan values its relations with Russia and reciprocates the desire for enhanced bilateral military cooperation,” a military statement quoted Bajwa as telling Lavrov.”We have no hostile designs toward any country and will keep on working toward a cooperative regional framework based on sovereign equality and mutual progress,” the Pakistani army chief asserted. 
 
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India has been recording the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases in the world as it grapples with a second wave of the pandemic. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the impact of the massive surge of the virus, in the world’s biggest vaccine maker, will be felt far beyond its shores as India slows vaccine shipments to other countries.    
   
Camera: P. Pallavi   Produced by: Rod James 
 
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India has become the global hotspot for the COVID-19 pandemic, counting the world’s highest numbers of daily new infections in recent days as it grapples with a second wave of the pandemic weeks after witnessing a dramatic decline.   The impact of the swift surge in the virus, in the world’s biggest vaccine maker, will be felt far beyond its shores as India slows vaccine shipments to other countries.     Health experts blame many people in the vast populous country for virtually abandoning COVID protocols as cases tumbled earlier this year.     Huge crowds, mostly without masks, have been jostling at massive political rallies being held in five states holding local elections. A month-long religious festival that sees hundreds congregate daily to take a dip in the river Ganges that Hindus consider holy is underway in the northern state of Uttarakhand. Weddings and family events have become bigger.   Just a day before Mumbai counted its highest numbers of COVID-19 infections, its markets, local trains and beaches were packed. Along with the rest of the country, India’s financial capital had resumed normal life as the daily count of cases dipped by end January in India.    Now, experts say the country is paying the price — the number of infections during this second wave has climbed far more swiftly than the first with daily cases topping the 100,000 mark for the first time this week. On Wednesday, India reported 115,736 infections — its biggest spike since the pandemic began.   “There was a general feeling of comfort across all sections including the policy makers and particularly the public that we had seen the end of the epidemic. There was a feeling that herd immunity had somehow been acquired and that was going to protect India from any further inroads of the virus,” says Srinath Reddy, President of the Public Health Foundation of India. “This was absolutely a misconception and that led to people abandoning public health precautions.”     Health experts say that more infectious variants from Britain, South Africa and Brazil contributed to the swift rise the country is witnessing.    People walk at a crowded market amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the old quarters of Delhi, India, Apr. 6, 2021.India is unlikely to impose a national lockdown that extracted a huge economic cost, but worst affected areas in the country are reimposing restrictions. The western state of Maharashtra, the country’s most economically developed state, is the epicenter of the new wave reporting nearly 60% of the country’s cases. Its capital, Mumbai, reimposed a partial lockdown this week shutting down shops, restaurants and monuments and ordering a complete shutdown on weekends. The Indian capital, New Delhi has imposed a night curfew.  In cities that had resumed normal life, the millions who had returned to their casual jobs are worried. “I really hope there is no strict lockdown again,” says Kavita Kamble who works as a cook in several homes in Mumbai. “Last year we had no work for six-seven months. We were all sitting at home. Only we know how we coped.”    To stem the rapid rise of infections, India has accelerated its immunization drive which began in January. After inoculating health care workers and senior citizens, health officials began targeting the younger age groups believed to be driving the rising numbers.    People sit in a waiting area to receive a dose of COVISHIELD, a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, at a vaccination center in Ahmedabad, India, Apr. 2, 2021.”The pandemic isn’t over and there is no scope for complacency,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Twitter, urging people to get “vaccinated on your turn and follow COVID-appropriate behavior scrupulously!”  The #Pandemic isn’t over and there is no scope for complacency
On #WorldHealthDay2021 infuse greater zeal to #Unite2FightCorona, get vaccinated on your turn & follow COVID appropriate behaviour scrupulously! @PMOIndia@MoHFW_INDIA#LargestVaccineDrivehttps://t.co/KSqfJ1xriq
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) FILE – Boxes of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and provided through the global COVAX initiative arrive at the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, March 15, 2021.“I really want to deliberately hope that it is a delay, not a ban because that would be catastrophic if that was the case,” John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a news conference earlier this month in Addis Ababa. “Then meeting vaccination schedule becomes problematic, very, very problematic.”
India defended its decision pointing out that it had shipped vaccines to more than 80 countries.
“We have already stated that our external supplies would be done, keeping in mind our domestic requirements,” Arindam Bagchi, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said recently at a press briefing. “At this time, I’m sure our partners understand that vaccines are primarily purposed for domestic consumption.” It has also clarified that there is no outright ban.    India’s own needs are huge. Although the more than 87 million jabs it has administered are among the largest in the world, they have reached less than 7% of the population.     The course of India’s second wave will be critical not just for the vast South Asian nation, but also for other countries waiting to get jabs into as many arms as possible.  
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began a two-day official visit Tuesday to Pakistan amid growing diplomatic, economic, and military ties between the two countries. 
 
