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Ned Price: IEA release two Americans detained in Afghanistan
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Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Tuesday released two American nationals in what appeared to be a goodwill gesture, said State Department spokesperson Ned Price, who indicated that the IEA were holding other US citizens.
Price declined to identify the freed Americans, and he said they were not released as “part of any swap of prisoners or detainees. There was no money that changed hands.”
“We are providing these two US nationals with all appropriate assistance. They will soon be reunited with their loved ones and we are absolutely gratified to see that,” he told a State Department news briefing.
“We understand this, or at least the Taliban (IEA) characterized this to us, as a goodwill gesture,” said Price.
The pair was released three months after the IEA freed Mark Frerichs, an American engineer, in an exchange for Bashir Noorzai, a senior member of the IEA held by the United States since 2005 and granted clemency by US President Joe Biden, Reuters reported.
Asked if there were other Americans being detained in Afghanistan, Price indicated there were.
“We continue to raise with the Taliban (IEA) the need for the immediate release of any of US nationals detained in Afghanistan, but I’m not in a position to offer specifics,” he said.
The United States has held regular contacts with the IEA since US-led forces completed a withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 after 20 years of war as the Western-backed former government collapsed and the IEA seized Kabul.
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IEA sets up High Commission for Counter-Narcotics
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Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, said in a meeting on the occasion of the High Commission for Counter-Narcotics opening that the Islamic Emirate has been successful in the fight against narcotics.
However, Kabir has considered providing alternative crops to farmers as one of the international community’s responsibilities.
“The Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against anyone. It does not allow anyone to use Afghanistan for smuggling or international crimes,” said Kabir.
In this area, the cooperation of countries in the region and the world is important. We must focus on the way that the countries of the region and the world avoid the harm of drugs,” he added.
Acting Ministers of Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani and National Defense Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid also said in this meeting that the Islamic Emirate is committed to a serious fight against drugs.
They have emphasized that in the last three years, nearly 80,000 operations have been carried out in this area and more than 20,000 smugglers have been arrested.
“Today, the Islamic Emirate has progressed in countering narcotics, but the world is largely silent for this issue and does not fulfill its responsibility. We want them to fulfill their responsibility,” said Yaqoob Mujahid.
“The international community should help the Islamic Emirate in the field of alternative livelihoods,” said Haqqani.
Acting Foreign Minster Amir Khan Muttaqi also said that the creation of this commission and the serious fight against drugs can provide the basis for the expansion of world relations with the current system.
This commission has the task of coordinating the fight against drugs and providing facilities to farmers in the field of alternative cultivation, and about 27 government departments are members of this commission.
Meanwhile, a number of other participants stressed that this year’s rains and floods have damaged Afghanistan’s agriculture sector and asked the international community to cooperate with the people of Afghanistan in this sector.
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Kremlin says it is very important for Afghanistan’s neighbors to build ties with IEA
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this after Kyrgyzstan removed IEA from its list of banned organizations
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The Kremlin has said that it is very important for the neighbors of Afghanistan to build relationships with the Islamic Emirate.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this after Kyrgyzstan removed IEA from its list of banned organizations
«Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan share a close geographical proximity, and with the Taliban (IEA) now serving as the de facto government in Kabul, Russia understands Kyrgyzstan’s decision to remove the Taliban (IEA) from its list of terrorist organizations,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a briefing, 24.kg reported citing TASS news agency.
He explained that establishing connections with the authorities in Kabul is essential for regional stability.
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UN Security Council condemns IEA’s morality law
UN Security Council members urged the IEA to swiftly reverse all the policies and practices that restrict women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
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The UN Security Council on Friday condemned the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) morality law, calling on the international community to use its influence to push for an immediate reversal of policies that target Afghan women.
Twelve out of 15 UN Security Council members in a statement condemned “in the strongest terms” the IEA’s restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan. China, Russia and Algeria did not back the statement.
A diplomat has told The National that Russia and China had said it would be “unfair” to make a judgement on an internal Afghan matter.
UN Security Council members urged the IEA to swiftly reverse all the policies and practices that restrict women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“The Taliban (IEA) need to listen and respond to the voices of Afghan women and girls by respecting their rights to education and for women, to work as well as the freedoms of expression and movement,” said Japan’s ambassador to the UN, Yamazaki Kazuyuki, on behalf of the 12 council members.
“It is a prerequisite for a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.”
The council members further emphasised that the IEA’s actions undermine international efforts to engage with them, citing a meeting with UN special envoys in Doha two months ago.
This comes as the IEA has said that laws are made according to the Islamic rules, which should be respected.
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