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The Afghan government and the Taliban will need to find compromises on a plethora of contentious issues to reach a peace settlement -- from civil liberties and womens rights to the country's name and flag.

The most crucial issue facing the warring sides is the makeup of Afghanistans future political system, which is currently an Islamic republic that is modeled on Western-style democracy.

An extremist Islamist group, the Taliban is seeking to transform the Afghan state into a theocracy. The militants see the current system as the product of a U.S. occupation.

The internationally recognized government in Kabul is seeking to preserve as much of the current constitutional order as possible, including key democratic tenets like womens rights, free speech, and competitive elections.

The Taliban has admitted that it cannot revive its Islamic Emirate, the official name of the brutal regime that ruled from 1996-2001. An international pariah that was targeted by U.S. sanctions and air strikes, the regime committed gross human rights abuses and persecuted women and religious minorities.

Fragile and deeply divided, the Afghan government has come to the peace negotiations that started on September 12 in the Gulf state of Qatar in relative weakness.

With roughly half of the country controlled or contested by the Taliban, Kabul lacks the military advantage to drive a hard bargain, especially with U.S. forces withdrawing, experts say.

As a result, they say, the Afghan government will likely have to accept significant constitutional changes and alterations to the current political system to achieve peace.

The Taliban knows that they cannot go back to their old emirate and will need to compromise because of their need for international recognition, says Kamran Bokhari, a director at the Center for Global Policy, a Washington-based think tank. We could see a hybrid between their medieval Sunni ideal and a modern Western-style state.

Bokhari says the likely outcome, if a peace deal is reached and the Taliban abide by it, is a Sunni Afghan version of the Islamic Republic of Iran -- a republican system with a heavy theocratic layer.

A political settlement between the opposing Afghan sides is a key component of a landmark U.S.-Taliban signed in February that is aimed at ending the 19-year war.

Under that deal, foreign forces will leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban, which agreed to negotiate a permanent cease-fire and a power-sharing formula with the Afghan government.

'Truly Islamic'

Rahmatullah Amiri, a Kabul-based political analyst, says recent remarks by U.S. officials and Taliban leaders appeared to show that regime change, via the negotiations, was under way.

Both sides will not use that term because of its sensitivity, says Amiri. But in reality, the Talibans main goal is regime change, and that is what is being discussed.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during the opening ceremony of the peace talks in Qatar on September 12, told the Afghan sides that the choice of your political system is yours to make.

He added that the size and scope of future U.S. financial assistance to the country, which relies heavily on international funding, would depend on that choice.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Talibans political chief and deputy leader, told the ceremony that Afghanistan should "have an Islamic system in which all tribes and ethnicities of the country find themselves without any discrimination and live their lives in love and brotherhood."

Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai, the head of the Talibans negotiating team, said the group was seeking to establish a "truly Islamic" system.

Abdullah Abdullah, the head of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, a body that oversees the peace talks with the Taliban, made his own reference to the current political system that is supported by millions of men and women from a diversity of cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds in our homeland.

Supreme Role Of Islam

There is common ground in the legal and governance systems of the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Both the Talibans political vision and the Afghan political system rely heavily on the centralization of power and the supreme role of Islam.

Afghanistans 2004 constitution prescribes that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam" and sometimes appears contradictory with more liberal and democratic elements within it.

Power resides in a heavily centralized government.

According to the Talibans views on governance, power should be centralized in an "Amir ul-Momineen," or leader of the faithful. This supreme leader is the head of state and has ultimate authority.

The Taliban, too, regards Sharia as the supreme law.

But the warring parties have staunchly different interpretations of Sharia law and the role of Islam.

The Taliban is a group of clerics, says Amiri. In any outcome, the implementation of their version of Islamic law is paramount for them.

The Iran Model

Experts say many new political systems are built on modifying existing models.

Bokhari says Irans Islamic republic, despite being predominately Shiite, could be used as a template in Afghanistan, a Sunni-majority country.

Under Iran's Islamic system of government, known as "velayat-e faqih," a top cleric serves as supreme leader and has the final authority on all matters of state and religion.

The system is designed to balance two forms of governance: theocracy and democracy. The supreme leader, the paramount expert in religious law, supervises the office of the president, who represents the people's will.

Bokhari says Afghanistans future political system is likely to have a complex web of institutions -- like the system in Iran -- that will be dominated by the Taliban at the expense of its opponents.

The Taliban could allow the presidency to remain in the hands of their opponents as long as it has oversight through a powerful cleric, much like Irans supreme leader, says Bokhari.

