Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, has expressed concern over the investments made by Afghans in neighboring countries and the region, amounting to billions of dollars.

In an exclusive interview with Ariana News, Azizi revealed that his ministry is actively working to facilitate the return of Afghan investments from neighboring countries and the region back to Afghanistan.

He explained that discussions have already been initiated with several Afghan investors on this issue.

“I cannot provide exact figures, but Iran has previously stated that Afghans have invested nearly $9 billion in the country,” he said.

However, he was optimistic, adding, “By the grace of God, we have enacted laws that are gradually enabling immigrants, the private sector, and our entrepreneurs to invest within Afghanistan.”

Azizi also highlighted the ministry's efforts to support industrialists, mentioning that programs for land allocation and electricity supply are advancing quickly.

He announced that 150,000 acres of land would be distributed for economic activities to boost domestic industry.

Furthermore, the Acting Minister revealed that Afghanistan has successfully convinced Uzbekistan to invest in the country’s electricity sector.

While banking issues faced by Afghan traders in neighboring countries and the region have been resolved, Azizi acknowledged that challenges remain at the international level.

Azizi also stressed that the Ministry of Industry is working tirelessly to expand new export markets for Afghan products, aiming to reduce traders’ reliance on specific markets, particularly Pakistan.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the outgoing spokesperson of Pakistan's foreign ministry, on Thursday said Pakistan respected the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Afghanistan.

In her last media briefing, Baloch outrightly rejected social media reports about any attack by the Pakistani armed forces inside Wakhan district of Badakhshan province in Afghanistan.

She said Pakistan desired friendly relations with all the neighboring countries, including Afghanistan, and a dialogue was ongoing between Islamabad and Kabul.

“We will continue dialogue with the Afghan government on all aspects of bilateral relations, including the border situation,” Baloch said while responding a question about reports of attacks by the Afghan security forces from across the Durand Line.

“Pakistan believes in diplomacy and will continue to engage the Afghan government.”

Asked about the air attacks conducted by the Pakistani forces along Pakistan-Afghanistan border late last month, she said Pakistani troops carried out attacks in the border area only to thwart any terror threat.

“Any terrorists trying to enter the Pakistani territory will be responded. Our forces are fully prepared to defend the sovereignty of our territory,” she stated.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that attacks in the country are rooted in Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), however, has rejected the claim saying Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan's "security failure."

US National security adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly offered to resign from President Biden's administration after the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, according to The Washington Post's David Ignatius. 

Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist, spoke to Sullivan and several of his colleagues as the Biden administration nears its end. 

Several of Sullivan's colleagues reportedly told Ignatius that Sullivan offered to resign, and President Biden insisted the national security adviser stay on, according to the report. 

Ignatius reported that the Afghanistan withdrawal "broke the early comity" of the Biden administration's national security team, and created a riff between Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The 2021 withdrawal claimed the lives of more than a dozen American soldiers and led to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) retaking control of the war-torn nation.

"You cannot end a war like Afghanistan, where you’ve built up dependencies and pathologies, without the end being complex and challenging," Sullivan told the Post columnist. "The choice was: Leave, and it would not be easy, or stay forever."

He added that "leaving Kabul freed the [United States] to deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in ways that might have been impossible if we had stayed."

Ignatius wrote that the Pentagon resisted Biden's call to remove all U.S. troops from Afghanistan and argued in favor of "a residual force of 2,500 in Kabul."

Sullivan reportedly initially shared the Pentagon's concerns, Ignatius wrote, citing two close advisers.

However, he set out to "loyally" uphold Biden's plan to completely withdraw.