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China, U.S., Russia, Pakistan to hold talks on Afghanistan – China, U.S. say

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A top U.S. diplomat will meet this week in China to discuss issues in Afghanistan with his Chinese, Russian and Pakistani counterparts, the Chinese foreign ministry and the State Department said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The United States understands that China has invited Taliban representatives to the talks in Tunxi, a State Department spokesperson said.

Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong will host the meeting, said Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in Tunxi for the talks, Interfax news agency cited a ministry spokeswoman as saying late on Tuesday. Lavrov has largely stayed in Russia since last month’s invasion of Ukraine but did travel to Turkey for talks with his counterpart from Kyiv, Reuters reported.

Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, will attend the talks of the so-called Extended Troika: the three world powers plus Pakistan, the State Department spokesperson said.

The talks come against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as Afghanistan suffers an economic and humanitarian crisis worsened by a financial aid cutoff following the Islamic Emirate (IE) takeover as U.S.-led troops departed in August, read the report.

They also come amid widespread condemnation of the IE’s U-turn last week on allowing girls to attend public high schools, which has sparked consternation among funders ahead of a key aid donors conference, a U.N. official said on Tuesday.

The retention of the ban prompted U.S. officials to cancel talks in Doha with the IE and a State Department warning that Washington saw the decision as “a potential turning point in our engagement” with the Islamic Emirate, Reuters reported.

The United States believes that it shares with other Extended Troika members an interest in the IE making good on commitments to form an inclusive government, cooperate on counterterrorism and rebuild the Afghan economy, the State Department spokesperson said.

According to Reuters the meeting takes place while foreign ministers from Afghanistan’s neighbors meet on Wednesday and Thursday in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, Wang said.

That meeting will be chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and attended by Afghan acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and diplomats from Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Qatar, Reuters reported.

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Pakistani PM urges IEA to rein in terrorist groups

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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that it’s a sad reality that the soil of neighbouring Afghanistan is being used for terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.

“Afghanistan is our brotherly country and the two countries are neighbours by nature. We have to live as good neighbours. It’s up to us how we live cordially and in a friendly way. We have asked the Afghan interim government several times that the Afghan soil should not be used as per the Doha agreement against Pakistan and its interests,” Shehbaz told the media during his visit to London, Geo News reported on Sunday.

“Sadly, terror groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and other terror groups are operating from Afghanistan. They have killed innocent people inside Pakistan. These sacrifices of Pakistanis will not go in vain. My advice to Afghanistan is to rein in these terrorist groups.”

Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that Afghan soil is being used in attacks against Pakistan.

The Islamic Emirate, however, has denied the allegations, saying Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan’s “security failure”.

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Pakistan’s Punjab CM calls for ‘human response’ to Afghan girls’ education ban

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Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province, on Saturday expressed regret over the educational restrictions on girls in Afghanistan, calling on the international community to address the issue.

Speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, Maryam stressed that no society progresses without investing in the welfare of women and children.

“Innocent children lie under the rubble in Palestine. Girls in Afghanistan are denied access to schools. The children of Kashmir are victims of oppression. In Sudan, they walk miles for food. These are not isolated issues—they demand collective human response,” she said.

The Islamic Emirate has suspended education of girls beyond sixth grade.

This policy has been widely criticised internationally.

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IEA Supreme Leader defends public executions, says its as ‘part of Islam’

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The Supreme Leader of the islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Hibatullah Akhundzada has defended public executions and said these are an integral part of Islam.

In a voice clip reportedly taped during a speech at a seminar for Hajj instructors in Kandahar on Saturday, Akhundzada said: “We must carry out disciplinary measures, perform prayers and acts of worship. We must enter Islam completely. Islam is not just limited to a few rituals; it is a comprehensive system of all divine commands.”

Not a single command of Islam should be left unfulfilled, he is heard saying on the voice clip, which was posted to X by the IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

God had commanded people to pray and to enforce his punishments, said Akhundzada, adding that the IEA did not wage war for power or wealth but rather to “implement Islamic law”. He rejected criticism of the executions.

This comes after widespread condemnation following the execution by firing squad on Friday of four men convicted of murder.

Akhundzada has previously rejected the need for Western laws in Afghanistan.

He said Saturday: “Yesterday, executions were carried out. You saw how much protest was raised in the world, and said that they [IEA] kill people, that they are oppressors, that they terrorize people. They call this terror; they call this against Sharia; but this is a Sharia order to take revenge. One order is to implement the orders of Allah. One order is to impose punishments,” said Akhundzada.
He added that the Islamic Emirate is facing a great test but they will not bargain with the world over Islam, religion, and the Prophet (PBUH).

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