Kabul: US secretary of state Mike Pompeo says Washington is taking back $100 million intended for an Afghan energy infrastructure project, citing unacceptably high levels of corruption in the Afghan government. In the harshly worded statement, Pompeo said the US will still finish the massive project that involves five power substations and a maze of transmission lines in southern Afghanistan. It just won’t be spending the money through Afghan government, blaming the “Afghan government’s inability to transparently manage US government resources.”
This follows an earlier statement, also from Pompeo, calling for “credible and transparent presidential election” when Afghans go to the polls on September 28. The 2014 presidential election was marred by allegations of massive fraud, as was last year’s parliamentary vote.
Doors open to resume talks: Taliban
The Taliban’s chief negotiator has said their “doors are open” to resuming talks with Washington, hours after two attacks by the insurgents killed at least 48 people in war-weary Afghanistan. Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai also defended the Taliban’s role in recent bloodshed across the country after US President Trump cited an attack that killed an American soldier as his reason for calling off negotiations earlier this month.
Stanikzai said that the Americans had also admitted to killing thousands of Taliban during the discussions, and that the insurgents had done nothing wrong by continuing to fight throughout the talks. “From our side, our doors are open for negotiations,” he said. Meanwhile, militants attempted to storm a government office in Jalalabad, with a suicide bombing sparking a running gunbattle with security forces. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan.
40 civilians killed in anti-Taliban raid
Anti-Taliban raids by Afghan forces backed by US airstrikes killed at least 40 civilians attending a wedding party in the southern Helmand province, Afghan officials said. The civilian deaths further rattled Afghanistan amid an upsurge in violence that's followed the collapse this month of US-Taliban peace talks.
"We are saddened and divested to hear that civilians have lost their lives in an incident in Helmand despite President Ashraf Ghani's repeated call for extra cautions in conducting military operations," said Sediq Sediqqi, President's spokesman. He added that Helmand's provincial governor has been instructed to send an investigation team to the area.
Abdul Majed Akhund, deputy provincial council man, said most of the dead were women and children who were at a wedding ceremony in Musa Qala district. An additional 12 civilians were wounded and were hospitalized, Akhund said. The civilian deaths occurred during the second of two raids undertaken in different areas of Musa Qala, Attahullah Afghan, head of the provincial council, said.
The operations killed 22 Taliban fighters, including foreigners, Afghanistan's defense ministry said in a statement. Fourteen people were arrested, including five Pakistani nationals and one Bangladeshi. The statement said a large warehouse of supplies and equipment was also destroyed.