The Taliban will face stiff resistance in the legislative branch because they do not have a political party or experience in elections, experts say. But the group could look to establish a clerical body like Irans powerful Guardians Council, which supervises elections and vets legislation passed by parliament for compliance with Islamic laws.

Experts say the Taliban is likely to control the judiciary, which is already a stronghold of like-minded ultraconservative clerics.

The security sector, which is dominated by the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police, and the National Directorate of Security, the countrys main intelligence agency, is likely to be a major source of dispute.

Bokhari says the Taliban will look to break that monopoly through a Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program as a framework for demobilizing or integrating fighters into the army or police.

Another option, he says, is for the Taliban to maintain a militia that is parallel to the state security forces like Lebanons Iranian-backed Hizballah, a powerful armed militia that plays a prominent role in politics.

Revolutionary Model

Experts say there are also reasons why the Talibans ideal "Islamic system" might not be based on or closely resemble Iran's.

It would be difficult for the Taliban as a movement, even among their own people and sympathizers, to put forward a model that was recognizably similar to the world's most prominent Shia Islamic state, says Andrew Watkins, a senior analyst for Afghanistan at the International Crisis Group (ICG).

The Iranian state is also based on a revolutionary model that seeks to export its 1979 Islamic Revolution, which goes against the Talibans insistence that its aims are solely national.

Shiite-majority Iran and the Taliban, a fundamentalist Sunni group, were former foes. But in recent years, the sides have forged closer ties.

External support has been key to the Talibans insurgency.

Pakistan, the Talibans main sponsor, has long been accused of sheltering and aiding the militants. U.S. officials have accused Iran of providing financial, political, training, and material support to the Taliban. Washington has also accused Russia of arming the Taliban, which Moscow denies.

The Taliban want to be seen as independent and not influenced by neighboring states, says Watkins. This will also likely steer it away from similarities with Iran's system.

The Saudi Template

Amiri says the Taliban appears to be most interested in replicating the system in Saudi Arabia, outside of it being a theocracy headed by a religious leader who rules for life and is chosen through bayat, or an oath of allegiance.

The Sunni kingdom is governed by Sharia law, has no elected legislature, and has a Council of Ministers, headed by the king, that exercises both legislative and executive powers.

While the Taliban might be interested in a Saudi style of government, they have not been able to articulate this because of the recent reforms made in Saudi Arabia have become unpopular among the Taliban, says Amiri, referring to Riyadhs publicly stated effort to open up the ultraconservative kingdom.

Saudi Arabia was among only three countries that recognized the Talibans brutal regime in the '90s and is believed to have sway over some Taliban leaders.

The Kabul government is not going to be able to secure a peace settlement without consenting to significant changes to the current political system, says Watkins. Whether those changes are constitutional in nature, or if the Taliban prove to be more flexible on the constitutional framework and more insistent in other ways, remains to be seen.

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Is The Taliban Seeking A 'Sunni Afghan Version' Of Iran? - Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty

The rediscovery of a film is seldom as fascinating a story as the film itself, but thats the case with Chess of the Wind (Shatranj-e Baad), directed by Iranian film-maker Mohammad Reza Aslani. It was only screened twice in Tehran in 1976, once to a cinema of hostile critics, and then to an empty cinema the bad reviews had done their work. The rediscovery of this film is great for me, says Aslani, now aged 76, and still living in Tehran. But it also allows audiences to view Iranian cinema from another perspective, and to discover other auteur film-makers who have been marginalised because of the complexity of their films.

Critical of the Shahs royalist government, the film also featured strong female leads and homosexuality, which didnt endear it to the Ayatollah Khomeinis regime either. In the politically tumultuous years that followed the Iranian revolution of 1979, the film was banned, and then presumed lost. Critics in Iran at the time of its release claimed the film didnt make sense, that my father was just trying to make an intellectual film, to imitate European cinema, says the directors daughter, Gita Aslani Shahrestani. But Aslani Shahrestani was determined not to let her fathers legacy languish. A writer and academic based in Paris, she was uniquely suited to the task. About seven years ago I was working on my PhD about auteur cinema in Iran, and this film was part of it, so I started to look for the film.

Having searched the international film archives without finding a copy, Aslani Shahrestani turned to her brother Amin based in Tehran to help in her investigation. Nothing could be found in the Iranian laboratories and archives either. It seemed that Chess of the Wind was lost for good. Then, browsing in a junk shop in 2014, Amin spotted a pile of film cans. On enquiring what they contained, the proprietor said he didnt know; they were simply on sale as a decorative element. Like something out of a fairy tale, on opening them Amin discovered a complete copy of his fathers long-lost film. Still banned in Iran, the print was smuggled out of the country via a private delivery service to Paris, where work began on restoring the film, overseen by Martin Scorseses non-profit organisation, The Film Foundations World Cinema Project, in association with the Cineteca di Bologna.

