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Abdullah calls for ‘system support’ as clashes close in on Kabul

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Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), said Wednesday that clashes between security forces and the Taliban have reached the entrance gates of the capital, Kabul, and that “people have to support the system”.

Addressing the sixth session of the HCNR’s Leadership Committee meeting, Abdullah stated that as the international forces are close to completing their withdrawal process, a security vacuum has been created.

He said the Taliban could intensify violence if a unified political consensus is not created.

Abdullah stated that the group is playing for time; and that Afghan leaders have to determine their priorities.

“While we want peace, war is approaching the gates of the Afghan capital; I think a declaration of the full support of the elders is necessary,” Abdullah said.

The HCNR chairman also called for more international mediation amid stalled peace talks in Doha, Qatar.

“The contact teams are in touch with each other. Mediation by the United Nations and Qatar has also increased, and [hopefully] this will lead to the acceleration of the peace process,” he added.

This comes as clashes have continued to intensify across the country.

In the latest development, Taliban militants seized control of six district centers - in Takhar, Kapisa, Balkh, Samangan, Ghazni, and Kandahar provinces - in the past 24 hours, local sources told Ariana News.

According to the sources, Farkhar district in Takhar, Alasay in Kapisa, Kaldar in Balkh, Feroz Nakhchir in Samangan, Gelan in Ghazni, and Khakrez in Kandahar province fell to the Taliban in this time.

Kaldar, in Balkh, fell to the Taliban last week but Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in cooperation with local uprising forces, led by the province’s former governor, Atta Mohammad Noor, regained control of the district on Tuesday, but on Wednesday, the Taliban released a video claiming the group had recaptured the district center.

Fawad Aman, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said early Wednesday the ANDSF had pushed back the Taliban in many areas across the country.

“We have captured many areas and have launched heavy attacks on the enemy,” said Aman.

Local sources, meanwhile, told Ariana News that the Taliban have also recaptured Mirzaka district in Paktia, Dawlat Abad in Faryab, Shortepa and Kaldar in Balkh, Chah Ab, and Hazar Smoch in Takhar and Tala wa Barfak in Baghlan.

“Seven out of 14 districts are under Taliban control in the province,” said Shafiqullah Ahadi, an activist in Baghlan.

Sources in Takhar and Badakhshan provinces also said that the security situation had deteriorated in their provinces.

“Taliban have surrounded Takhar province, but operations have not started so far,” said Sayed Sayyed Salahuddin Burhani a member of Takhar provincial council.

“Taliban attempt to seize more areas,” said Ziaullhaq, an MP.

In addition, the Taliban has also reportedly seized control of the Khakrez district in Kandahar province and heavy clashes are ongoing in Grishk, Garmsir, Marjah, Nad Ali, and Nawa districts of Helmand province, as well as in the provincial capital Lashkhargah.

“Taliban want to capture districts, and Lashkargah city will also fall if the government does not help,” said Attaullah Haq Bayan, head of Helmand provincial council.
Afghan Commandos meanwhile have retaken control of the Imam Sahib Port in Kunduz after the Taliban seized the port last week.

Abdul Hadi Nazari, a spokesman for the 217th Pamir Military Corps, said at least 13 Taliban had been killed in the operation.

The Taliban has not yet commented.

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A high-level Russian delegation will soon visit Kabul: envoy

Kabulov and Muttaqi discussed bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Russia, especially economic cooperation, investment and transit

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Russia’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said in a meeting with Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul that a high-level Russian delegation will visit Kabul in the near future to discuss the expansion of bilateral cooperation with the Islamic Emirate.

Kabulov and Muttaqi discussed bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Russia, especially economic cooperation, investment and transit, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Muttaqi described the relations between the Islamic Emirate and Russia as important, stressing that the ties should be expanded to include economic and trade cooperation.

He said visits to Kabul by high-level officials was important, adding that during the past year, many officials of the Islamic Emirate have been invited to Russia to attend international meetings.

Meanwhile, the Russian diplomat said that his country wants to expand its relations with Afghanistan in the economic and trade sectors.

This comes on the heels of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko’s comments that the completion of legal procedures to remove the Islamic Emirate from Moscow’s terrorist list will provide positive impetus to Russian-Afghan relations.

In an interview with Russia’s TASS news agency, published early Sunday, Rudenko said “removing the terrorist organization’s status from the Taliban Movement (Islamic Emirate) will attribute a positive impetus to Russian-Afghan interaction in various spheres, in the economy in the first instance."

"As regards the issue of the official recognition of current Afghan authorities, it is early to talk about it thus far. Let’s act gradually, step by step, but we do not intend to artificially impede the processes," Rudenko noted.

Russia has been slowly building ties with the Islamic Emirate since it regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021 but the IEA is still officially outlawed in Russia.

In response to Russia’s comments last month, the IEA’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said the Islamic Emirate “appreciates the positive remarks by the high-ranking officials of the Russian Federation in this regard and hope to see more effective steps soon."

 

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Iran appoints new ambassador to Afghanistan

Ali Reza Begdeli, Iran’s former deputy foreign minister for consular affairs, has been appointed as the country’s new ambassador to Kabul

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Ali Reza Begdeli, Iran's former deputy foreign minister for consular affairs, has been appointed as the country's new ambassador to Kabul, Mehr news agency reported on Sunday.

The outlet added that the post of the Iranian presidential special representative in Afghanistan has been removed and, as before, the special representative for Afghanistan will act directly under the supervision of the foreign minister.

It is worth mentioning that Hassan Kazemi Qomi previously served as Iran's ambassador and presidential special representative in Afghanistan.

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Iran to Host ECO Ministerial Meeting next week

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The 28th meeting of the foreign ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states will be held in Iran’s northeastern city of Mashhad next week.

Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei said on Sunday that the upcoming meeting will be attended by the ministers and senior officials of ECO, directors of the regional specialized departments of the organization, and the secretaries general of a number of multilateral economic organizations.

The meeting will be chaired by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Iranian local media reported.

Iran is holding the rotating presidency of ECO in 2024.

The Tehran-headquartered ECO was established by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey in 1985.

The main purpose of the organization is to promote economic, technical, and cultural cooperation among the member states.

In 1992, the organization was expanded to include seven new members, namely Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

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