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Top Pakistani official visits Kabul to discuss March suicide attack

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A top Pakistani official on Thursday held a meeting with Afghanistan’s deputy interior minister, Muhammad Nabi Omari, in Kabul and shared with him findings of a March 26 suicide attack in northwest Pakistan that killed five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver, Pakistan's foreign ministry said.

The five Chinese workers were killed when a suicide bomber rammed his car into their vehicle while they were on their way to the Dasu hydropower project in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

Islamabad blamed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the attack in KP’s Besham city and Pakistan’s interior minister and counter-terrorism chief last week said the bombing was coordinated by TTP members from Afghanistan, demanding Kabul to arrest and hand over the suspects involved in the deadly attack to Pakistan.

Afghanistan’s care-taker government has denied it was in any way responsible.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s interior secretary, Muhammad Khurram Agha, traveled to Kabul on the special directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and held a detailed meeting with the Afghan interior deputy interior minister, according to Pakistan's foreign ministry.

“The Secretary Interior shared the findings of the Government of Pakistan into the Besham attack and sought Afghanistan’s assistance in apprehending the perpetrators,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “The Afghan side also agreed to examine the findings of the investigation and expressed the resolve to work with the Pakistan side to take the investigation to its logical conclusion.”

The March 26 assault was the third major one in a little over a week on the Chinese interests in Pakistan.

It followed a Mar. 20 attack on a strategic port used by China in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where Beijing has poured billions of dollars into infrastructure projects, and a March. 25 assault on a naval air base, also in the southwest. Both attacks were claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of several separatist groups in Balochistan.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said the Afghan side reiterated its commitment to prevent the use of their soil for any militant activity against other countries, including Pakistan. “The two sides agreed to remain engaged to confront the threat posed by terrorism to regional countries and to address the concerns raised by Pakistan,” it added.

Meanwhile, the deputy interior minister spoke about the good intentions of the Islamic Emirate and said that while Afghanistan wants peace for itself, it also has good wishes for others. He further added that IEA does not believe in "evil politics."

“Our intentions and actions are to promote peace in the region for the benefit of ourselves and everyone,” said Omari.

Omari termed the “Bisham terrorist attack" as a tragic incident and said that everyone should take responsibility for the security of their areas and instead of diverting attention, everyone should cooperate.

“The Islamic Emirate is committed to not allowing others to use its territory against anyone and we wish the same from others,” added Omari.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in its western regions that border Afghanistan, particularly after the TTP called off its months-long, fragile truce with the Pakistani government in November 2022.

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US to give $157 million in humanitarian aid in response to Lebanon crisis

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The United States will provide nearly $157 million in new humanitarian assistance to support populations affected by conflict in Lebanon and the region, the State Department said in a statement on Friday.

"This funding will address new and existing needs of internally displaced persons and refugee populations inside Lebanon and the communities that host them. The assistance will also support those fleeing to neighboring Syria," the State Department said.

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Muttaqi meets Lavrov in Moscow, hopes for expansion of diplomatic ties

He mentioned the political and economic developments between Afghanistan and regional countries and expressed hope that the level of diplomatic relations between Russia and the Islamic Emirate will increase.

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Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the sixth meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan.

The two sides discussed bilateral political and economic relations and regional issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said in a statement on Saturday.

Muttaqi considered the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan of special importance for the Afghan government and requested that it become a mechanism for developing cooperation between Afghanistan and regional countries.

He mentioned the political and economic developments between Afghanistan and regional countries and expressed hope that the level of diplomatic relations between Russia and the Islamic Emirate will increase.

Muttaqi also talked about security and stability in Afghanistan, saying that security has made conditions suitable for investment in Afghanistan.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s statement, Lavrov emphasized on the expansion of his country's relations with Afghanistan in the political and economic fields, adding that Russian companies are interested in investing in agriculture, mining and transport sectors in Afghanistan.

He also pointed to Afghanistan's position in the wake of recent developments in the region and the world, saying that Afghanistan can play an important role in the region's economic connectivity.

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Russian leadership has decided to remove IEA from list of banned groups

Kabulov said that Russia’s Foreign Ministry jointly with the Russia’s Federal Security Service and a number of other Russian agencies are putting finishing legal touches on the removal of IEA from the list of banned groups.

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Russia has already made a principal decision to remove the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) from its list of banned groups, with certain legal procedures pending, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov has said.

Kabulov said that Russia's Foreign Ministry jointly with the Russia’s Federal Security Service and a number of other Russian agencies are putting finishing legal touches on the removal of IEA from the list of banned groups.

"A principal decision on this has already been made by the Russian leadership. But the process should be carried out within the Russian legal framework," the Russian envoy said following the latest round of consultations on Afghanistan in Moscow, TASS news agency reported.

Russian authorities just need to bring the process in line with federal laws, Kabulov explained. "Hopefully, the final decision will be announced soon," he added.

Earlier on Friday, Director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov said that work to remove IEA from the list of banned groups was in the final stages in Russia.

According to the FSB chief, Russia can see that the IEA is "ready to fight" the Khorasan branch of Daesh, which he claimed to be "getting material support from the West which uses the terrorist group’s capacity to carry out subversive false-flag operations on our soil."

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