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Russia to Involve U.S. in Talks on Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: October 24, 2022)

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Russia is planning to involve the United States of America and Central Asian countries in a new peace dialogue which apparently aims to end the war in Afghanistan.

China and Russia have been concerned about the growing influence of Islamic State insurgency in the war-torn Afghanistan; therefore, the two countries are willing to play a role in Afghan diplomacy.

In December, Moscow hosted a meeting of high-level officials from Pakistan and China to discuss direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

There was no representative from Afghanistan in the first meeting which resulted in strong reaction by Kabul for being left out of the trilateral meeting.

Kabul reaction encouraged Moscow to invite representatives from Afghanistan, Iran, and India in the second round of meeting it hosted last month in Moscow.

The United States that is key player in Afghanistan was not invited in any of the two meetings.

Now Moscow says it will involve U.S. and Central Asia states in the third round of the dialogue.

“At its next stage we think it will be important to, in a timely fashion, involve in that same process our Central Asian partners as well as the United States,” said Vladimir Safronkov, the Russian deputy ambassador to the United Nations while addressing a U.N. Security Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, on Friday.

Russian foreign ministry have also announced that Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar will visit Moscow on March 17 for talks with the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“The officials will discuss the security situation and prospects for promoting national reconciliation in Afghanistan as well as ways to develop multilateral cooperation within the Moscow format of regional consultation on Afghanistan,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, China envoy to U.N. has promised to cooperate with Afghanistan through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and through the Quadrilateral Coordination Group, as well as other regional processes.

Wu Haitao, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations who was speaking at the UN Security Council on Friday said that the international community must provide support to the Afghan forces to respond better to terrorism and must also steadfastly promote the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led national reconciliation process.

He also urged the international community to provide substantive assistance to help the Afghan government build up its capabilities.

This comes as earlier reports emerged about Russia support to the Taliban, but last week Afghanistan’s national security adviser who was speaking in an international conference in India said Russia must not use Taliban against the Islamic State.

Atmar emphasized that the best way to combat Islamic State militants is to cooperate with Kabul.

Reported by: Fahim Noori & Hesamuddin Hesam

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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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