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Taliban assures Afghans they will be free to travel after August 31
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, a leading member of the Taliban’s negotiating team, said Saturday that Afghans who possess legal documents, passports, and visas will be able to travel abroad after the foreign troops have left the country.
“I request my compatriots, sisters, and brothers that it is your legal right, as Afghans, to obtain passports from MoI (Ministry of Interior) and to travel to the country you want to go to; obtain visas and prepare your legal documents, and then you can travel via any border crossing in Afghanistan – both air and ground,” Stanikzai said.
“No one will prevent you from traveling,” he stated.
Stanikzai said: “We want you to travel abroad; for medical treatment, business, education, and other. We have no issues with that. But it should be in a dignified fashion that is appropriate to you as an Afghan and Muslim.”
This comes after an estimated 90 people were killed and over 150 wounded in Thursday’s twin explosions outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
The blasts took place in densely crowded areas around the airport - among the thousands of people who had been trying to get on evacuation flights.
Meanwhile, Stakenzai accused the United States of creating chaos regarding evacuation flights and said the Americans had not clarified which Afghans were entitled to leave with the last of the US troops.
He stated that Washington’s evacuation announcement had led to a misunderstanding “as a number of our people thought that anyone who can to the airport will be evacuated.”
Stanekzai noted that “general amnesty” has been announced for everyone.
“No one’s life is in danger. All Afghans are now living in peace in the country. No one’s life, property or honor is threatened.”
“Our Afghan sisters and brothers should refrain from rushing to the airport because the enemy is still waiting to ambush them. We advise you to be patient. All government ministries and institutions will formally resume their work as soon as a new government is announced and then you will be able to travel through official channels in a dignified fashion.”
He added that all border crossings will be open for travel once the international forces withdraw from the country, on August 31.
“Our people with documents, passports, and visas will be able to travel with confidence and assurance. The Islamic system will not stop anyone. I would like to tell you all - with confidence - that you can freely go abroad but with [the correct] documents.”
Stakenzai said that security forces are not letting “individuals who don’t possess documents to travel.”
“Let the foreign forces withdraw first, evacuate the country, and then following that, our compatriots – whether they have worked with the Americans or otherwise - may leave the country if they want to. All airports, particularly Kabul airport will be open for them to travel.”
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Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon, White House’s Sullivan says
Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.
The Biden administration is concerned that a weakened Iran could build a nuclear weapon, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, adding that he was briefing President-elect Donald Trump's team on the risk, Reuters reported.
Iran has suffered setbacks to its regional influence after Israel's assaults on its allies, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, followed by the fall of Iran-aligned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran's conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.
"It's no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, 'Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now ... Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear doctrine'," Sullivan said.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021 presidential term, pulled out of a deal between Tehran and world powers that put restrictions on Iran's nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief, read the report.
Sullivan said that there was a risk that Iran might abandon its promise not to build nuclear weapons.
"It's a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It's a risk that I'm personally briefing the incoming team on," Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with U.S. ally Israel.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could return to his hardline Iran policy by stepping up sanctions on Iran's oil industry.
Sullivan said Trump would have an opportunity to pursue diplomacy with Tehran, given Iran's "weakened state."
"Maybe he can come around this time, with the situation Iran finds itself in, and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs Iran's nuclear ambitions for the long term," he said.
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Saudi Arabia reopens embassy in Afghanistan
In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan. It also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSRelief organisation.
Saudi Arabia has resumed its diplomatic operations in Kabul, reopening its embassy on Sunday.
"Based on the desire of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide all services to the brotherly Afghan people, it has been decided to resume the activities of the mission of the Kingdom in Kabul starting on December 22," the embassy posted on social media site X.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi recently met with Saudi representatives, expressing a desire to expand bilateral relations. Saudi officials reaffirmed their commitment to providing humanitarian aid and strengthening collaboration in various fields.
In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan. It also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSRelief organisation.
Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries, the others being Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, that recognised the first IEA government which came to power in 1996 and was overthrown by the United States invasion of 2001.
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Human traffickers should be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison: IEA leader
The Leader of the Islamic Emirate has issued a decree instructing the Ministry of Interior Affairs to prevent human trafficking and to arrest and refer culprits to military courts.
The decree containing six articles says that that military courts should sentence human traffickers to one year in prison for the first time, two years if repeated for the second time and three years if repeated for the third time.
The ministries of Hajj, information, telecommunications, borders, propagation of virtue, as well as religious scholars are asked to inform the public about the dangers and adverse consequences of travelling through smuggling routes.
The decree comes as the rate of migration has increased following the political change in Afghanistan in 2021.
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