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Abdullah calls out Taliban for stalled peace talks
Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, on Thursday spoke out against the Taliban who he says has taken a “harsh stance” in relation to the current peace talks.
Addressing an event to mark the establishment of a commission for political parties under the HCNR, Abdullah said: “At this moment, the Taliban has taken a hard stance, which unfortunately is not helping the situation.”
"Our delegation is still in Doha and we are in contact and we hope this deadlock is only short term,” he said.
"We know that nobody will win through war," Abdullah said, adding that the same applied to peace - that "neither will anyone lose in peace."
“At this point, the Taliban’s stance is pretty harsh and this does not help as we proceed with the job at hand; they say that the prisoners should be released, the foreigners must withdraw, they should be dropped from the (UN) blacklist,” he said adding that the Taliban also want other conditions met before they will agree to a ceasefire.
On whether the Taliban has stuck to its commitments as per the agreement signed with the US in February last year, Abdullah said one of the preconditions was a reduction in violence. This has not happened, he said.
“One of the foundations of the agreement is a reduction in violence. Has it happened? Of course not,” said Abdullah.
Meanwhile, Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar also weighed in on the stalled peace process issue on Thursday and called on the international community to review legal options available in order to force the Taliban to stick to its commitments as per the Doha deal.
Addressing a press conference, Atmar said: “All our international partners reiterated that the Taliban must return to the peace process and restart negotiations; if they want the international community to trust them in the peace process, then they should stick to the commitments made in the Doha agreement.”
Atmar also stated that the new Biden administration is working with Afghanistan on a joint program regarding the peace process.
Eleven people have been killed in a shooting at a shrine in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province, local sources said on Friday.
The incident took place at 9 pm on Thursday at the shrine of Sayed Padsha Jan in Shahr-e-Kuhna of Nahrin district.
A local resident said the dead were residents of Nahrin district and wanted to spend the night at the shrine.
Asadullah Mustafa Hashemi, the provincial information and culture director, confirmed the incident but did not provide details on how it happened or the number of casualties.
Provincial police spokesman said they had not received any information about the incident yet.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Serdar Muhammetdurdiyev on Thursday met with Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan announced.
During the meeting, the sides discussed priority vectors of strategic interstate cooperation built on a long-term, mutually beneficial basis, as well as exchanged views on the implementation of previously reached agreements.
It was noted that personal contacts between the leaders of the two countries play a key role in intensifying the interstate dialogue, which give a strong impulse to further development and expansion of Turkmen-Chinese ties.
It was emphasized that Turkmenistan considers multilateral international platforms for maintaining stability in Afghanistan as an important factor in promoting sustainable improvement of socio-economic state of the neighboring country. The sides exchanged views on the preparations to the 5th meeting of Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan's Neighboring States to be held in Turkmenistan.
The interlocutors reaffirmed that Turkmenistan and China will continue to provide all-round support for the economic restoration of Afghanistan.
The U.S. House Of Representatives has passed a legislation on evacuation of Afghans who assisted Americans during the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
“The passage of the CARE Authorization Act of 2024 further underscores the commitment made by the U.S. government to safeguard those who served shoulder-to-shoulder with our personnel during the twenty-year mission in Afghanistan,” Congresswoman Dina Titus said in a statement.
“The State Department has made it clear: There is no deadline for the crucial job of protecting Afghan allies. By authorizing the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts at the State Department, we can more effectively relocate and resettle those who have qualified to immigrate to the U.S. as a result of their service to this country.”
In 2022 the State Department established a specialized office called the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) to streamline and coordinate the ongoing relocation and resettlement process for eligible Afghans from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the United States.
The CARE Authorization Act of 2024 will formally authorize the CARE office at the State Department for three years and grant important authorities to advance its mission. These include an extension of authorities to enter into personal services contracts as well as measures to streamline the transfer of funds to and from other agencies involved in the Afghan relocation mission.
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