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Insecurity Draws Concerns Over Closure of Some Polling Centers
More than seven thousand polling stations were listed for the upcoming elections, but more than 2,000 centers were closed because of insecurity.
Now with the increase of insecurity in the cities of Gardez, Maimana, Sar-i-Pul and several other parts of the country, concerns have peaked over the possibility of closure of other polling centers.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) says the fall of any part of the country by terrorists would make it impossible for the election to be held in that part of the country.
Seyed Hafizullah Hashemi, secretary of the IEC has warned that some polling centers will be closed on Election Day if insecurity stays in high level and other sectors may collapse into the hands of terrorists.
According to IEC, It is difficult to hold elections in 32 districts of Afghanistan with the current security challenges, even in impossible areas.
The observing and monitoring institutions do not consider the security situation well. They are said to believe that the recent intensification of insecurity will reduce the number of open polling centers on Election Day.
“If we are to continue with this situation, it would be impossible to hold the election. If it is held, maybe there would be no overall general election,” Naeem Ayoub Zada, chairman of the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) said.
The issue of ensuring election security is one of the main issues of the Interior Ministry’s security meetings, but apparently the intensity of the war and the increase in insecurity will challenge the overall pace of the election.
“All polling centers are listed in the Ministry of Interior and security measures have been instructed to the responsible,” Nasrat Rahimi, spokesman of MoI added.
In addition to the closed centers due to insecurity, the current challenges in Ghazni province caused the parliamentary election to not be held in the province which means that Ghazni will not have any new representative in the next parliament and that its people would be deprived of the right to vote.
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Mullah Baradar discusses creation of railway with Kazakh deputy PM
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister for economic affairs has met with Erik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, and discussed the establishment of a railway network from Kazakhstan to Pakistan through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, the deputy PM’s office said in a statement.
During the meeting, Baradar emphasized the need to sign agreements to solve the banking problems of traders from both countries, the creation of Afghan-Kazakh joint companies, and the facilitation of visas for Afghan traders.
According to the statement, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan said that the Kazakh government intends to establish a joint chamber of industry and commerce and a joint trade and labor group between the two countries, and is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in the sectors of e-governance, industry, higher education, education, health, and banking.
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Iran, Pakistan leaders raise concerns over ‘terrorist groups’ in Afghanistan
Following a two-day official visit to Pakistan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a joint statement emphasizing the need to further expand commercial and economic cooperation and transform the common border of the two countries from a “border of peace” to “border of prosperity”.
The two leaders also strongly condemned aggressions and crimes of Israel in Gaza, and demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as well as unimpeded humanitarian access to the besieged people of Gaza.
Numerous other issues were also discussed but on the topic of Afghanistan, they jointly declared their commitment to the development of Afghanistan as a peaceful, united, independent country free from the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking.
According to the statement the two countries pointed out that the existence of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan is a serious threat to the security of the region and the world.
The two sides stressed their desire to strengthen cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism and ensuring security and creating a united front against terrorism.
They also discussed the importance of coordinating regional and international efforts to ensure security and stability in the region.
“While respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, the two sides recognized that increasing participation of all strata of Afghans in basic decision-making will lead to the strengthening of peace and stability in this country,” the statement read.
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Over 1,000 Afghan refugees forced out of Pakistan in one day
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) says over 1,000 Afghan migrants were forcibly returned from Pakistan on Tuesday through Spin Boldak border crossing in Kandahar province, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry stated that based on information provided by the Spin Boldak Kandahar border command, these returnees comprised 191 families, totalling 998 people.
In addition, three migrants released from Pakistani prisons were also returned, according to the statement.
The statement added that after registering the returnees, the refugees were referred to the offices of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Each family received 10,000 afghanis – paid to them by the Islamic Emirate.
In another statement, the ministry said that 2,783 migrants living in Iran voluntarily and forcibly returned to the country during this week.
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