Chess of the Wind is a gothic family tale, following the (mis)fortunes of a paraplegic heiress played by Fakhri Khorvash, her angular face a study in controlled despair. Seeking to maintain her fragile independence, shes beset on all sides by predatory men her stepfather, his nephews, the local commissar who all seek to prise her fortune from her. Shes aided against them by her handmaiden, played by Shohreh Aghdashloo (nominated for an Oscar for her role in House of Sand and Fog). An erotic tension between mistress and maid adds spice and complexity to the proceedings.

The opulent, claustrophobic interiors are reminiscent of Persian miniatures. Theres also something of the gothic horror of Edgar Allan Poe. The influence of European cinematic masters like Pier Paolo Pasolini, Luchino Visconti and Robert Bresson is also apparent; the camera lingers on hands as they roll cigarettes, serve food, and feed gunpowder down the barrel of a gun, finding beauty in these simple actions. The sound design also stands out: wolves howl and dogs bay as they circle the house, ratcheting up the sense of menace; crows caw, jangling the nerves; heavy breathing makes the characters isolation in this haunted house increasingly oppressive. The soundtrack an early work by trailblazing female composer Sheyda Gharachedaghi takes inspiration from traditional Iranian music, and sounds like demented jazz.

Initial reactions to the restored film have been rapturous, to the delight of its director. I was not expecting such a positive reaction, says Aslani. Of course, Im very happy this film is finally being viewed fairly, and not through a lens that values populist cinema and propaganda.

Robin Baker, head curator of the BFI National Archive, who programmed the film in this years BFI London film festival, says, I think this film will have an impact on the world film canon its ambition on so many different levels is extraordinary. It has a resonance far beyond an Iranian cinema niche. I found it genuinely shocking at times. I think it will confound so many peoples expectations not only of the cinema, but also of the culture of Iran. I can confidently say that audiences wont have seen anything quite like this, no matter what their taste in cinema.

Sadly, Aslanis film-making career was a casualty of Irans political upheavals. Before Chess of the Wind, which he directed aged 33, Aslani had made two short films: a documentary (Hassanlou Cup, 1964), and a wry political allegory critical of the Shahs government (The Quail, 1969). Hed also directed the first season of a television series (Samak Ayyar, 1974) that was roundly criticised for its idiosyncratic, uncommercial style. Afterwards, he remained in Iran, continuing to work within the Iranian film industry. Hes since made more than 10 documentaries, an experimental piece (Tehran, A Conceptual Art in 2011) and another feature film, The Green Fire (2008), but his output has been severely curtailed both practically and conceptually by his situation. Yet he still has plans.

I hope to make another feature, says Aslani. Ive had a script for 10 years, but because Ive been labelled uncommercial and unentertaining in Iran, nobody wants to risk producing it. Its a historical film about one of the greatest Iranian poets, and the style of the film again recalls Persian miniatures, western painting and the cinema of Visconti and Bresson.

Meanwhile, Chess of the Wind is a reminder of his talent, and acts as a touching tribute by Gita Aslani Shahrestani to her fathers legacy. When he saw the restoration he said it was like seeing a therapist, that it reminded him why hed wanted to be a film-maker in the first place, says Aslani Shahrestani. He was really happy. He regrets nothing. He said the film was like a baby hed lost, and now theyre reunited.

Chess of the Wind is available for free on the BFI Player from 1013 October as part of the London film festival.

Read the original here:
'Audiences wont have seen anything like this': how Iranian film Chess of the Wind was reborn - The Guardian

AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni security forces, backed by the Arab coalition, killed three Al-Qaeda militants and captured two others in a raid on their hideout on Friday in Al-Ghaydah city, the capital of the western province of Mahra, local media and residents said.

Large explosions rocked many districts in the city of Al-Ghaydah on Friday morning as security forces raided a building, triggering a gunfire battle.

The explosions began shaking the city at nearly 2.30 a.m. and lasted for nine hours, a resident who preferred to remain anonymous told Arab News by telephone, adding that security authorities sealed off the area, preventing people from leaving their homes.

Army troops and security forces also intensified security measures and checkups at the provinces main entrances. Local media said that when security forces were about to storm the building, an Al-Qaeda militant blew up his explosive-laden belt, killing himself and two others.

Two other militants surrendered during the raid, local media reported. Mohammed Ali Yasser, the governor of Mahra, did not answer Arab News calls.