Pakistani and Russian officials said Lavrov’s delegation-level talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also will focus on ongoing diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in neighboring Afghanistan. 
 
Qureshi received the chief Russian diplomat and his delegation at the military base outside Islamabad, where the two leaders also held an initial interaction. 
 
“Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with Russia and the relationship is gradually expanding,” a post-meeting statement quoted the Pakistani foreign minister as telling the visitor. 
 
Additionally, Lavrov, accompanied by Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, is scheduled to hold meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and the country’s military leadership. 
 
“There are plans to conduct a detailed discussion on the current status of bilateral relations and their development prospects, including opportunities for further strengthening trade, economic and counterterrorism cooperation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a pre-visit statement. 
 
Foreign Minister Lavrov last visited Islamabad in 2012, and the ensuing years saw a marked improvement in Russia’s otherwise strained and mistrustful relations with Pakistan. 
 
The distrust stemmed from Islamabad’s decision to side with the United States-backed Afghan armed resistance of the 1980s that forced Moscow to withdraw Soviet occupation forces from Afghanistan. 
 
Bilateral trade between Russia and Pakistan last year hit an all-time high of $790 million, an increase of 46 percent, mainly due to large supplies of Russian wheat to help Islamabad bridge its domestic shortfalls. 
 
Officials said both countries are working closely to increase business partnerships in the energy sector to open a fast-growing gas market for Russian energy companies. 
 
Moscow and Islamabad signed an agreement in 2015 to build a 1,100-km pipeline in Pakistan linking the port of Karachi to the city of Lahore to transport 1.6 billion cubic meters of gas per day. 
 
Russian and Pakistani officials say negotiations on the multi-billion dollar “flagship project” are ongoing “with a view to an early start of its practical implementation.” 
 
The Russian foreign minister is visiting the region as a May 1 deadline approaches for American forces to exit Afghanistan in line with an agreement Washington signed with the Taliban insurgency in February 2020. 
 
Lavrov landed in Pakistan after visiting India, where he stressed the need for the inclusion of the Taliban in any political settlement to end the civil war in Afghanistan. 
 
“Any other way that foresees the exclusion of any group from this process will not deliver an implementable and sustainable peace agreement,” Lavrov told reporters in New Delhi before leaving for Islamabad. 
 
Last month, Moscow hosted an Afghanistan conference, where representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban, along with senior Chinese, U.S. and Pakistani diplomats, explored ways to push Afghan peace efforts. 
 
President Joe Biden’s administration is reviewing the deal with the Taliban and has also intensified efforts to push the two Afghan adversaries to urgently resume peace talks and negotiate a power-sharing deal. 
 
Biden said last month it will be tough for the U.S. to withdrawal its troops from Afghanistan by May 1 for logistical reasons. 
 
On Monday, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said the president is continuing to consult internally with his national security team and U.S. partners and allies on the way forward. 
 
“Well, he set the expectation it will be tough for a full withdrawal, for logistical reasons, by that timeline. And that certainly has — also something that we’ve conveyed clearly to our partners as well,” Psaki said when asked whether U.S. troops were expected to remain in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline. 
 
The Taliban repeatedly has urged Washington to abide by the mutually agreed upon timeline and withdraw all foreign forces from the country. The insurgent group has threatened to resume attacks on U.S. and allied forces if the U.S. fails to honor the deadline. 
 
The U.S.-Taliban deal binds the insurgents to immediately halt attacks on foreign troops in Afghanistan. 
 
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