Latest News
Trump Met Ghani on Margins of Riyadh Summit
U.S. President Donald Trump met with President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the Riyadh summit.
The White House in a statement said, ” President Donald J. Trump met briefly today with President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan on the margins of the Islamic Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. President Trump welcomed President Ghani’s leadership in Afghanistan on fighting terrorism and implementing key reforms.”
The statement further added “He also commended the brave service of Afghan security forces as they fight to secure their country.”
Afghanistan Presidential Palace says President Ghani met President Trump and his National Security Adviser and discussed on U.S. long term cooperation with Afghan government.
Acting spokesman of President’s office, Shah Hussain Murtazawi said, “the two sides talked on continued support of U.S. from Afghanistan and joint cooperation in fighting against terrorism.”
Murtazawi added, ” U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster reassured U.S. support to Afghanistan in different spheres.”
In his address at the summit in Riyadh, President trump defined the battle against terrorist groups as a “battle between good and evil” as he urged Muslim-majority countries to redouble their counterterrorism efforts
“This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects or different civilizations,” Trump said. “This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it. This is a battle between good and evil.”
Trump exhorted Muslim-majority countries to do more to eradicate terrorist groups that claim the mantle of Islam, urging Muslims to “drive out” terrorists.
“Drive them out,” Trump said. “Drive out the terrorists. Drive out the extremists. Drive them out of your places of worship. Drive them out of your communities. Drive them out of your holy land and drive them out of this Earth.”
The former Afghan President Hamid Karzai in reaction to President Trump’s remarks said “terrorism is the result of the policy and action of the United States and its allies and claimed that terrorists have no place in worship places and communities of Muslims.”
This comes as President Trump praised the efforts of countries in fight against terrorism, particularly the Afghan soldiers in Riyadh summit.
“Courageous Afghan soldiers are making tremendous sacrifices in the fight against the Taliban, and others, in the fight for their country,” Trump said.
Latest News
Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.
Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.
Latest News
Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh
A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.
Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.
The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.
Latest News
Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani
Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.
Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.
He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.
Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.
“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.
Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”
However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.
-
Latest News4 days ago
Pakistan’s frontiers minister stresses ‘dignified’ return of Afghan refugees
-
Regional3 days ago
Iranian president lands in Pakistan for three-day visit to mend ties
-
Climate Change4 days ago
Massive river flooding expected in China, threatening millions
-
Latest News2 days ago
Rashid Khan named AWCC’s brand ambassador
-
Latest News5 days ago
Chinese keen to invest in Panjshir-Kabul water conduit project
-
World4 days ago
Two Japan navy helicopters crash, one body found, 7 missing
-
Sport3 days ago
ACL: Aino Mina 3-0 Istiqlal Kabul; Attack Energy 3-0 Khadim
-
Sport3 days ago
Kolkata beat Bengaluru by one run in IPL as Kohli fumes at dismissal