Latest News
MoFA reforms, essential & the president’s priority – Arg
The presidential palace, in response to the Chief Executive’s latest decree, says that bringing reforms in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is essential and of the president’s priorities.
After the resignation of Salahuddin Rabbani, President Ghani appointed Haroon Chakhansoori as the new acting minister of the foreign affairs, one of Abdullah Abdullah’s share of the power.
CE Abdullah instructed the MoFA Sunday not to appoint/replace any seats in the capital and Afghanistan’s political agencies abroad under the reform policy.
“CE Abdullah is discussing appointing new ministers, deputies, and governors, as per his share of the National Unity Government. If necessary, he will even decide the fate of the MoFA acting minister,” said Mujib-ur Rahman Rahimi, the CE’s spokesperson.
Enayatullah Babur Farahmand, Abdullah’s electoral team’s spokesperson, said that of the 50% share of the power in the National Unity government, Abdullah may have been left with only 20%.
Since the new reforms in the MoFA, some CE related diplomats out the country, have been either called back to Kabul or been set aside from their job.
Fardeen Barmaki, the former Afghan diplomat in Prague, said, “New appointments to the foreign policy framework are the kind of people, who have not been to a foreign policy school at all.”
However, the presidential palace said that the latest reforms in the MoFA by Ghani were essential and of his priorities.
“Reforms are necessary. It’s the president’s job to bring reforms in the administrations to build their capacity. Unfortunately, we were facing challenges in the MoFA so the president needed to appoint/replace some positions to make reforms.”
The presidential palace underlines that appointment and replacement are of the president’s responsibilities. Thus, when and where needed, the president will proceed.
Latest News
Two Afghan diplomats posted to Germany under former government resign
Afghanistan's ambassador to Berlin, Yama Yari, who was appointed by the former government, has resigned from his post, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported on Monday.
Afghanistan's Consul-General in Bonn, Sayed Lutfullah Sadat, who was also appointed before the Islamic Emirate regained power, has also stepped down, the outlet said.
Sadat said in a statement that the reason for the decision was "political considerations and restrictions by the host country.”
In July, the Islamic Emirate announced that they no longer recognize Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions set up by the former Western-backed government and that they will not honor passports, visas and other documents issued by diplomats associated with the previous administration.
In a statement posted on X at the time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that documents issued by missions in London, Berlin, Belgium, Bonn, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Australia, Sweden, Canada and Norway are no longer accepted and the ministry “bears no responsibility” for those documents.
The documents included passports, visa stickers, deeds and endorsements.
Latest News
China’s envoy says Beijing never interferes in Afghanistan’s internal affairs
Yue also announced that he is negotiating with the Islamic Emirate to provide humanitarian aid of 1 billion yuan ($138 million) from China.
China’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Affairs Yue Xiaoyong has said his country not only refrains from interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs but also respects the country’s independence and territorial integrity.
In an interview with Beijing International Dialogue Center on Sunday, Yue said China is not seeking to establish a sphere of influence in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan should become a platform for cooperation among all parties instead of turning into a field for geopolitical competition,” he said.
Expressing concern over the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan and the need for an inclusive government, Yue said: “Before the U.S. presence, one or two terrorist groups were active in Afghanistan, but now there are more than 20 terrorist groups operating in the country.”
The Chinese envoy also addressed the situation of women and human rights, stating: “The issue of women is only a small part of Afghanistan’s problems and is not the root cause of its challenges. Furthermore, addressing poverty, hunger, and famine is essential to ensuring human rights.”
In the past three years, U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concerns about China’s influence in Afghanistan. Similarly, Donald Trump, during his election campaigns, repeatedly claimed that the Bagram airbase had fallen into China’s hands.
Yue meanwhile also criticized Western countries for what he called "double standards" and said: "In order to ensure human rights, the issue of poverty, hunger and famine in Afghanistan must be addressed."
Yue also announced that he is negotiating with the Islamic Emirate to provide humanitarian aid of 1 billion yuan ($138 million) from China.
He said that part of this aid will go to Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan and Iran, so that an arrangement can be made for the return of migrants to their country.
Latest News
Saudi Arabia executed 101 people, including three Afghans this year
The European-Saudi Human Rights Organization in Berlin condemned the executions and said this was three times higher then last year
Saudi Arabia has executed 101 foreign nationals this year, including three Afghan citizens.
AFP reported that 21 Pakistanis, 20 Yemenis, 14 Syrians, 10 Nigerians, nine Egyptians, eight Jordanians, seven Ethiopians, three Sudanese, three Indians, three Afghans and one Sri Lankan, one Eritrean and one Filipino.
The European-Saudi Human Rights Organization in Berlin condemned the executions and said this was three times higher then last year.
The organization’s legal director stated: “This is the largest number of foreign nationals executed in a single year. Saudi Arabia has never executed 100 foreign nationals in one year before.”
Amnesty International meanwhile stated that Saudi Arabia was the third highest country for the number of executions in 2023, after China and Iran.
-
Latest News5 days ago
Khalilzad: Turning our back on Afghanistan would not be wise
-
Latest News5 days ago
Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan to visit Pakistan
-
Latest News5 days ago
Trump’s team drawing up list of Pentagon officers to fire, sources say
-
Latest News5 days ago
Tehran, Kabul agree to repatriate 1,000 Afghan prisoners
-
Latest News5 days ago
Trump taps loyalists with few qualifications for top jobs
-
Latest News5 days ago
France pledges €3 million to boost nutritional aid for Afghanistan
-
Latest News4 days ago
Education ministry officials encourage Afghan students to study modern sciences
-
Tahawol4 days ago
Tahawol: Transfer of 1,000 Afghan prisoners from Iran to Kabul discussed