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Regional consensus crucial to Afghan Peace Negotiations: SAARC
Foreign Ministers of SAARC member states have emphasized the importance of the regional consensus for the success of the Afghan Peace Negotiations (APN).
In the SAARC Information meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, which was held virtually on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Acting Foreign Minster Mohmmad Haneef Atmar thanked SAARC member-states for their support to the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.
According to a statement released on Friday, Atmar called on the participating countries to extend necessary support to Afghanistan for achieving “a humanitarian ceasefire between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, based on the relevant UN Security Council Resolution.”
“Atmar stressed that the humanitarian ceasefire would help enable relevant institutions of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to provide medical services to the affected communities living throughout Afghanistan,” the statement read.
FM @MHaneefAtmar virtually participated at the #SAARC Informal Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers held on the sidelines of the #UNGA. Foreign Ministers welcomed the start of the Afghan Peace Negotiations & stressed the importance of regional consensus for its success. pic.twitter.com/V4549d1P15
— MFA Afghanistan 🇦🇫 (@mfa_afghanistan) September 25, 2020
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia.
Its member states are Afghanistan, joined the organization in 2007, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
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UN envoy meets Indian foreign minister to discuss Afghanistan
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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Traffic accident leaves one dead, four injured in Herat
Local officials in Herat say one person was killed and four others injured due to a traffic accident in Karukh district of the province.
The accident took place on Thursday night at 8:pm.
The injured individuals have been taken to Herat’s regional hospital by the personnel of Karukh district police headquarters, local officials said.
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250,000 Afghan children need homes, food, education after returning from Pakistan
In the wake of an announcement by Pakistan that it intends to start Phase Two of deportations of Afghans, Save the Children said Thursday that almost a quarter of a million Afghan children need proper homes, food, and access to education after returning from Pakistan in the past seven months.
In a statement issued by the organization, Save the Children said more than 520,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September last year, after Pakistan said all undocumented foreigners must leave the country voluntarily or face deportation.
Nearly half of all the returnees are children.
A survey by Save the Children of families who have returned to Afghanistan – and the communities who are hosting them – found that nearly all (99%) do not have enough food for the next one to two months.
About three-quarters of returnees and families in host communities reduced portion sizes or restricted the food consumption of adults so small children could eat.
About 40% of returnees and host families surveyed had to borrow food or rely on friends and relatives for at least three days a week – with 13% of returnees and 9% of host families saying they had to get food from others every day.
Almost 8 million children in Afghanistan – or one in three – are facing crisis levels of hunger.
Nearly one in six families live in tents, according to the survey, with most returnees having little or no means to support themselves.
Only a third had managed to bring assets back with them from Pakistan.
Nearly half (47%) said there were no jobs available in Afghanistan, with 81% saying that they do not have any skills that could lead to employment.
Almost two thirds (65%) of children who have returned to Afghanistan have not been enrolled in school. The majority (85%) told Save the Children that they don’t have the necessary documents to register and enroll in school.
In Pakistan, more than two thirds of these children had been attending school.
Arshad Malik, Country Director for Save the Children in Afghanistan, said: “Families are returning to Afghanistan with virtually nothing. Most are relying on relatives or friends to support them – and these communities already have little to support themselves.
“The return of so many people is creating an additional strain on already overstretched resources. Children need support and stability. Many undocumented Afghan children were born in Pakistan – Afghanistan is not the place they call home,” he said.
He added that in addition to the returns from Pakistan, 600,000 Afghans arrived from Iran last year. Also, “families have been forced from their homes by multiple disasters, including the series of earthquakes in Herat and the ongoing drought. Afghanistan is also now home to the second largest number of internally displaced people in the world – or roughly 1 in 7 people,” Malik said.
According to him, Afghanistan not only needs urgent funding from international donors and governments – but also needs long term, community-based solutions to help all displaced Afghans rebuild their lives.
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