The acting district police chief of Rashidan district was killed in a bomb blast in Ghazni province, local officials confirmed.

The spokesman of Ghazni Police, Ahmad Khan Sirat told Reporterly that the acting police chief for Rashidan district was killed after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Qayaq Valley around 7:40p.m on Monday night.

Sirat added that three other police were wounded in the blast.

He also said that two militants were killed in clashes with security forces on Monday in Qayaq Valley, the same area where the bombing happened.

The Presidential Candidate Abdullah Abdullah’s team “Stability and Partnership” has set a four-day deadline for the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to remove the fraudulent votes.

The deputies of “Stability and Partnership” electoral team warned to stage a civil protest if their demands not addressed.

Abdullah’s team in a gathering of Jubish-e Mili party announced support for Kabul protesters and stated that the demands of protesting electoral teams have not been addressed so far.

Supporting the protesters, Babur Farahmand, Abdullah’s first vice-president candidate said they will stand up to their clean votes.

Farahmand noted that the result of their negotiations with the IEC officials is that the commission has been disqualified and has no right to make any decision.

He stressed that the security forces should be neutral and do not interfere in the elections affairs, adding that IEC is trying to involve the military in the election issues.

“IEC has added tens of thousands of votes to the count, which were cast outside polling hours or which had no biometric records,” he said.

Abdullah’s first vice-president candidate insists that if the fraudulent votes invalidated, the votes of “Stability and Partnership” team will be higher than 51 percent.

President Ashraf Ghani says in the current situation, no one will interfere with the rule of law in the country.

Speaking at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) conference focused on “women, peace and security, President Ghani said “Women’s achievements will not be taken away. The country will develop with women’s progress.”

He declared that Afghan women are the peace and security keepers of the country.

President called the first women conference a great measure and emphasized on women’s rights in the peace process.

Regarding peace in the country, Ghani stated that Peace doesn’t belong to a political party or an ethnic group.

“Peace means that people bring security, development and unity to the country,” he said.

President Ghani also stressed that the IS-K group has been cleared from Nangarhar and security forces will clear them from all parts of the country.

The National Directorate of Security (NDS) says the claim that a paedophile ring allegedly abused hundreds of boys in Logar province was aimed for seeking alyssum in foreign countries.

NDS in a statement on Tuesday said that the report by Mossa Mahmoudi and his colleague on child sexual abuse in a number of schools in Logar disturbed public opinion and posed several serious security threats.

According to the NDS statement, Mahmudi and his colleagues who made the claim “were shifted to safe place” due to security threats and to inquire about the claims.

“Unfortunately, from Mahmoudi’s speech it became clear that his findings were without evidence and that it was conducted purely for the purpose of establishing a story and then seeking asylum in a foreign country for his family.”

The statement stated that the unjustified allegations without any evidence posed a security threat to several schools, including students which also confuses public opinion about the educational environment and can deprive our children of the opportunity to learn.

This comes as the Amnesty International and Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has called on Afghanistan’s intelligence agency to release two Afghan activists who were arrested after exposing the paedophile ring.

Mahmudi, a youth social worker, told the Guardian newspaper that teachers and local officials were involved in the paedophile ring, based in Logar province south of the capital.

At least 546 boys from six schools were allegedly abused, The Guardian reported.

Some victims were later killed, The Guardian reported, adding that rights campaigners uncovered more than 100 videos of the sexual abuse.

The date for conducting a meeting of the inter-Afghan dialogue in Beijing has not been coordinated yet because Taliban members are dissatisfied with the composition of Kabul’s delegation, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan and Director of the Second Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Zamir Kabulov has said.

“It is a question for the Chinese,” he said, answering an inquiry from TASS. “They’ve stalled everything.”[The date] has not been determined yet. The Taliban members are dissatisfied with the composition of the delegation, which the Afghan president [Ashraf Ghani] demands. That is why everything has been frozen.”

Kabulov earlier told TASS that the Russian side expects the inter-Afghan meeting in Beijing to be held before the end of this year.

In October, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Geng Shuang said that Beijing would offer comprehensive support for a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan and contribute to dialogue between all the participants of this peace process. On November 11, Geng Shuang reported that China is preparing a venue for inter-Afghan negotiations on its territory.

The Afghan army in the northern zone of the country has announced that the primary court of 209th Shahin Corps sentenced a soldier to death in connection with the killing of his commander.

The 209th Shahin Corps in a statement said that the “premeditated murder” by Brig. Sayed Musa was held on Monday in a public hearing.

According to the statement, Sayed Musa is accused of killing his commander Hashmatullah with his “M16” weapon for three months of his salary postponement.

The 209th Shahin Corps said that the soldier was absent during the three months.

The statement stated that the solider was disarmed and detained by the personnel of third battalion of second brigade after committing the crime.

This comes as the US Special Inspector General for Reconstruction of Afghanistan (SIGAR) has previously in its report said that there have been 49 attacks in the ranks of Afghan security and defense forces since the beginning of this year.

