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Govt’s Negotiating Team Members: ‘We Are Not Aware of the Selection’

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Some members of the government's negotiating team for peace talks with the Taliban say they are not aware of their selection, insisting that the President's Office has not consulted them in this regard yet.

It has been a week since the list of government's 12-member negotiating team has been shared with the people.

The team includes:  Ghani’s chief of staff Abdul Salam Rahimi, Mohammad Mirwais Balkhi, Minister of Education, Hasina Safi, Minister of Information and Culture, Abdul Tawab Balakarzai, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Alema, Deputy Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, General Ebadullah Ebad, Deputy of National Directorate of Security, Shahgul Rezaee, Member of Wolesi Jirga, Attaullah Ludin, Member of Ulema Council, Shamim Katawazai, governor of Paktia province, Abdullah Attai, Member of Supreme Court, Tooryali Ghiasi, Director of Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Abdul Hakim Muneeb, Deputy Minister of Haj and Religious Affairs

However, some members of the formulated team expressed "unawareness" regarding the issue.

"We have been included in the team, but we are not even aware of our selection so far," said Abdul Munib who is also the head of Islamic Revolution Movement of Afghanistan. "We have not been consulted in this regard." 

The negotiating team was announced by President Ashraf Ghani on the second day of the two-day Geneva Conference where he also revealed the formation of a new advisory board.

The board is comprised of nine committees including Political Leaders Committee, Political Parties Committee, Youth Affairs Committee, Women’s Affairs Committee, Ulema Committee, Provincial Leaders Committee, Civil Society and Cultural Committee and Private Sector Committee and Refugees and Diaspora Committee.

However, some political parties said that the negotiating team should have been comprised of representatives from political parties, civil society, and tribal elders.

"Over the last 17 years, they [the Taliban] refuse to negotiate with the government. The team which has been introduced should have had representatives of political parties, civil society, and tribal elders," said Abdul Satar Murad, a member of Jamiat-e-Islami party.

This comes as the Taliban has rejected the government's negotiating team and insisted on having direct talks with the United States.

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Human traffickers should be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison: IEA leader

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The Leader of the Islamic Emirate has issued a decree instructing the Ministry of Interior Affairs to prevent human trafficking and to arrest and refer culprits to military courts.

The decree containing six articles says that that military courts should sentence human traffickers to one year in prison for the first time, two years if repeated for the second time and three years if repeated for the third time.

The ministries of Hajj, information, telecommunications, borders, propagation of virtue, as well as religious scholars are asked to inform the public about the dangers and adverse consequences of travelling through smuggling routes.

The decree comes as the rate of migration has increased following the political change in Afghanistan in 2021.

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Eight Afghan migrants die as boat capsizes off Greek island

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Eight Afghan migrants died after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized off Greece's eastern island of Rhodes on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

Greek authorities said that the capsizing was the result of the boat’s maneuvering to evade a patrol vessel.

A total of 18 migrants — 12 men, three women and three minors — all Afghan nationals, were rescued, Greece's coast guard said Saturday. The dead were also from Afghanistan, it said.

Some migrants remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said.

Two Turkish citizens, ages 23 and 19, were arrested as the suspected traffickers. The boat sank after capsizing, the coast guard said.

The sinking off Rhodes was the second deadly incident involving migrants in the past week.

Seven migrants were killed and dozens were believed missing after a boat partially sank south of the island of Crete over the weekend — one of four rescue operations during which more than 200 migrants were rescued.

 

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Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires meets with IEA deputy foreign minister

Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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The Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan, Per Albert Ilsaas, on Saturday met with IEA’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, in Kabul.

Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

In addition to focusing on bilateral political, humanitarian, and other pertinent issues, the two sides expressed hope that continued engagement would lead to constructive solutions to related issues.

This comes two weeks after the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi expressed disappointment regarding the decision by the Norwegian government to downgrade diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.

Balkhi said in a post on X that such decisions should not be linked with internal affairs of other countries.

“Diplomatic engagement is most effective when it fosters mutual understanding and respect, even amidst differing viewpoints,” he stated.

“Access to consular services is a fundamental right of all nationals. We strongly urge all parties to prioritize this principle in the spirit of international cooperation,” he added.

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