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India rebuffs Afghanistan on strategic meet
India has driven back Kabul invitation to regain Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) in Kabul.
The Hindu, an Indian newspaper writes, stung by Afghanistan’s security and strategic shift towards Pakistan in the past year, India has rebuffed another invitation from Kabul to revive the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) signed in 2011 to hold a meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council (SPC).
Afghan experts say India has realized that pro-Pakistani elements have been influenced inside the Afghan government.
“Due to the lack of a specific foreign policy, India has realized that Pakistan has influenced the Afghan government and has appointed some figures,” Jawed Kohistani an Afghan military expert said.
Diplomatic sources at the highest level have confirmed to The Hindu newspaper that India has conveyed its inability to hold the meeting that would be chaired by Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani “due to prior commitments.”
New Delhi has also conveyed that Indian Foreign Affairs Minister will not attend the upcoming Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) in Kabul on September 3 and 4, and instead Secretary, Multilateral and Economic Relations, will represent India at the conference.
“The meeting will not be held due to the programs determined by India earlier, and it doesn’t have any connection with Kabul – Islamabad relations, on the other hand at the SPA meeting the Indian foreign minister will not attend and another official will attend,” Shekib Mustaghni Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said.
While India’s decision to not attend the RECCA conference, which is essentially a development and donor conference, may not affect relations given India’s $2.3-billion strong commitment to Afghanistan, Afghan officials said the delay in the SPC meeting is more significant. India and Afghanistan have held only one meeting of the SPC (in 2012) since former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and former India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed the historic agreement in 2011.
India was the first country Afghanistan chose to sign a strategic partnership agreement with, despite the U.S. and Pakistan keen on doing so. Since then, however, India has significantly withdrawn from its strategic promises to Afghanistan for a number of reasons.
Next, said officials, after President Ashraf Ghani took charge in 2014, he made a decisive shift towards mending fences with the Pakistan Army, including visits to the Pakistan General Headquarters and inviting the Army and intelligence chiefs to Kabul, and signing an MoU between intelligence agencies NDS and ISI, even as his government joined talks with the Taliban hosted by Pakistan.
“After Karzai, we have never trusted Ashraf Ghani’s motivations given the overtures he made to the Pakistan Army,” said the former Ambassador to Kabul Rakesh Sood, adding, “India has always been hesitant about what it wanted from the SPA anyway. The demand for defence equipment, for example, was something we were never able to deliver on.”
Reported by: Farahnaz Froton
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Bayat Foundation delivers Ramadan aid packages to dozens of needy families in Farah
The Bayat Foundation has continued its annual Ramadan assistance campaign by distributing food packages to dozens of vulnerable families in western Farah province, as part of its broader humanitarian outreach across Afghanistan.
The initiative aims to support families facing acute poverty and economic hardship during the holy month of Ramadan — a time traditionally marked by charity, compassion, and community solidarity.
Each aid package includes essential food staples such as flour, rice, and cooking oil, providing critical support to households struggling to meet their daily needs.
Friadoon Abdullah, the Bayat Foundation’s representative in Farah, said the assistance followed a detailed assessment process.
“Bayat Foundation’s survey team had previously identified needy families across various districts and villages of Farah province,” Abdullah said. “Today, these food packages, which include flour, rice, and oil, are being distributed to those most in need.”
Established in 2006 by Afghan-American entrepreneur Dr Ehsanullah Bayat, the Bayat Foundation is one of Afghanistan’s largest private charitable organizations.
Over the past two decades, it has delivered emergency relief, healthcare services, educational support, and seasonal assistance programs throughout the country.
Its annual Ramadan campaign is among its most significant initiatives, reaching thousands of families each year.
Beneficiaries in Farah expressed appreciation for the timely support.
“Thanks to the Bayat Foundation for providing this aid to needy people in Farah province during the blessed month of Ramadan,” one recipient said.
Another added, “We are grateful to the Bayat Charity Foundation for assisting us during Ramadan.”
Foundation officials say the Ramadan aid campaign will continue through the end of the holy month, with distributions planned in Kabul and several other provinces as part of its nationwide relief effort.
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Two injured in Badakhshan earthquake
Sources report that following an earthquake in Fayzabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, two workers who were collecting sand in the Jowzgun Valley, first district of the province, were injured due to a landslide.
According to sources, the two workers were transferred to the provincial hospital after the incident and are receiving medical care.
The earthquake, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon was also felt in Kabul and Nangarhar provinces.
However, the U.S. Geological Survey has not yet released information regarding the magnitude, depth, or epicenter of this earthquake.
Last Friday, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake also shook northeastern Afghanistan.
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Abdul Wasi meets head of council for Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan
The Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Mullah Abdul Wasi, met on Wednesday with Manjit Singh Lamba, Head of the Council of Hindus and Sikhs of Afghanistan, along with several members of the council.
According to a statement from Arg, in the meeting which was also attended by Mahmood Zakiri, Head of Political and Public Affairs, Singh Lamba expressed satisfaction and thanked the officials of the Islamic Emirate for listening to their problems and demands and for assuring them that these would be addressed.
He said the Hindus and Sikhs of Afghanistan are committed to their country. He also presented their demands and proposals regarding seized lands and properties, electricity, a license for traditional medicine, and the Dharamsal in Shor Bazaar, Kabul, which has fallen under the road construction plan.
During the meeting, Abdul Wasi assured them that he would share their problems and demands with the relevant authorities in order to resolve them, and that he would also convey their proposal regarding the traditional medicine license to the Ministry of Public Health.
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