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Gov’t-Taliban prisoner release talks end inconclusive, TB team leaves Kabul

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A member of the government’s negotiating team told Ariana News that the Afghan government didn’t come to an agreement with the Taliban over the prisoner release, adding that the disagreement was on the Taliban’s demand - to release 15 prominent commanders - but was denied by the government.

This comes as the Taliban’s political office in Qatar said that the prisoner release was postponed for various reasons.

A week ago, a team of three Taliban representatives came to Kabul to negotiate with the Afghan government over the release of the prisoners.

Although both the laterals had several talks and agreements on releasing the prisoners, eventually, the government and the Taliban didn’t come to an agreement to any releases and the team left Kabul unfruitfully.

Now the Taliban doesn’t seem happy about it, as according to the US-Taliban agreement, 5,000 prisoners of the Taliban were supposed to be released unconditionally.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s political Spokesperson, said, “Their release has been delayed under one pretext or another till now. Therefore, our technical team will not participate in fruitless meetings with relevant sides starting from tomorrow.”

Yet again, the usual question niggles: Why this deadlock?

The Taliban had expected that in the very first phase at least 15 of their prominent commanders would be released. The Afghan government though, pronounced “NO” to the demand.

The government has said that 400 aged prisoners of the Taliban could be released first and that it couldn't accept every demand of the Taliban.

To start the Intra-Afghan Talks depends on the prisoner release and as of this date, the political impasse, among other tensions, has put the country in a difficult position.

The US, however, insists on the prisoner releases - implementation of an important part of the US-Taliban deal - and remove the hurdles lying on the way of the Intra-Afghan Talks.

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Saudi Arabia reopens embassy in Afghanistan

In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan. It also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSRelief organisation.

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Saudi Arabia has resumed its diplomatic operations in Kabul, reopening its embassy on Sunday.

"Based on the desire of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide all services to the brotherly Afghan people, it has been decided to resume the activities of the mission of the Kingdom in Kabul starting on December 22," the embassy posted on social media site X.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi recently met with Saudi representatives, expressing a desire to expand bilateral relations. Saudi officials reaffirmed their commitment to providing humanitarian aid and strengthening collaboration in various fields.

In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan. It also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSRelief organisation.

Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries, the others being Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, that recognised the first IEA government which came to power in 1996 and was overthrown by the United States invasion of 2001.

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Human traffickers should be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison: IEA leader

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The Leader of the Islamic Emirate has issued a decree instructing the Ministry of Interior Affairs to prevent human trafficking and to arrest and refer culprits to military courts.

The decree containing six articles says that that military courts should sentence human traffickers to one year in prison for the first time, two years if repeated for the second time and three years if repeated for the third time.

The ministries of Hajj, information, telecommunications, borders, propagation of virtue, as well as religious scholars are asked to inform the public about the dangers and adverse consequences of travelling through smuggling routes.

The decree comes as the rate of migration has increased following the political change in Afghanistan in 2021.

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Eight Afghan migrants die as boat capsizes off Greek island

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Eight Afghan migrants died after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized off Greece's eastern island of Rhodes on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

Greek authorities said that the capsizing was the result of the boat’s maneuvering to evade a patrol vessel.

A total of 18 migrants — 12 men, three women and three minors — all Afghan nationals, were rescued, Greece's coast guard said Saturday. The dead were also from Afghanistan, it said.

Some migrants remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said.

Two Turkish citizens, ages 23 and 19, were arrested as the suspected traffickers. The boat sank after capsizing, the coast guard said.

The sinking off Rhodes was the second deadly incident involving migrants in the past week.

Seven migrants were killed and dozens were believed missing after a boat partially sank south of the island of Crete over the weekend — one of four rescue operations during which more than 200 migrants were rescued.

 

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