Latest News
Selection Committee to Submit List of Nominees Less than 2 Months
After reviewing 722 applications, the finalized list of electoral commissioner candidates will be submitted to President Ghani in less than two months, the Selection Committee said.
A number of the Selection Committee members have called for government’s political support and stressed that government should prevent those who are eager to interfere in this committee’s affairs.
“We will submit the final list to the president up to the next two months and we urge the government to prevent the interventions,” said Yousuf Rashid, member of the selecting committee.
However, the electoral observing institutions accused the government of negligence to the future of elections and called holding election impossible in the upcoming year.
According to the constitution, the government must have held the parliamentary and district council elections on March 21, 2015, but due to delay in commencement of electoral reform process, the election date postponed.
Subsequently, the IEC announced August 14, 2016 as Election Day, but the announcement was made without any prior coordination with government.
After, postponement of election, the National Unity Government extended the working duration of parliament through a legislative decree to prevent parliamentary gap.
Scares from repetition of 2014 electoral challenges led the government consider electoral reform more important than election.
NUG established the Special Electoral Reform Commission (SERC) one and half year after the establishment of government.
Previously, CEO, Abdullah Abdullah said the National Unity Government is committed to bring reforms into the country’s electoral bodies in order to ensure transparent and free elections in the future.
The Electoral Reform is considered a crucial need of Afghans subsequent electoral distaste emerged after the former presidential election.
Nonetheless, the different position owned by the leaders of National Unity Government (NUG) is said to be the main reason for the delay.
Parliamentary elections are a very difficult challenge –given there are not set electoral rules –complicates the state of affairs. Without due electoral reform the conduction of parliamentary elections will be a difficult and challenging task.
The Media Violations Commission has ordered Noor and Barya TV channels to stop broadcasting and to appear in court, state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported on Tuesday.
ّIt is said that the decision against the channels was taken for “not observing the principles of journalism.”
Former Jihadi leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has criticized the United States for patrolling Afghanistan’s airspace with drones.
Hekmatyar said in a speech Tuesday that any form of American presence in Afghanistan is unacceptable.
“Afghanistan’s airspace is under occupation. Expressing this issue is our religious responsibility. We have sacrificed the most for freedom. We do not accept any presence of America. We do not accept any kind of foreign rule,” he said.
Hekmatyar also stated that there is a possibility of American troops entering the country again.
“[Former] President Trump’s national security advisor says that their departure was a mistake and that they should return. This is not an ordinary issue. The possibility that they will make a mistake again and return to Afghanistan is very strong,” he said.
The Islamic Emirate has not commented so far on Hekmatyar’s remarks, but it has confirmed sightings of drones over Afghanistan.
“It is required that the respected officials of the caretaker government give explanations on this matter and respond to the concerns of the Afghan people in this matter, because important and great national issues are important for every Afghan citizen and if there is a problem, it will be a cause of concern for everyone,” said Fazl-ul-Hadi Wazin, a university lecturer.
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Monday met with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for talks on a number of issues including the Trans-Afghan Railway project.
The two leaders also discussed bilateral trade issues, strengthening of relations and regional matters, including the escalating situation in the Middle East.
In October 2023, Uzbekistan Railways JSC presented the Trans-Afghan Railway project to Qatar’s Ministry of Transport.
Subsequently, deliberations were held on Qatar’s involvement in the project’s execution.
In February 2021, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan signed a roadmap for the Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway construction.
The envisioned transport corridor, estimated at approximately $5 billion, aims to connect Europe, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Southeast Asian nations, boasting a transit capacity of up to 20 million tons of cargo.
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