Al-Qaeda in Yemen, also known as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or AQAP, has suffered fatal blows since early 2016 when Arab coalition-backed Yemeni forces pushed them out of their main strongholds in southern Yemen after killing a large number of their operatives. In 2015, the militants cashed in on the anarchy and security vacuum that ensued from the earlier military expansion of the Iranian-backed Houthis to seize control of the main cities in southern Yemen, including the city of Al-Mukalla, the capital of the southeastern province of Hadramout.

Prisoner swapThe internationally recognized government and pro-independence Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Thursday swapped dozens of prisoners who were captured during fighting this year.

A local army officer told Arab News that the army released 21 separatists in exchange for 37 army soldiers, including Brig. Sayf Al-Ghoufesh, the commander of 115 Brigade in Abyan. The prisoner swap took place in Sheikh Salem area in Abyan following a successful mediation, the officer said.

In May, a major offensive by army troops triggered heavy fighting with STC forces in the southern province of Abyan and led to the death of dozens of troops on both sides. Despite the heavy fighting, neither the army nor the separatists managed to make any major military breakthrough. A Saud-led military committee is currently in the contested areas in Abyan to monitor a cease-fire agreed under the Riyadh Agreement.

DeterminationYemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohammad Ali Al-Maqdashi said on Thursday that army troops and allied tribesmen were determined to foil Iranian designs in Yemen and put an end to the Houthi coup against the internationally recognized government.

Inspecting liberated areas in the northern province of Jouf, Al-Maqdashi thanked the Arab coalition for its military support to the Yemeni army, adding that tribesmen in Marib, Jouf and Al-Bayda have shored up army troops in their continuing battle against the Houthis.

Today we are more confident that our people will prevail and the Houthis and the Iranian project will not survive, Al-Maqdashi said, according to the official news agency SABA.

Link:
Revealed: How Iran smuggles weapons to the Houthis - Arab News

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Last week, Iran witnessed growing activities by the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Irans (PMOI/MEK) Resistance Units and the defiant youths. These activities show the resistances capability and indicate the societys restiveness.

In a failed attempt to intimidate the public, the mullahs regime executed Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old wrestling champion arrested during the Iran protests in 2018. Instead, his execution increased peoples hatred toward the regime, and they honored Navid as what he truly was: a national hero.

In this regard, the defiant youths in the city Shiraz, south-central Iran, targeted the mullahs Supreme Court that had issued Afkaris death sentence.

In this regard, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) issued a statement on September 27.

In the early hours of Sunday, September 27, 2020, in protest against the criminal execution of Navid Afkari, the Iranian national wrestling champion, the defiant youth targeted the court in Shiraz, which issued his death sentence and set fire to its entrance, read the statement.

The ISNA news agencys website

This attack by the defiant youths received vast media coverage both in state media and abroad. In this regard, the state-run ISNA news agency wrote: The incident took place in the middle of the night after explosives were hurled at the Revolutionary Courts entrance.Al-Arabiya also reported: The video footage published by the NCRI shows an explosion and fire at the entrance of the Shiraz Revolution Court.

Since Navid Afkaris execution, the MEKs Resistance Units have carried out various activities across Iran condemning this execution and honoring Navids memory. In this regard, the NCRI wrote in a statement on September 24: During the past week, Resistance Units and supporters of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK / PMOI) continued to protest the execution of Navid Afkari, and Mostafa Salehi, as well as the death sentences issued for other detained protesters.

Tehran- Activities of the supporters of the MEK in protest against Navid Afkaris execution September 16, 2020

The MEKs Resistance Units wrote graffiti and slogans on walls. Some of the slogans were: The only way for preventing the execution of the likes of Navid is to revolt and protest, Navid Afkaris execution is condemned, I am also a Navid Afkari, and Massoud Rajavi: The criminal IRGC must be disbanded.

In a similar development on Wednesday, the defiant and rebellious youths targeted the Iranian regimes court in Khavaran, near Tehran. The defiant youths attacked this court for its criminal decision to demolish the homes of impoverished residents of Khavaran.

The defiant youths attacked Iranian regimes court in Khavaran

The regime has tried to use the coronavirus outbreak and its mass casualties, by systematic inaction and cover-up, as a barrier to another uprising. The major Iran protests in November 2019 and the unprecedented general boycott of the mullahs sham parliamentary elections made it clear that Iranian people want regime change. The recent activities of the defiant youths are testaments to the Iranian peoples desire for regime change.

The recent actions by the defiant youths and the MEKs Resistance Units have also terrified the regimes officials. In this regard, Farhad Bashiri, the regimes Member of Parliament, on September 27 addressing officials said: Gentlemen wake up. Please be careful of whats happening inside [Iran] in the time left; pay attention to the youths and people.

