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Taliban ready to start meaningful talks: negotiators
Two members of the Afghan Republic’s negotiating team, who are in Kabul, said on Wednesday that the Taliban is ready to start meaningful negotiations.
Habiba Sarabi, a member of the Republic’s negotiating team, said peace talks to finalize the agenda of intra-Afghan negotiations will resume once members of both teams are back in Doha, Qatar.
“When the Taliban delegation arrives in Doha, they will inform us, then we will also go to Doha to start negotiations to finalize the agenda,” said Sarabi.
“The Taliban has been preparing for meaningful talks,” said Ghulam Farooq Majrouh, another member of the Republic’s negotiating team.
Meanwhile, sources said the Taliban is ready to attend peace talks sessions following progress that has been made on the release of 7,000 Taliban prisoners.
“Peace talks in Doha were not successful; it did not have any results. All hopes are on the Turkey Conference, and it is an important conference,” said Humayoun Jarir, a member of Hizb-e-Islami.
The Afghan government has meanwhile said they will release the 7,000 Taliban prisoners if it results in a ceasefire and political settlement.
“We are ready for discussions about this; if the Taliban has an intention for a durable peace and ceasefire” said Dawa Khan Minapal, head of Government Media and Information Center (GMIC).
This comes after Afghan Republic peace talks team members and Taliban representatives met in Doha in Qatar on Friday (May 14) and discussed the need to speed up negotiations.
The talks, which started in September, have largely stalled while a US-proposed peace meeting scheduled for Turkey was also put on hold after the Taliban refused to attend.
In this time however, violence across Afghanistan has intensified.
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IEA delegation attends conference for ‘Promoting Mining Cooperation’ in China
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said on Saturday in a statement that its delegation participated in a conference titled "Promoting Mining Cooperation" in China’s Hunan province.
The Ministry stated the conference aims to build a well-equipped laboratory in Afghanistan, increase the capacity of technical and professional employees of the Ministry of Mines, and encourage investors in the mineral resources sector of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Chinese investors expressed their interest in Afghanistan’s gold, copper, mica, talc, oil, gas, lithium, lead and zinc mines.
At the conference, the ministry’s deputy minister of finance and administration and head of the delegation Hussamuddin Saberi talked about Afghanistan's natural resources contracts and investment opportunities and considered holding such programs effective for the relations between the two countries.
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Uzbekistan, EU envoys meet to discuss Afghanistan
Uzbekistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Ismatulla Irgashev, on Friday met with the EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the current state and prospects of Uzbek-European relations in the Afghan direction, the efforts of the international community to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the country and the possibility of using the international transport and logistics hub in Termez to deliver humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Hakala highly appreciated the efforts of Uzbekistan to develop a consolidated regional position on Afghanistan, establish long-term peace and stability in the country, according to the statement.
The parties expressed mutual interest in continuing bilateral consultations on the Afghan issue, the statement added.
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UN expert calls for comprehensive, rights-focused action plan for Afghanistan
A UN expert on Friday called on the international community to devise and implement a comprehensive, human rights-centered action plan to address the human rights crisis in Afghanistan.
“The absence of a unified, forceful response from the international community has emboldened the Taliban (IEA),” UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said.
In his latest report to the UN General Assembly, Bennett said that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is worsening, which includes systematic gender oppression, amounting to gender persecution and which many Afghans term “gender apartheid” with intergenerational implications.
Bennett expressed concern about the new “vice and virtue” law, announced in August, which he believes has institutionalized an expanding list of restrictions that “blatantly violate the rights of women and girls.”
He also expressed concern about the “shrinking civic space” in Afghanistan, the situation of minorities, journalists, and former government officials and security personnel.
“Justice, equality, and the rule of law are being systematically undermined,” he said.
The UN expert also called for increased funding and support for Afghan civil society and humanitarian efforts to mitigate the crisis.
Bennett urged the IEA to reverse its “repressive policies” and reinstate basic human rights. He pressed the international community to take a coordinated, multifaceted approach to support the Afghan people.
Bennett urged states not to normalize relations with the IEA until there are demonstrable human rights improvements and pathways to justice and accountability.
This comes as the Islamic Emirate has said that it is committed to ensuring human rights, including the rights of women and girls, according to Sharia, and this is an internal issue of Afghanistan.
The Islamic Emirate has banned Richard Bennett from traveling to Afghanistan, saying that he exaggerates small issues.
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