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Political parties to present united front at Istanbul Summit

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(Last Updated On: April 10, 2021)

The Afghan Political Parties Committee said Saturday it would present a separate peace plan at the Istanbul summit on the Afghan peace process, which is due to be held next week in Turkey.

The committee includes major Afghan political parties such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar-led Hizb-e-Islami; Hizb-e-Wahdad Islami led by Former Vice President Mohammad Karimi Khalili; Hizb-e-Wahdad led by Mohammad Mohaqiq; Hizb-e-Jamiat Islami led by Salahuddin Rabbani; Junbish-i-Milli led by Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum; Hezb-e-Mahaz-e-Mili Islami-e-Afghanistan led by Sayed Hamed Gailani, and Afghan Millat Party led by Anwar al-Haq Ahadi.

Mohammad Homayoun Jarir, a member of Hizb-e-Islami, stated that the parties, as government opposition, would share a joint plan for Afghan peace at the Istanbul conference.

“We have made a separate plan for the parties committee. We will participate in the summit as the opposition. So far we (Hizb-e-Islami party) have not handed over any plan to the High Council for National Reconciliation,” Jarir said.

Meanwhile, Mahiuddin Mehdi, a member of Jamiat Islami party, called on the participants to discuss a federal system for Afghanistan.

“As far as we know, a Presidential Structure has not yielded any results in Afghanistan, and we must terminate the centralized system and reach a result over a decentralized system (federalism),” Mehdi said.

This comes as the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul for talks with government leaders, ahead of the Istanbul summit.

According to a source, Khalilzad will discuss the latest developments around the peace process with high-ranking leaders and the peace proposal expected to be shared by the Afghan Republic at the Turkey conference.

Khalilzad is also expected to meet with President Ashraf Ghani.

The US-proposed and UN-led summit will see Afghan government leaders, politicians, and Taliban representatives, along with international stakeholders discuss a roadmap to a political settlement in the country.

No official date has been announced for the summit but some sources have said it could start on April 16.

Ghani, Abdullah, and a number of politicians have meanwhile been working on a peace proposal to be presented at the summit.
Over the past week, the HCNR’s leadership committee worked to combine proposals from various entities so that a single plan can be presented in Istanbul.

In an interview with the BBC on Thursday, First Vice President Amrullah Saleh confirmed the Afghan Republic will present a single plan at the summit.

Saleh said the Republic’s plan, which includes early elections, stipulates that incumbent president Ashraf Ghani will not run for the presidency.

Saleh said the Afghan government also wants regional and international guarantees for peace and assurances that no deals are made that give one group all the power.

Saleh said the Republic’s peace plan is comprehensive.

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

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(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.

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