Latest news with #Taliban-controlled
India.com
5 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
What weapons does Baloch Army use against Pakistan Army? They get these weapons from…
BLA (File) In a massive news for South Asia, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist armed group fighting for Balochistan's independence from Pakistan, reportedly captured the city of Sorab, a city located in Pakistan's Balochistan province. The separatist army has reportedly captured important institutions of the city including government offices, banks, and police stations, in a swift three-hour operation. However, a question that may have come to the mind of many of readers is that what weapons does the Baloch Liberation Army use and most importantly, how do they procure those weapons. As per media reports, the BLA possess American and Russian-made weapons and it is being speculated that many of these may have come from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, using arms left behind by the US military. Also, many reports quote Pakistani officials as saying that the Baloch fighters obtain these weapons from the black markets in Iran and Afghanistan. Getting to the details of the weapons, the BLA reportedly uses these weapons: M240B machine gun: M240B is A US Marine Corps machine gun firing 7.62 mm NATO rounds, with a range of up to 2 km. M16A4 rifle: Also used by US forces, capable of firing 700–950 rounds per minute. RPG-7 launcher: A Russian-made, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon, widely used globally since its introduction in 1961. Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed on in a terrorist attack in the south western province of Balochistan, the Pakistan Army said. 'Terrorists belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army targeted a security forces' vehicle with an improvised explosive device in general area Mach, Kachhi district,' according to a Pakistan Army statement. The army said seven soldiers were killed in the attack and the sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorist present in the area, the army said. The militants were killed in the Kech and Ziarat districts during a fresh crackdown against militant elements in the province. (With inputs from agencies)
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Taliban and Burkina Faso ambassadors pledge new trade and mining cooperation
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Taliban's acting ambassador to Iran has met with his Burkina Faso counterpart in the Iranian capital Tehran as part of a broader outreach effort by the West African country to win new trade partners, according to Taliban-controlled media. During the meeting between acting Ambassador Maulvi Fazl Mohammad Haqqani and Ambassador Mohammad Kabura, both parties pledged to cooperate on trade, mining and vocational training. The Taliban are the de facto rulers of Afghanistan. 'In this meeting, the parties emphasized the expansion of cooperation in the fields of trade, agriculture, mining, and the exchange of professional and vocational skills,' the Afghan embassy in Tehran said in a statement. Both ambassadors also pledged to have private sector delegations visit soon as part of the plan to develop trade between Afghanistan and Burkina Faso. The meeting comes less than a week after the Commander General of Iranian law enforcement and security forces visited neighboring Niger and announced new areas of cooperation and training for the Niger Police and National Guard, including training at the Iranian Police University. 'The meeting culminated in the signing of a memorandum of understanding covering several areas of cooperation between the two countries,' according to a statement from Niger's Minister of the Interior, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba to media outlets. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of withdrawing from the country after two decades of war. Burkina Faso has struggled in recent years with a ballooning militant insurgency, elements of which are aligned with the Taliban informally. The landlocked nation of 23 million people has come to symbolize the security crisis in the arid Sahel region south of the Sahara in recent years. It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, and the governments fighting them. The three-nation bloc of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced last year that they were leaving the regional bloc known as ECOWAS. They then created their own security partnership, known as the Alliance of Sahel States, severed military ties with long-standing Western partners such as U.S. and France, and turned to Russia for military support. Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Bamako, told The Associated Press that Burkina Faso and the Alliance of Sahel States, known by its French acronym AES, have been searching for alternative partners since their respective military juntas took power. They wish to "rely less on western companies and focus more on their so called new partners,' Laessing said. 'Iran has been trying to boost cooperation with the Sahel AES countries. They also have been active in Burkina Faso sending even some aid. A shipment arrived at Ouagadougou airport.'
Toronto Star
13-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
The Taliban and Burkina Faso ambassadors pledge new trade and mining cooperation
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Taliban's acting ambassador to Iran has met with his Burkina Faso counterpart in the Iranian capital Tehran as part of a broader outreach effort by the West African country to win new trade partners, according to Taliban-controlled media. During the meeting between acting Ambassador Maulvi Fazl Mohammad Haqqani and Ambassador Mohammad Kabura, both parties pledged to cooperate on trade, mining and vocational training. The Taliban are the de facto rulers of Afghanistan.
