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International Donors Pledge $ 15 Billion in Aid for Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: October 24, 2022)

s1-reutersmedia-netInternational donors raised $15 billion for Afghanistan to fund the country over the next four years and urged the Taliban to make peace after years of war.

More than 70 governments in Brussels led by the United States and the European Union promised the financial support on concluding the two-day gathering.

President Ashraf Ghani, CEO Abdullah Abdullah, Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi and other senior government officials attended the conference co-hosted by Afghanistan and the European Union.

“I want you to know that you do not make this journey alone,” EU International Development Commissioner Neven Mimica said to applause as he closed the conference.

“Now is not the time to reduce our ambition or our investment in the people of Afghanistan. I am therefore delighted to announce that we have pledged together a remarkable, an impressive amount of 15.2 billion US dollars.” In return for the international money, Afghanistan will make reform pledges on corruption and human rights, and also agree to take back migrants from Europe more quickly.

Ghani told the conference that Afghanistan was making progress on the economy, corruption and human rights, but needed constructive international support to see the changes through.

“Afghans can make peace, we will make peace, we are committed to constructive politics, not destructive politics,” he said.

Federica Mogherini, who coordinates EU foreign policy, said there was an understanding “to work on a common basis for regional political support for the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.”

There have been several attempts in recent years to broker a settlement between the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban, but all have failed. Without the militants at the table, experts say it is hard to envisage a meaningful solution.

The United States has spent around $110 billion on Afghanistan’s reconstruction since 2001, more than the cost of the Marshall Plan that rebuilt a devastated Europe after World War II, but with limited results.

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Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai

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(Last Updated On: April 25, 2024)

Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.

Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.

During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.

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Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh

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(Last Updated On: April 25, 2024)

A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.

Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.

The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.

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Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani

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(Last Updated On: April 25, 2024)

Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.

Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.

“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.

He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.

“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.

Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.

“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.

Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”

However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.

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