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High Council claims all obstacles in way of peace talks ‘have been removed’

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(Last Updated On: September 2, 2020)

Faraidoon Khawzon, a spokesman for the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), said on Wednesday that as soon as the prisoner release process has been completed a team will travel to Doha, Qatar, to start intra-Afghan negotiations.

According to Khawzon: “All obstacles ahead of the intra-Afghan talks have been removed. The prisoner swap process will be completed soon. After the completion of the process, the talks will start.”

Other HCNR officials meanwhile said that if the remaining 120 prisoners are released on Wednesday a negotiating team could leave for Doha on Thursday.

This latest development comes a day after the Afghan government released 200 of the 320 hardcore Taliban prisoners, which has been a stumbling block in the way of peace talks.

In addition, President Ashraf Ghani met with the peace talks team in Kabul on Wednesday morning.

HCNR Chairman Abdullah Abdullah, and Head of Negotiating Team Masoom Stanekzai were also in attendance.

Ghani told the team: “I am pleased that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has reached this critical stage of peace as a result of its continuous efforts and you, as a united and cohesive team, on behalf of the people and government of Afghanistan, are beginning peace talks with the Taliban.”

Ghani assured them that they had the full support of government and the people of Afghanistan and said the team’s “strength in diversity, unity and coordination,” was testimony to the strength of the country’s democracy and diversity.

“Our national charter, which is the constitution, sets the boundaries for all of us,” he added.

“Our ulema, women and youth each have their own national and political weight in the composition of the peace negotiating team and they will represent each and every section of our society well, because it is an absolute civic and national team,” he said.

Ghani also thanked Abdullah for having successfully led the recent Peace Consultative Loya Jirga.

“In the presence of national, regional and international consensus, our goal is a prosperous, free, united, independent and peaceful Afghanistan,” he said.

“The main goal of our delegation is to end the violence, because the people want lasting peace and the preservation of the values of the new society,” he added.

Ghani stressed that government had fulfilled all its commitments in the peace process that the international community had hoped for and that the release of Taliban prisoners was a clear demonstration of the government’s commitment to peace.

Abdullah meanwhile said: “You have the strong support of the Government and people of Afghanistan and will continue to work for national sovereignty, national values and national interests during the negotiations.”

He also pointed out that the team’s composition represented the diversity of the people of Afghanistan.

Abdullah said the Afghan government has shown its commitment to the peace process, because the release of Taliban prisoners had not been an easy decision to make.

“You have a difficult task and we are all united to achieve a dignified and lasting peace,” he told the negotiating team.

However, he made it clear that government is strongly committed to peace and that the Taliban must also show its commitment in this regard.

In conclusion, Ghani said the people of Afghanistan hoped an agreement would bring a reduction in violence and a permanent ceasefire so that lasting and dignified peace can be achieved as soon as possible.

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Kabul police summons Afghan YouTuber Hamayon

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

Afghanistan’s YouTuber Hamayon Afghan was summoned to the police station for publishing a woman’s interview without her permission, Kabul police said.

The spokesman of Kabul Police Khalid Zadran said Friday on X that Hamayon interviewed an old woman and published the report without her permission.

“After the interview, the interviewee’s family complained to the police and the police summoned Hamayon Afghan to the police station,” said Zadran.

Zadran stated that police are working to solve the problem with the two sides’ agreement as soon as possible.

He urges people to avoid posting rumors on the issue.

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Contract worth $53 million signed for construction of last section of Khaf–Herat railway

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

A contract worth $53 million was signed Thursday for the construction of the last section of Khaf-Herat railway that connects Afghanistan with Iran.

The contract was signed between Afghanistan Railway Authority and Gamma Group in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, his office said in a statement.

The segment is 47-kilometer long, stretching from Rabat Parian to Herat International Airport and the Industrial Town, according to the statement.

It added that completion and standard operational readiness are expected within approximately two years.

“Upon its completion, this segment will integrate the Khaf-Herat regional connectivity project with Iran’s significant seaports and facilitate access to Europe via the Turkish railway network,” the statement said.

“Furthermore, traversing Afghan territory, it will bolster commercial exchanges between Central and South Asia. Notably, this project’s realization will enable the expansion of railway networks into Farah, Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces,” it added.

Gamma operates across Europe and Asia in multiple sectors including construction, renewable energy, power transmission, mining, railways among others.

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US urges IEA to fulfill counter-terrorism commitments

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The US State Department said on Thursday that Washington is committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism.

“We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism, and we continue to push the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) to fulfill all of their counterterrorism commitments to the international community,” the department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing in Washington.

He reiterated that the United States had clearly communicated to the IEA that it’s their responsibility to ensure that “they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether it be Al Qaeda or ISIS-K or any other terrorist organization”.

Miller also reassured US allies that Washington was closely watching the developments in Afghanistan and was ready to deal with any threat emerging from the region.

“We remain vigilant against the evolving threat of these terrorist groups, and our global coalition to defeat ISIS and the C5+1 help intensify our efforts to monitor terrorist threats from the region and prevent their ability to raise funds, travel, and spread propaganda,” he said.

C5+1 refers to a diplomatic platform involving the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgy­zstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and the United States. It serves as a forum for discussing and addressing regional issues such as security, economic development, and cooperation.

“The United States remains vigilant against the evolving threat posed by terrorist groups, including ISIS-K, and has maintained an unwavering focus on terrorism since President Joe Biden took office three years ago,” Miller said.

The US, he said, was “working both unilaterally and with its partners to successfully disrupt threats across the globe and degrade ISIS”.

“We will continue to work to hold ISIS accountable for its actions and to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western countries,” Miller said.

This comes as IEA has repeatedly said that it is committed to not allowing anyone to use Afghanistan soil against any other country.

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