The regimes concern is undeniable, and it is because the Iranian Resistance is its main enemy; and not least since the regime is very much terrified of the Resistance Units, and the activities of the defiant youth. The mullahs understand that it is the Iranian Resistance movement that directs all activities against the regime toward their downfall.

See the article here:
Iran: Ongoing Activities of MEK Resistance Units and Defiant Youths and Their Impact on Society - NCRI - National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

A month shy of the November 03 US Presidential Elections 2020, President Donald Trump and Democratic Challenger Joe Biden went face-to-face in the first of three Presidential debates, leading to heated exchanges between the two contenders.

Meet The Russian Fighter Jet That Can Out-Do The F-22 Raptors, F-35 Jets Even After 60 Years

However, with the country left divided on whether to let Trump make American great again or to choose former Vice President Biden, there is a fear amidst top officials and intelligence agencies based in Washington, that foreign powers led by the likes of China, Russia and Iran will look to influence the election results.

Joseph Biden & Donald Trump

According to US intelligence agencies, in an operation which was directly ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow interfered in the 2016 US Presidential elections by wrecking Hillary Clintons campaign in favour of Trump in a bid to increase political and social discord in the United States.

Following multiple complaints from officials and intelligence agencies in Washington,Former FBI director Robert Muellerwas appointed as a special counsel to investigate the voting.

While a number of officials associated with Trumps campaign were jailed due to a variety of charges linked to the investigation, Mueller did not establish Trump colluding with the investigation, however, he said that the President was still not exonerated from his report.

The trend has continued four years on, withNational Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) head, William Evanina stating that China, Russia and Iran are among a host of countries looking to influence this years elections.

According to Evanina, many foreign countries are trying to influence voter preferences in a bid to change US policies to increase discord in the country and undermine the American peoples confidence in our democratic process.

While Russia is yet to be dissolved from the blame of aiding Trumps ascension as the 45th US President, Evanina says that Putins government has begun operations to boost Trumps candidacy on Russian Television and Social media as it looks to denigrate Bidens candidacy and other members of a perceived anti-Russia establishment.

Moreover,FBI Director Christopher Wray had issued a warning to the White House that Russia has been conducting a very active campaign to spread disinformation and meddle in the election against Joseph Biden.

We certainly have seen very active very active efforts by the Russians to influence our election in 2020. said Wray.

While commenting on Russian intervention in the elections, Biden has issued a warning to opponent Moscow, saying that there will be a price to pay there if it continues to interfere.However,Trump who has frequently downplayed Russias role in the 2016 elections, said:

I think the last person Russia wants to see in the office is Donald Trump. Nobodys been tougher on Russia than I have, ever.

With the Trump administration continuing its crackdown on Chinese companies and its tough military stance in the South China Sea, Beijing is not Trumps biggest fan on the planet.

In a statement issued by Evanina, he said China prefers that President Trump whom Beijing sees as unpredictable does not win re-election,

China is expanding its influence efforts to shape the policy environment in the United States, pressure political figures it views as opposed to Chinas interests, and counter-criticism of China.

Meanwhile,Trumps comments have gone in line with the speculation, with him stating China would love for us to have an election where Donald Trump lost to sleepy Joe Biden. They would dream (that) they would own our country. If Joe Biden was president, China would rule our country.

However, according to aneditorial in The Diplomat, even if there is a change in leadership there will be no major change in US policy towards China.

There will be a difference in tone, style and words between the Biden administration and the Trump administration on China, rather than a change in policy. written in the editorial of The Diplomat.

Under Donald Trump, the US and Iran have not stayed the best of friends with tensions soaring sky-high since the US Presidents decision to unilaterally withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, a deal which was signed by his predecessor Barrack Obama.

Moreover, Washington has begun re-imposing the sanctions that had been eased under the accord and have pursued to enforce UN sanctions on the country, leading to beliefs that Iran will not be behind the Trump-wagon and would choose Biden instead.

According to Evanina, Tehran will be against another term for President Trump, which according to them will result in a continuation of US pressure on Iran in an effort to foment regime change. He also says that Irans focus will be on online influence, such as spreading disinformation on social media and re-circulating anti-US content.

Moreover, Trump has given his take on the situation as well by stating that Iran would love to see him lose the elections. However,he also said If and when we win, we will make deals with Iran very quickly. We will make deals with North Korea very quickly. If I did not win the elections in 2016, our country would have been in war with North Korea. We actually have a relation with North Korea.

Continued here:
Biden or Trump: Whom Are Russia, China & Iran 'Secretly Supporting' As The Next US President? - EurAsian Times