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Sartaj Aziz admits Pakistan housing Taliban leaders

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(Last Updated On: October 25, 2022)

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Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz has for the first time admitted that Islamabad holds sway over Taliban and hosts leaders of the Afghan militant group.

The admission by Pakistan’s foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz comes after years of official denials by Islamabad that it offers shelter or exerts any influence over the Taliban, and amid a fresh push for direct peace talks.

Speaking at an event organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, Aziz said the leadership of the Taliban group is based in Pakistan along with their families who are using certain facilities, including health centers in the country.

“So we can use those levers to pressurise them to say: ‘Come to the table’,” he added, according to a transcript on the think tank’s website.

“We can use those levers to pressurize them to say, ‘Come to the table’. But we can’t negotiate on behalf of the Afghan government because we cannot offer them what the Afghan government can offer them,” he added.

“[We told the Taliban leaders that] we have hosted [them] enough for 35 years, and we can’t do it anymore because the whole world is blaming us just by [their] presence here,” Aziz  said.

Pakistan has been trying to mediate peace talks between the militants and the Afghan government amid growing fears that a resurgent Taliban is increasing its attacks on civilians and security forces across Afghanistan. A weekend announcement by representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US said Kabul and the Taliban are expected to hold direct talks by the end of the month.

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IEA urges World Bank to resume work on 7,000 incomplete projects

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(Last Updated On: April 19, 2024)

Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.

According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.

“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.

Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.

According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.

“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.

However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.

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Ten people killed by floods in Helmand

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(Last Updated On: April 19, 2024)

Ten people have been killed and six others injured by floods in Helmand province in the past week, local officials said on Friday.

According to officials, seven of those were members of the same family, and they were killed in Kajaki district last night.

“Most of the people moved from vulnerable areas to high lands and mountains, and thanks Allah the number of casualties is low,” Sher Mohammad Vahdat, the head of information of the Directorate of Information and Culture in Helmand, said adding rescue teams and security forces have been dispatched to help people.

It is said that the telecommunication system has also been disrupted due to the effect of floods in Kajaki district. Floods have also destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land.

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UN envoy meets Indian foreign minister to discuss Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: April 19, 2024)

Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues related to Afghanistan, it was announced on Thursday.

During the meeting, Otunbayeva thanked India for “its critical humanitarian support and longstanding friendship for the Afghan people” and discussed the importance of regional and international cooperation to address prevailing challenges in Afghanistan, UNAMA said on X.

Jaishankar also said on X that the sides exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan.

“Underlined that India has provided wheat, medicines, pesticides and school supplies. Appreciate the role of UN agencies as partners in these endeavors,” he said.

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