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Pakistan Supports Safe, Dignified Return of Afghan Refugees to Homeland: Nawaz Sharif

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(Last Updated On: October 24, 2022)

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Monday underscored the need for addressing the root causes of ongoing large-scale displacement and forced migration to ensure that the people fleeing their homes do not become victims of xenophobic attitudes and political expediency.

“Unless we resolutely put out the fires that have caused so much suffering, we will not be able to find a long-term solution to this crisis,” he told the UN General Assembly’s first-ever Summit for Refugees and Migrants.

“We are meeting at a critical juncture, with the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes, reaching a record high and human suffering at an unprecedented level,” the prime minister told heads of state/government and high-level representatives in the spacious Assembly hall.

For nearly four decades, he told the 193-member Assembly that Pakistan had served as a generous host to millions of Afghan refugees, the largest protracted refugee situation in the world.

“Despite our modest resources, the people of Pakistan opened their hearts to their Afghan brothers and sisters,” Nawaz Sharif said, pointing out that the current Afghan refugees totalled 2.5 million.

“While financial support from the international community has waned, Pakistan’s hospitality has not,” he said.

“Pakistan supports the safe and dignified return of all Afghan refugees to their homeland, in a sustainable manner.

“We count on the active support of our Afghan brothers and international partners in creating a conducive environment, to achieve this outcome.

“We hope that the international community will step forward and provide necessary resources to UNHCR in a timely manner, to support the sustainable return and reintegration of the Afghan refugees.”

But Afghan Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation criticized Pakistan’s recent reaction against Afghan refugees; calling its action is not acceptable.

“Any repatriation must be voluntary, safe and dignified. But Pakistan’s recent action is not acceptable,” said Eslamuddin Jorat, spokesman of ministry of refugee and repatriation.

A number of Afghan civil society institutions expressed concerns over Paksitan’s recent measures against Afghan refugees.

“Pakistan uses the refugee issue as a pressure points against the Afghan government. Pakistan now lost its trust to United States and Europe,” said Sayeed Ahmad Ahmadi, civil activist.

This comes as that the Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation says nearly six thousand refugees from Iran and Pakistan return to their country every day.

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Kabul police summons Afghan YouTuber Hamayon

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

Afghanistan’s YouTuber Hamayon Afghan was summoned to the police station for publishing a woman’s interview without her permission, Kabul police said.

The spokesman of Kabul Police Khalid Zadran said Friday on X that Hamayon interviewed an old woman and published the report without her permission.

“After the interview, the interviewee’s family complained to the police and the police summoned Hamayon Afghan to the police station,” said Zadran.

Zadran stated that police are working to solve the problem with the two sides’ agreement as soon as possible.

He urges people to avoid posting rumors on the issue.

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Contract worth $53 million signed for construction of last section of Khaf–Herat railway

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

A contract worth $53 million was signed Thursday for the construction of the last section of Khaf-Herat railway that connects Afghanistan with Iran.

The contract was signed between Afghanistan Railway Authority and Gamma Group in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, his office said in a statement.

The segment is 47-kilometer long, stretching from Rabat Parian to Herat International Airport and the Industrial Town, according to the statement.

It added that completion and standard operational readiness are expected within approximately two years.

“Upon its completion, this segment will integrate the Khaf-Herat regional connectivity project with Iran’s significant seaports and facilitate access to Europe via the Turkish railway network,” the statement said.

“Furthermore, traversing Afghan territory, it will bolster commercial exchanges between Central and South Asia. Notably, this project’s realization will enable the expansion of railway networks into Farah, Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces,” it added.

Gamma operates across Europe and Asia in multiple sectors including construction, renewable energy, power transmission, mining, railways among others.

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US urges IEA to fulfill counter-terrorism commitments

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The US State Department said on Thursday that Washington is committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism.

“We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism, and we continue to push the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) to fulfill all of their counterterrorism commitments to the international community,” the department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing in Washington.

He reiterated that the United States had clearly communicated to the IEA that it’s their responsibility to ensure that “they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether it be Al Qaeda or ISIS-K or any other terrorist organization”.

Miller also reassured US allies that Washington was closely watching the developments in Afghanistan and was ready to deal with any threat emerging from the region.

“We remain vigilant against the evolving threat of these terrorist groups, and our global coalition to defeat ISIS and the C5+1 help intensify our efforts to monitor terrorist threats from the region and prevent their ability to raise funds, travel, and spread propaganda,” he said.

C5+1 refers to a diplomatic platform involving the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgy­zstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and the United States. It serves as a forum for discussing and addressing regional issues such as security, economic development, and cooperation.

“The United States remains vigilant against the evolving threat posed by terrorist groups, including ISIS-K, and has maintained an unwavering focus on terrorism since President Joe Biden took office three years ago,” Miller said.

The US, he said, was “working both unilaterally and with its partners to successfully disrupt threats across the globe and degrade ISIS”.

“We will continue to work to hold ISIS accountable for its actions and to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western countries,” Miller said.

This comes as IEA has repeatedly said that it is committed to not allowing anyone to use Afghanistan soil against any other country.

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