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MPs want US clear position against Pakistan’s interventions in Afghanistan
A number of parliament members on Wednesday have called on the United States for announcing its clear position against Pakistan and prevent its interventions in Afghanistan affairs.
The representatives of parliament have declared that Afghanistan is not a forgotten country in the world and the donor countries should announce their positions against the apparent interventions of Pakistan.
“According to the security agreement between Kabul-Washington, we want US to fulfill its commitments and targets any country that interfere in Afghanistan affairs,” Shekiba Hashemi, representative of Kandahar said.
At the same time, Parliament members stressed on holding an exclusive meeting between the government and politicians on Pakistan’s interventions and find a solution.
“A extraordinary meeting should be held and a final decision must be taken against this issue,” said Ramazan Bashardost, a member of parliament.
Parliaments second deputy speaker has also emphasized that the government should seriously track Pakistan’s interventions in Turkham.
“We praise our security forces and also want the government to find a solution for this issue,” said Nematullah Ghafari, parliament’s second deputy speaker.
Armed personnel with the Afghan Border Police and Pakistan’s Frontier Corps exchanged fire at the border crossing at Torkham late Sunday.
Tensions at the crossing have been high since Pakistani authorities implemented stringent visa requirements and clamped down on Afghan entry to Pakistan.
The fighting, which began on Sunday night, forced the closing of the Torkham border crossing, the busiest between the two countries.
The escalation followed the closing of the Torkham crossing last month after Afghan border security guards objected to the construction of a gate on the Pakistani side.
That objection also apparently contributed to the conflict on Sunday, according to official accounts from both sides.
The border remained closed for five days last month but was reopened after a meeting between the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, and Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Raheel Sharif.
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Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
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
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
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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