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Taliban’s Qatar Office Engaged in ‘Spreading Terror Activities’ in Afghanistan
The Taliban political office in Qatar concentrates more on spreading terrorist activities in Afghanistan than having impact on the process of Afghan peace talks with the group, a government source told Ariana News Wednesday.
“The Taliban Qatar office is ineffective to the pave the way for peace talks and its negative role is more prominent, therefore, it has concentrated more on spreading terror activities [in Afghanistan],” the source said.
The Taliban opened their Doha office in 2013, following the support of the U.S., Afghan and Qatari governments. The political leaders hoped the move would set the stage for peace negotiation between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
However, recently reports emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to agree on closure of the Taliban office which has been a channel for dialogue for more than six years.
Qatar said the office has operated with U.S. and Afghan consent. “As with the opening of the office, any decision on the future of it rests with both the Government of the United States and the Government of Afghanistan,” said Sheikh Saif Bin Ahmed Al-Thani, director of the Qatari government’s communications office, cited by Wall Street Journal.
“No matter the decision, Qatar will remain America’s strongest ally in the region, working to defeat terrorism and resolve global conflicts,” he said.
Some Afghan political analysts believe if the Taliban’s Qatar office was closed, the group will lose its “independency” status.
“The closure Qatar office will harm the dialogue [process] and will encourage the Taliban to fight further,” said Jawid Kohistani. “They will lose independency and will rely upon Pakistan again.”
It comes as Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan that will surge U.S. troops’ presence and to repel Taliban advances across the country.
By Shakib Mahmud and Rafi Sediqi
The deputy prime minister for policy, Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, met with Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, at Sapidar Palace on Tuesday and discussed issues around the quality of domestic products and the need to grow and develop the industrial sector.
Azizi said that good trade relations with neighboring countries has resulted in stable prices of goods in the country.
He said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry works closely with the private sector. As a result, the private sector functions in a befitting manner and the Islamic Emirate has provided necessary facilities.
Azizi said that based on the Islamic Emirate’s good economic policies, there has been a significant development in the import/export sector in the country.
Kabir in turn voiced appreciation for efforts by the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and said: “The unprecedented efforts of the IEA’s administrations and the stability of the Afghan currency caused the price of food ingredients to remain in the right state and our people also be able to buy essential materials.”
He emphasized the need to work for a balance in trade with neighboring countries, and said more efforts were needed to improve the quality of domestic products and to grow the sector.
Russia and Tajikistan conducted a joint four-day military exercise along the border with Afghanistan in order to be prepared for any “potential threats”, Tajik media reported this week.
Russian military personnel from the 201st military base in Tajikistan participated in this exercise. Reports stated military personnel practiced various combat tactics, especially tactics to counter terrorist groups that illegally enter Tajikistan.
This comes amid repeated concerns expressed by Afghanistan’s neighbors about what they claim are terrorist threats originating from Afghanistan.
The Islamic Emirate has not yet commented on the drills but has repeatedly denied the presence of terrorist groups in the country. The IEA has also continuously said no militant group will be allowed to threaten another country from Afghanistan.
The Media Violations Commission has ordered Noor and Barya TV channels to stop broadcasting and to appear in court, state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported on Tuesday.
ّIt is said that the decision against the channels was taken for “not observing the principles of journalism.”
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