Winnipeg Free Press
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
The Taliban and Burkina Faso ambassadors pledge new trade and mining cooperation
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Taliban's acting ambassador to Iran has met with his Burkina Faso counterpart in the Iranian capital Tehran as part of a broader outreach effort by the West African country to win new trade partners, according to Taliban-controlled media. During the meeting between acting Ambassador Maulvi Fazl Mohammad Haqqani and Ambassador Mohammad Kabura, both parties pledged to cooperate on trade, mining and vocational training. The Taliban are the de facto rulers of Afghanistan. 'In this meeting, the parties emphasized the expansion of cooperation in the fields of trade, agriculture, mining, and the exchange of professional and vocational skills,' the Afghan embassy in Tehran said in a statement. Both ambassadors also pledged to have private sector delegations visit soon as part of the plan to develop trade between Afghanistan and Burkina Faso. The meeting comes less than a week after the Commander General of Iranian law enforcement and security forces visited neighboring Niger and announced new areas of cooperation and training for the Niger Police and National Guard, including training at the Iranian Police University. 'The meeting culminated in the signing of a memorandum of understanding covering several areas of cooperation between the two countries,' according to a statement from Niger's Minister of the Interior, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba to media outlets. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of withdrawing from the country after two decades of war. Burkina Faso has struggled in recent years with a ballooning militant insurgency, elements of which are aligned with the Taliban informally. The landlocked nation of 23 million people has come to symbolize the security crisis in the arid Sahel region south of the Sahara in recent years. It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, and the governments fighting them. The three-nation bloc of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced last year that they were leaving the regional bloc known as ECOWAS. They then created their own security partnership, known as the Alliance of Sahel States, severed military ties with long-standing Western partners such as U.S. and France, and turned to Russia for military support. Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Bamako, told The Associated Press that Burkina Faso and the Alliance of Sahel States, known by its French acronym AES, have been searching for alternative partners since their respective military juntas took power. They wish to 'rely less on western companies and focus more on their so called new partners,' Laessing said. 'Iran has been trying to boost cooperation with the Sahel AES countries. They also have been active in Burkina Faso sending even some aid. A shipment arrived at Ouagadougou airport.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration ends protections for Afghans in US by citing tourism under Taliban rule
Donald Trump's administration is pointing to an increase in tourism under Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to justify the cancellation of humanitarian protections for more than 11,000 Afghans in the United States. On Monday, the administration announced plans to strip temporary legal status to roughly 11,700 Afghans who fled the country following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, which led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in the wake of the devastating years-long war. 'This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,' said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a statement. 'We've reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation,' she added. 'Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent [sic] them from returning to their home country. Homeland Security's notice to the federal government claims there have been 'notable improvements' in Afghanistan's national security, now under the control of the Taliban, and 'requiring the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions.' The notice in the federal register also claims that 'the Taliban government is promoting tourism to shift its global image.' 'Tourism to Afghanistan has increased, as the rates of kidnappings have reduced,' the notice added. 'Tourists are sharing their experiences on social media, highlighting the peaceful countryside, welcoming locals, and the cultural heritage, according to some reports.' More than 23 million people in the country still need critical humanitarian assistance, according to the notice. But Homeland Security points to that as a relative success, as the number of Afghans in need of humanitarian aid has declined from 29 million over the previous year. Refugee aid and resettlement groups have blasted the administration's decision, noting that many Afghans are now threatened with being removed from a country they risked their lives to support. The decision to terminate TPS for Afghans 'is not rooted in reality — it's rooted in politics,' according to Shawn VanDiver, president of refugee assistance group AfghanEvac, calling the administration's announcement 'unconscionable.' 'It's just patently obscene,' he told The Independent. The administration is betraying Afghans 'who risked their lives for America, built lives here, and believed in our promises,' he shared in a statement. 'This policy change won't make us safer — it will tear families apart, destabilize lives, and shred what's left of our moral credibility.' The TPS designation was opened to Afghans in 2022 after the fall of Kabul and extended in 2023. Without those protections, impacted Afghans will lose authorization to legally work in the United States and can be detained and removed from the country altogether, which could prevent them from legally entering the country for at least 10 years. But Matthew Tragesser, chief of public affairs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, claimed that 'bad actors are taking advantage' of the program. 'TPS exists for a reason: to protect people whose return to their country would place them in grave danger. Afghanistan today is still reeling from Taliban rule, economic collapse, and humanitarian disaster. Nothing about that reality has changed,' according to Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president of refugee aid group Global Refuge. 'Terminating protections for Afghans is a morally indefensible betrayal of allies who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us to advance American interests throughout our country's longest war,' she added. Ending protections for Afghan women and girls means 'forcing them back to Taliban rule, where they face systemic oppression and gender-based violence, would be an utterly unconscionable stain on our nation's reputation,' Vignarajah added. Under the terms of a federal lawsuit trying to block the cancellation of TPS, temporary protected status for Afghans will expire May 20 and the elimination of the program takes effect July 12. Afghans with TPS who also have a pending asylum claim or special immigrant visa case or other pending immigration case are not supposed to be impacted by the decision, though the administration's maneuvers are unclear. Refugee groups anticipate battling it out in court. The lawsuit from immigrant advocacy group CASA Inc represents a man identified in court filings as A.F., an Afghan with TPS protections living in Virginia. He has an engineering degree and works as a project manager under his TPS-based work authorization, according to court documents Without those protections, 'his employer could terminate him or, at best, place him on a lengthy unpaid administrative leave as a precursor to firing him. He cannot afford either option,' the lawsuit states. 'Although he is a citizen of Afghanistan, he has never lived there and has spent only around five weeks of his life in the country, when he was a child,' according to the lawsuit. 'A.F. has no immediate family in Afghanistan and no prospects of building a safe or stable life there.'
