Connect with us

Latest News

Pakistan, US call for Taliban to restart Peace Talks

Published

on

(Last Updated On: October 25, 2022)

PEACE  23-10-2015  DARI - SOT.avi_snapshot_00.16_[2015.10.23_16.53.50]

US President Barack Obama and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued a joint call for the Taliban to return to negotiation table with the Afghan government, as Obama announced his plan last week to keep 5,500 U.S. troops in the country indefinitely.

Sharif and Obama in a meeting at the White House called for the Taliban militants to do further effort for a continual peace in Afghanistan.

At the peak of Afghanistan distrust to Pakistan, Islamabad announces readiness for cooperation the Peace Talks process between the two sides.

Both leaders expressed their commitment to advance an Afghan-owned and led peace and reconciliation process” and called on the Taliban to initiate “direct talks” with the Afghan government.

The US sees Pakistan as one of the few states with influence over the extremists. The new Taliban leader Akhtar Mansour is believed to have close ties to Islamabad.

In their talks, Obama stressed to Sharif that Pakistan needed to take action against groups that undermine peaceful dialogue and want to ignite the region.

Sharif’s visit to the White House comes at a moment when the Taliban appears to be gaining ground in its long war with the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

Pakistan hosted the first round of the Afghan peace talks near the capital Islamabad on July 7 and the second round was scheduled to take place on July 31. However, the talks were postponed at the Taliban’s request as they had been focusing on transition after Mullah Omar’s death.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have nearly 2,600- kilometer common border, with most of which considered as porous, and the militants routinely take advantage due to rugged mountains for their cross- border movement.

 

Advertisement

Latest News

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

Published

on

(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.

Continue Reading

Latest News

US urges IEA to fulfill counter-terrorism commitments

Published

on

(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.

Continue Reading

Latest News

IEA condemns Israel for confiscating 800 hectares of land in West Bank’s Jordan Valley

Published

on

(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) strongly condemned on Thursday Israel’s decision to seize 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank’s Jordan Valley region.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the recent actions by “the Zionist regime demonstrate that it does not to adhere to international laws, especially international humanitarian law.”

“Continuation of such unilateral actions and ignoring the rights of Palestinian people will further deteriorate the situation,” the statement said.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expects international actors, particularly influential regional Muslim countries to fulfill their legitimate, human and moral responsibilities in supporting the oppressed people of Palestine and prevent the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories,” it added.

Israeli media have reported that Israel seized 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley region of the occupied West Bank, claiming it as “state land.”

It is reported the seized land could be used for the construction of illegal Jewish settlements.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 Ariana News. All rights reserved!