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Next phase of peace talks enters critical phase: Pakistan

Published

5 years ago

December 28, 2020

Pakistan on Sunday said the next phase of Intra-Afghan Negotiations enters a critical phase when talks resume on January.

Pakistan foreign office said in a statement that

“Afghan negotiations enter an important and critical phase from 5 January 2021, the negotiators will be focusing on the substantive issues relating to a comprehensive future political settlement.”

“In this delicate phase of the Intra-Afghan Negotiations, it is important for the negotiating parties to avoid accusations and to demonstrate wisdom, sagacity and vision for the larger objective of lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan,” read the statement.

The office once again reiterated its “firm commitment” for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and said it is concerned about “some negative comments, which continue to emanate from certain official as well as unofficial Afghan circles.”

The spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, said that playing a public blame game was detrimental to the Afghan peace process.

“Public blame game was detrimental to the Afghan peace process as well as to the shared efforts for enhancing bilateral cooperation,” the statement read.

His comments comes two days after first vice president Amrullah Saleh spoke at an even in Kabul and said that the Afghan government “will not ignore the sovereignty of the people in the peace process.”

“We will never ignore our achievements, if we ignored them, peace would come tomorrow. The leadership should be determined by the people, not the Quetta Shura and other shuras.” Saleh told the gathering.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Friday in a statement said that Taliban’s presence in Pakistan is a clear violation of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty.

According to the MoFA the Taliban’s presence in Pakistan will cause the continuation of the crisis and instability in the region and will challenge the efforts to ensure lasting peace in Afghanistan.

The MoFA also called on Pakistan to not allow insurgents to use Pakistan’s soil against Afghanistan.

Following the first VP and Afghan foreign ministry’s remarks, the Pakistan foreign office’s spokesman said that they are concerned about negative comments from the Afghan side.

“While Pakistan’s efforts are acknowledged and appreciated by the Afghan society and the international community, we are concerned about some negative comments which continue to emanate from certain official as well as unofficial Afghan circles,” Chaudhri said in a statement.

Apparently in reference to Saleh’s recent comments regarding Pakistan and Taliban, Chaudhri emphasized that it was important to underline the need for Afghan government to take pro-active measures to fulfill its responsibility for internal security, law and order and protection of Afghan lives.

“Pakistan stands ready to extend all possible cooperation in the area of security and effective border management through effective institutional collaboration,” Chaudhri said.

The Foreign Office spokesperson reiterated that Pakistan had also continued to express its deep concern at the increasing level of violence in Afghanistan during the current year. Prime Minister Imran Khan, on several occasions, has reiterated his calls for reduction in violence leading to ceasefire, he added.

Chaudhri said Pakistan desired and continued to support a peaceful, stable, united, independent, democratic, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan.

“It is important that Afghans should seize this historic opportunity for reaching an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement to bring an end to the decades-long internal conflict in Afghanistan,” the spokesperson added.

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US companies are welcome to join TAPI project: Turkmenistan’s ex-president

Published

39 minutes ago

February 23, 2026

Ariana News

In an interview with Al Arabiya, former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said international companies, including United States firms, are welcome to join the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.

Berdymukhamedov noted that while the project enjoys U.S. support, it will need to navigate longstanding regional tensions, as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have seen outbreaks of deadly fighting over the past year.

“This project, which enjoys international support, including from the United States, possesses immense potential in meeting the growing energy needs of South Asian nations. It also opens promising avenues for accessing the emerging markets of the Asia-Pacific region, the Near East, and the Middle East,” he said.

“The TAPI project is also of paramount importance for political stability and economic prosperity, maintaining high investment attractiveness,” Berdymukhamedov added.

Turkmenistan plans to complete the first section of the pipeline, reaching the Afghan city of Herat, by the end of 2026. No plans have yet been announced to extend the project further south.

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UK’s Reform party pledges visa ban affecting Afghanistan and five other states

Published

2 hours ago

February 23, 2026

Ariana News

The British political party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is set to impose a blanket visa ban on Afghanistan and five other countries — including Pakistan — as part of its proposed crackdown on illegal migration and states refusing to accept deported nationals.

In a speech set for Monday, the party’s newly appointed “shadow” home secretary, Zia Yusuf, will outline plans to halt all visas for diplomats, students, workers, VIPs and tourists from Pakistan, Somalia, Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan. Reform says these governments fail to cooperate in accepting back deported migrants and convicted criminals.

Pakistan received more than 160,000 UK visas last year, making it one of the biggest visa recipients. However, British officials say Islamabad accepts back only a small fraction of rejected asylum seekers and has resisted pressure to take back individuals convicted in high-profile criminal cases.

The move – which mirrors US President Donald Trump’s visa ban on 75 countries – would be a key element in Reform’s strategy to deport up to 288,000 illegal migrants from the UK on five charter flights a day.

On legal migration, Yusuf will say a Reform government would terminate all welfare payments to foreign nationals, including the 1.3 million currently receiving UC, up from around 900,000 in 2022.

Yusuf is expected to say that years of weak immigration enforcement have undermined public trust and that a Reform government would secure Britain’s borders and make people feel safe.

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Ex-US envoy Khalilzad condemns Pakistan air attacks on Afghanistan

He described the situation as a tragedy for both Pakistan and its neighbors, urging the Pakistani leadership to reconsider its policies and change course.

Published

14 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Ariana News

Former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has strongly condemned Sunday’s airstrikes by Pakistan on Afghanistan. He stated that these attacks killed and wounded numerous innocent women, children, and elderly.

Khalilzad pointed to Pakistan’s long history of misgovernance, interference in minority rights, manipulation of democratic processes, and repeated military takeovers as the root causes.

He described the situation as a tragedy for both Pakistan and its neighbors, urging the Pakistani leadership to reconsider its policies and change course.