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NATO urges Taliban to Keep promises and reduce violence
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged the Taliban to “keep their promises and reduce the unacceptable level of violence.”
In a meeting with US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on Thursday, NATO Chief stated that Doha talks offer the best opportunity to gain peace in Afghanistan.
“Discussed with Ambassador Khalilzad the situation in Afghanistan. The Doha talks offer the best chance for peace,” said Stoltenberg noted that, “but Taliban must keep their promises and reduce the unacceptable level of violence.”
Discussed with Amb. Khalilzad @US4AfghanPeace the situation in #Afghanistan. The Doha talks offer the best chance for peace, but Taliban must keep their promises and reduce the unacceptable level of violence. #NATO remains committed to #Afghanistan’s security. pic.twitter.com/3arOsop9gi
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) October 15, 2020
Stoltenberg assured NATO’s support to stability in the country. He stated: “NATO remains committed to Afghanistan’s security.”
Meanwhile, Zalmay Khalilzad said Thursday night that the US and the Taliban have agreed to “re-set actions by strictly adhering to the implementation of all elements of the US-Taliban Agreement and all commitments made.”
“This means reduced numbers of operations. At present too many Afghans are dying. With the re-set, we expect that number to drop significantly,” said Khalilzad in a series of tweets.
“Attacks have been on the rise in recent weeks – threatening the peace process and alarming the Afghan people and their regional and international supporters,” he added
1/4 Following several meetings General Miller and I had with the Taliban, we agreed to re-set actions by strictly adhering to implementation of all elements of the U.S.-Taliban Agreement and all commitments made.
— U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) October 15, 2020
“We will do our part and will monitor implementation actively. All parties must deliver on their responsibilities. We thank our international partners for their assistance and support,” US Envoy tweeted.
This comes as the Taliban launched coordinated attacks on Saturday night in parts of southern Helmand province including the Lashkargah city.
The heavy clashes between the Afghan forces and the Taliban militants have forced tens of thousands of residents to flee their homes.
According to UNAMA, at least 35,000 people have been displaced due to the clashes in the province.
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Iran, Pakistan leaders raise concerns over ‘terrorist groups’ in Afghanistan
Following a two-day official visit to Pakistan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a joint statement emphasizing the need to further expand commercial and economic cooperation and transform the common border of the two countries from a “border of peace” to “border of prosperity”.
The two leaders also strongly condemned aggressions and crimes of Israel in Gaza, and demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as well as unimpeded humanitarian access to the besieged people of Gaza.
Numerous other issues were also discussed but on the topic of Afghanistan, they jointly declared their commitment to the development of Afghanistan as a peaceful, united, independent country free from the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking.
According to the statement the two countries pointed out that the existence of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan is a serious threat to the security of the region and the world.
The two sides stressed their desire to strengthen cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism and ensuring security and creating a united front against terrorism.
They also discussed the importance of coordinating regional and international efforts to ensure security and stability in the region.
“While respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, the two sides recognized that increasing participation of all strata of Afghans in basic decision-making will lead to the strengthening of peace and stability in this country,” the statement read.
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Over 1,000 Afghan refugees forced out of Pakistan in one day
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) says over 1,000 Afghan migrants were forcibly returned from Pakistan on Tuesday through Spin Boldak border crossing in Kandahar province, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry stated that based on information provided by the Spin Boldak Kandahar border command, these returnees comprised 191 families, totalling 998 people.
In addition, three migrants released from Pakistani prisons were also returned, according to the statement.
The statement added that after registering the returnees, the refugees were referred to the offices of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Each family received 10,000 afghanis – paid to them by the Islamic Emirate.
In another statement, the ministry said that 2,783 migrants living in Iran voluntarily and forcibly returned to the country during this week.
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Afghanistan’s minister of transport and aviation attends regional meeting in Uzbekistan
Hamidullah Akhundzadeh, acting Minister of Transport and Aviation, headed a delegation to Uzbekistan for a ‘Six-Party Corridor’ meeting that included representatives from Afghanistan, Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
On the sidelines of this meeting the Afghanistan delegation discussed trade through the corridor with the other five relevant countries.
According to the ministry of transport and aviation, Akhundzadeh met with the deputy ministers of transport of Russia and Belarus.
He also discussed ways to expand transit between Afghanistan and Russia; and Afghanistan and Belarus, and provide the necessary facilities to achieve this.
The ministry added that the acting minister had a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Transport and the Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan on Afghanistan and discussed the expansion of road transport between the two countries.
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