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Muttaqi urges Islamic countries to help release Afghan assets
He also called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states to enter into economic and trade partnership with Afghanistan within the framework of legitimate common interests.
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi has called on Islamic countries to help release the assets of Afghanistan's central bank and lift the travel ban on the leaders of the Islamic Emirate.
Speaking at the 50th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Cameroon, Muttaqi said that the freezing of the funds had slowed economic growth and reduced regional trade.
"We hope that wartime behavior will not be carried over to peacetime," he said. “Is it reasonable for a host country to have to get permission from the United Nations to invite a country's foreign minister? Doesn't this kind of coercive behavior call into question the fairness of the prevailing international order?”
He also called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states to enter into economic and trade partnership with Afghanistan within the framework of legitimate common interests.
Muttaqi stressed that Afghanistan, with its strategic location, abundant natural resources, cheap and hardworking human resources and security, offers a unique opportunity for regional connectivity and investment.
The acting foreign minister stressed that Afghanistan's territory will not be used against any country and this has been proven in the past three years. He called on countries to enter into positive engagement with the Islamic Emirate.
In his speech, Muttaqi also called for an immediate, just and permanent solution to the issue of Palestine.
"If we, the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, do not resolve this issue, neither God nor the people will forgive us," he warned.
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State responds to Blinken subpoena over Afghanistan hearing
Last week House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called for a full committee markup to find the Secretary of State in contempt of Congress
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday night he does not understand why the House Foreign Affairs Committee has taken the step to move to hold Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with a subpoena to attend a hearing on the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Last week House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called for a full committee markup to find the Secretary of State in contempt of Congress.
In an announcement, McCaul said this was for “his refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee on Tuesday, September 3rd.”
Blinken was requested on May 23, this year, to appear before Congress on September 19, 2024 regarding the committee’s recent report on the Afghanistan withdrawal.
However, he will not appear due to his current travel arrangements. The markup is now scheduled for Thursday, September 19.
Following a markup in the committee, the full House would need to vote to refer it to the Department of Justice for prosecution — a move unlikely to be carried out under the Biden administration, but that could be treated differently in a potential second Trump administration, The Hill reported.
Miller meanwhile said on Tuesday that Blinken has testified 14 times before Congress on Afghanistan.
“Four of those times have been before this committee, including one appearance that was exclusively focused on Afghanistan – that was the sole subject of the hearing.
“We cooperated with their investigation into the – Afghanistan, provided them with documents, provided them with witness interviews. And we have tried to accommodate their request for a hearing.
“They asked for a hearing this Thursday. Obviously the Secretary is traveling, trying to advance a ceasefire. He’s not able to be there because he’s doing important – the important business of the United States.
“But we’ve said we would make the deputy secretary available, and we have offered the Secretary to appear at a later date,” he said.
The report is highly critical of US President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all US military forces from Afghanistan and accuses the administration of failing to plan for all contingencies.
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UNAMA chief to brief UNSC on Afghanistan on Wednesday
UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Roza Otunbayeva, is expected to brief the UN Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday after UNAMA released its quarterly report Tuesday.
Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, will preside over the meeting.
UNAMA’s latest report, which includes information gathered after the last report dated June 13, states that security incidents have increased against the same period last year; restrictions on women have increased, and almost more than 24 million people still need humanitarian aid.
The Islamic Emirate, meanwhile, expects that the reality of Afghanistan should be reflected in Otunbayeva’s report.
IEA has already asked UNAMA many times to reflect on the realities of Afghanistan in its reports and to refrain from exaggerating small issues.
Otunbayeva stated in her last report that by August 30 of this year, only 24.9 percent of the $2.9 billion dollars required for aid to Afghanistan had been provided.
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Haqqani meets with Japanese ambassador to Kabul
Acting Minister of Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani met on Tuesday with the Japanese Ambassador to Kabul,Takayoshi Kuromiya, the ministry said in a statement.
Abdul Matin Qane, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, said in a post on X that apart from expressing satisfaction over the improved security situation, they discussed boosting Japan's aid to Afghanistan.
They also discussed a working group with UNAMA to tackle issues related to narcotics.
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