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Afghanistan’s Islam Qala border with Iran closed
Afghanistan’s busy Islam Qala border crossing with Iran has been closed to travelers due to an increased concern around the spread of COVID-19.
According to the Herat governor’s office the “transit of goods between the two countries remains normal.”
“This precautionary measure has been taken by the Iranian government due to the increase in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths [in Iran],” the office said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health has put forward a proposal to President Ashraf Ghani on ways to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country – especially at educational institutions.
The ministry said that a decision on steps to be taken will be shared with the media as soon as possible.
This comes after the acting health minister Wahid Majrooh said recently a meeting had been held with provincial public health directors where a number of issues were discussed relating to COVID-19 including that of flights between India and Afghanistan; restrictions on border crossings at Pakistan and Iran ports; large gatherings and the activation of emergency committees.
“These cases will be shared with the leadership of the government and the Security Council so that the leadership of the government can make a decision on the issues,” Majrooh added.
The Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday reported 206 new cases of COVID-19 out of 1,877 samples tested in the last 24 hours.
The ministry also reported seven deaths and 180 recoveries from COVID-19 in the same period.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce has announced that a high-level delegation from Uzbekistan, comprising government officials and private sector representatives, led by Jamshid Khojaev, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, arrived in Kabul on Saturday.
According to the ministry’s statement, the delegation was welcomed at Kabul International Airport by Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Commerce.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce added that the purpose of the Uzbek delegation’s visit to Kabul is to hold meetings and discussions with officials of the Islamic Emirate and representatives of Afghanistan’s private sector, as well as to participate in the trade forum.
Sadin Ayyıldız, Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul, held a courtesy meeting on Saturday with Attaullah Omari, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The Turkish Embassy in Kabul said in a post on X that during the meeting, the two sides held constructive and fruitful discussions on expanding cooperation in the agriculture sector.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday renewed his call for Afghanistan to take action against militant groups, saying Afghan territory should not be used to launch attacks against Pakistan.
“Pakistan shares over 2,600-kilometre border with its neighbour and has repeatedly urged the Afghan authorities to act against terrorist organisations and prevent Afghan territory from being used against Pakistan,” Sharif said speaking at an event in Balochistan province. “However, the Afghan interim government has failed to take effective action against these groups.”
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan of failing to curb the activities of militant groups that Islamabad says carry out attacks inside Pakistan. The Islamic Emirate has consistently rejected the allegations, insisting that Afghan territory is not used against any country and calling on Pakistan to address its own security challenges internally.
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