The first vice-president and a member of “Stability and Partnership” electoral team says a huge wave of Afghans will stage a nationwide demonstration to fight against fraud, if it is not prevented.

In a meeting with the people in Sheberghan city of Jawzjan province, Gen. Dostum declared that no attention has been paid in reconstruction of Sheberghan in the recent years, and any changes have been made by local people and businessmen.

Dostum also allocated 40,000 square meters of his own land to build a university, equivalent to Kabul University in Sheberghan. The university is set to cost more than $ 15 million.

He added that the Taliban are not capable of confronting the security forces, but the reason for the growing insecurity in the country, especially in the north, is the cooperation of some groups with the Taliban.

Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has demanded authorities in Afghanistan immediately release two local human rights defenders who exposed an alleged pedophile ring involved in the abuse of hundreds of school children.

“Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned about the illegal detention of civil society activists Mr. Musa Mahmudi and Ehsanullah Hamidi, who were investigating the cases of alleged child sexual abuse in Logar province,” AIHRC said in a tweet.

AIHRC has considered the detention of the activists by the NDS in clear contradiction of national laws and human rights standards, and called on the authorities concerned to release the two activists as soon as possible, and ensure their safety and security.

The former President Hamid Karzai has also called for the immediate release of the human rights defenders, “if the NDS arrested them.”

Mahmoudi and Hamidi began receiving threats, including from local officials in Logar, on social media after they gave interviews to domestic and foreign media about the existence of the pedophile ring in the area, according to relatives.

The activists were part of a civil society investigation that uncovered more than 100 videos of the alleged abuse, asserting that some victims were murdered. The probe alleged that the ring included school teachers, headwaters and provincial officials.

Local officials and some Afghan lawmakers have rejected and denounced the allegations as propaganda.

A member of the ISIS from Kerala has surrendered in Afghanistan before the law enforcement agencies. Sonia Sebastin alias Ayesha was among the 21 persons from Kerala who left for Afghanistan and was part of the ISIS. It may be recalled that these persons had left Kerala in batches in the year 2016.

As per OneIndia report, it may be recalled that in June the head of the module was killed in a strike in Afghanistan.

Rashid Abdullah, the leader of the module is said to have died after random bombing by the US forces. The news relating to his death was made known after an unknown ISIS operative had sent out a message out on Telegram.

Abdullah it may be recalled had led 21 people from Kerala to Afghanistan in 2016. He had also taken along with him his wife Ayesha.

They had travelled first to UAE and then to Tehran before reaching Afghanistan. The Kerala ISIS module is being probed by the National Investigation Agency of India (NIA). It was found that the group that travelled to Afghanistan had joined the ISIS. Agency sources tell OneIndia that the intent was to train there and then return to India and carry out attacks.

Amnesty International has called on Afghanistan’s intelligence agency to release two Afghan activists who were arrested after exposing a paedophile ring that allegedly abused hundreds of boys.

In a statement released on Monday, the London-based rights group said Musa Mahmudi and Ehsanullah Hamidi were detained by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Thursday as they were on their way to meet with the European Union ambassador in Kabul.

Mahmudi, a youth social worker, told local TV network TOLO News as well as The Guardian newspaper that teachers and local officials were involved in the paedophile ring, based in Logar province south of the capital.

At least 546 boys from six schools were allegedly abused, The Guardian reported. Authorities have not confirmed the allegations.

Some victims were later killed, The Guardian reported, adding that rights campaigners uncovered more than 100 videos of the sexual abuse.

Ehsanullah Hamidi’s role in revealing the scandal was not immediately clear, and he was not referenced in The Guardian’s story.

“Afghanistan’s intelligence agency must immediately release these human rights defenders,” Amnesty campaigner Samira Hamidi said in a statement.

“They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Rather than punishing them for speaking out against these horrific crimes, the authorities should praise them for their work.”

India has begun training a fresh batch of women officers to belong to the Afghanistan National Army (ANA).

“20 women officers of the Afghanistan National Army have come to Officers Training Academy for training,” an Indian officer said.

As per the Indian Express report, these women officers are undergoing a four-week long course which started from 25 November will end on December 21. During this period the ANA women officers will undergo physical training, drills, weapon training, tactical training, military leadership, human resources management, and computer training told the officer quoted above.

The officers will also be given communication skills classes. The Officers Training Academy in Chennai is the pre-commission military academy in India where women cadets are trained.

This is the third such course for the women officers of the Afghanistan National Army. The first such batch of 20 officers came in 2017 and it was followed with 19 more women officers coming in 2018.

The remaining 200 or so soldiers from a Wisconsin Army National Guard’s Red Arrow infantry group have left Afghanistan.

About 400 soldiers from the Red Arrow’s 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry were deployed to Afghanistan late last year to provide protection for U.S. advisers, contractors and Afghan troops.

About 200 troops returned to Fort Bliss, Texas, on Nov. 17. The Wisconsin National Guard said Monday that the remaining 200 or so soldiers landed at the base on Nov. 23.

Soldiers from the Red Arrow’s 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry have replaced the troops in Afghanistan.