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U.S. Envoy Reveals Fresh Details of Qatar Talks

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Last Updated on: October 24, 2022

The U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on Thursday revealed fresh details of his six days of talks with the Taliban representatives in Qatar.

“The path to peace doesn’t often run in a straight line,” Khalilzad said in a series of tweets. ” The situation in Afghanistan is complex and like all sensitive talks, not everything is conducted in public..”

Khalilzad stressed that they have made significant progress on two key issues including counter-terrorism and troop withdrawal, following this week’s Qatar talks.

“We made significant progress on two vital issues: counter-terrorism and troop withdrawal. That doesn’t mean we’re done. We’re not even finished with these issues yet, and there is still work to be done on other vital issues like intra-Afghan dialogue and a complete ceasefire,” he tweeted.

“Skeptics have rushed to judgment based on just the first part of a much larger effort, as though we have a completed agreement. But you can’t eat an elephant in one bite! And a forty-year-old war won’t be resolved in one meeting, even if that meeting runs for close to a week,” he said.

According to Khalilzad, the opportunity being provided for ensuring peace in Afghanistan should not be missed.

“This is a moment for Afghans to begin to heal old wounds and chart a new course for their country There are many players, many issues, and many moving parts,” he said.

The envoy, however, said that they are on the right path, “together”, referring to the U.S. President Trump’s tweet in which he said that Afghanistan talks are “proceeding well”.

This comes as President Ghani said that no agreements would be concluded without the government’s full participation.

“Our commitment is to provide peace and to prevent any possible disaster,”Ghani said. “There are values that are not disputable, such as national unity, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”

He said the key to peace is in Afghanistan, but the key for war is in Islamabad, Quetta, and Rawalpindi.

Separately, a spokesman of Ghani has quoted the president as saying that if someone thinks he can force Ashraf Ghani to sign another treaty of Gandamak, he is wrong.

“We want neither Shah Shujah nor Amir Mohammad Yaqub Khan who have signed Gandamak treaty, but we want Amanullah Khan, Ahmad Shah, and Mahmoud Ghaznawi,” Shah Hussain Mortazavi, the deputy spokesman to the presidency quoted Ashraf Ghani as saying on Thursday.

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Afghanistan-Gambia ties discussed during Doha meeting

Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.

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Suhail Shaheen, head of the Islamic Emirate’s embassy in Doha, has met with Omar Jah, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of The Gambia to Qatar, to discuss bilateral relations and areas of mutual interest.

According to a statement from the Afghan embassy in Doha, Jah also oversees Gambian diplomatic affairs related to Afghanistan.

The meeting focused on Afghanistan-Gambia relations, the current security situation in Afghanistan, and potential investment opportunities in the country.

Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.

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Pakistan’s Achakzai calls for freer movement across disputed Durand Line

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Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly and head of the Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party, has said that if capable statesmen had been in power, people living on both sides of the Durand Line could have moved freely across the line.

Speaking during a podcast interview, Achakzai said that countries with histories of major conflict, including Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, now maintain far more open borders despite past wars. He said that in many such regions, only a “paper line” remains, with limited border restrictions.

Drawing comparisons with the disputed Durand Line boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Achakzai argued that a similar arrangement could have been possible in South Asia.

“What is the problem here? A Punjabi could dance in Kandahar and a Pashtun could come here. Even if we are not formally one country, we could have effectively functioned like one,” he said.

The Pakistani politician also referred to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the later U.S.-led intervention, saying Afghanistan has the right to seek war reparations from those countries to support reconstruction efforts.

Achakzai further criticised the treatment of Pashtuns in Pakistan, alleging that individuals in cities including Lahore and Karachi have faced detention and deportation.

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CASA-1000: Kyrgyzstan completes its part, Afghanistan work still in progress

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Kyrgyzstan has completed major construction work on its territory under the regional energy project CASA-1000, according to a recent report by the Eurasian Stabilization and Development Fund (ESDF). With key infrastructure now in place, further progress on the project depends on the completion of construction in Afghanistan, which is expected by the end of 2027.

The report notes that Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan have largely finalized their respective infrastructure components and are now awaiting the completion of the Afghan section before moving forward with full operational stages.

The CASA-1000 project, valued at approximately $1.2 billion, aims to establish a high-voltage electricity transmission line linking Central and South Asia. The initiative is designed to enable Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to export surplus hydropower during summer months, when electricity demand rises in Pakistan and Afghanistan due to increased use of cooling systems.

Construction work in Afghanistan was suspended in August 2021, at a stage when only about 18 percent of transmission structures had been installed, although more than 90 percent of equipment had already been delivered to the country. Following extended negotiations and security assurances, work on the Afghan section resumed in December 2024.

ESDF experts say that once construction in Afghanistan is completed, participating countries will be able to begin technical testing of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) system. A full launch of the regional energy corridor is expected by the end of 2027, marking a significant milestone in regional energy integration between Central and South Asia.

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