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Pompeo pushes for ceasefire during Doha meeting

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(Last Updated On: November 22, 2020)

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo met with both the Afghanistan Republic and the Taliban’s negotiating teams in Doha, Qatar on Saturday to discuss issues around the peace process and a ceasefire, his office confirmed overnight in a statement.

According to the US State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Cale Brown, Pompeo “commended both sides for continuing to negotiate and for the progress they have made.

“Secretary Pompeo and the negotiators discussed ways to reduce violence, and he encouraged expedited discussions on a political roadmap and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire,” Brown said in a statement.

“Secretary Pompeo reiterated that the people of Afghanistan expect and deserve to live in peace and security after 40 years of war and bloodshed,” Brown added.

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad was also present at the meetings.

The Afghan negotiating team said tweeted late Saturday night that “during the meeting, Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi, Minister of State for Peace Affairs and a member of the negotiating team thanked the United States for its continued support to Afghanistan over the years.”

Naderi also called on the US to continue supporting Afghanistan even once a peace agreement has been signed.

“The members of the negotiating team said that the people of Afghanistan want to preserve the achievements of the last two decades in the country. They also said that the escalation of violence after the release of 5,000 Afghan prisoners was unacceptable and in conflict with the Doha Agreement,” the negotiating team tweeted.

The Afghan talks team told Pompeo that the Afghan people want a permanent ceasefire.

“During the meeting, the members of the negotiating team said that the ongoing war in Afghanistan is against Islam and its continuation is unacceptable to the international community,” the Afghan talks team tweeted.

“During the meeting, Mike Pompeo, referring to US support for the peace process, said that lasting peace is a common goal of both countries. The country’s support for lasting peace in Afghanistan will continue, as well as long-term commitments to the Afghan people,” the team stated.

The Taliban’s spokesman in Doha, Naeem Mohammed also issued a series of tweets late Saturday night, after the meetings.

He said: “The political deputy and head of the political office Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and the head of negotiating team Sheikh Mawlawi Abdulhakeem and the delegation accompanying them met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his team.

“During the meeting, the importance of the agreement signed between the two sides and commitment to it were discussed.

“Likewise, the removal [of Taliban] from Blacklist, the liberation of remaining prisoners and the topics related to Intra-Afghan negotiations were talked about,” Naeem tweeted.

Pompeo met with talks team negotiators after recent indications point towards some headway having been made in talks, which started in September but soon hit a deadlock.

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At least 1,500 families affected by recent floods: IRW

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(Last Updated On: April 23, 2024)

The Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) organization has reported that the rains and floods of the last week have claimed the lives of many Afghan and incurred huge financial losses.

According to the organization, a total of 1,500 families have suffered as a result of the recent floods and hundreds of livestock have also been lost.

IRW added that following the recent rains, 900 houses were partially or completely destroyed and 93,000 hectares of agricultural land was damaged.

This comes amid an ongoing economic crisis in Afghanistan which has left millions of people reliant on aid.

The disaster management ministry meanwhile confirmed earlier that 99 people died and 64 others were injured as a result of the heavy rains.

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Russia says US facing humiliation in Ukraine like in Vietnam and Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: April 22, 2024)

Russia said on Sunday U.S. lawmakers’ support for $60.84 billion more in aid for Ukraine showed that Washington was wading much deeper into a hybrid war against Moscow that would end in humiliation on a par with the Vietnam or Afghanistan conflicts.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was clear that the United States wanted Ukraine “to fight to the last Ukrainian” including with attacks on Russian sovereign territory and civilians, Reuters reported.

“Washington’s deeper and deeper immersion in the hybrid war against Russia will turn into a loud and humiliating fiasco for United States such as Vietnam and Afghanistan,” Zakharova said.

Russia, she said, will give “an unconditional and resolute response” to the U.S. move to get more involved in the Ukraine war.

The United States lost more than 58,000 military personnel in the 1955-75 Vietnam War, which ended with Communist North Vietnam’s victory and takeover of the South, while hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed.

In the 2001-2021 war in Afghanistan, the U.S. reported 2,459 dead and over 20,000 wounded in the conflict which ended with the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces and return to power of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

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Iran says water is an important factor in expansion of ties with Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: April 22, 2024)

Iran’s special representative for Afghanistan, Hasan Kazemi Qomi, said on Sunday that water is an important factor in the expansion of bilateral relations, expressing hope that the flow of water to his country will continue.

Qomi said this in a meeting with Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul, the ministry said in a statement.

The envoy expressed gratitude for removing obstacles to the flow of water from the Helmand River to Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran.

Meanwhile, Muttaqi noted that there were good rains in the country this year, as a result of which, after several years of severe drought, Helmand River’s water flowed to Nimroz province of Afghanistan and into Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran.

He assessed the relations between Afghanistan and Iran as “friendly and positive” and hoped relations will expand further in various fields.

During the meeting, Iran’s envoy also thanked the Islamic Emirate for its stance on Israel’s attacks on Gaza and for having condemned the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

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