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US shares Istanbul Summit agenda with Afghan officials

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(Last Updated On: April 11, 2021)

First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said on Sunday in Kabul that the US has shared the agenda for the Istanbul Summit with Afghan officials and that among the topics listed is that of an interim government, a ceasefire and the preservation of gains made over the past two decades.

This comes a day after US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, in Kabul on Saturday to discuss the way forward regarding the summit and the peace process.

On Sunday, in an address to delegates attending the event, Saleh said that the agenda will also include discussions on achievements made by Afghanistan over the past 20 – especially those relating to the rights of the people.

Saleh meanwhile criticized the Taliban for their lack of contribution during the recent Moscow summit and said the group presented nothing but insults.

He also said Sunday that the Taliban were “strangers” and questioned how Afghanistan could hand over the country under such circumstances.

Saleh said that the Taliban was afraid to go to the polls in an election as they “know” they will only secure five percent of the people’s vote.

Meanwhile he stated that one of government’s biggest mistakes was releasing the 5,000 Taliban prisoners last year – as per the US agreement with the group.

He said of these prisoners freed, 75 percent have returned to the battlefields while between 40 and 50 of the freed inmates were in fact drug smugglers how paid the Taliban to help secure their release.

On the system of governance – an Emirate – that the Taliban are insisting on, Saleh said neither the Afghan people nor the countries in the region want this.

President Ashraf Ghani also addressed the gathering, in a recorded video, and said Afghanistan has the capacity and ability to create a plan for peace.

“We have the alternative to any plan prepared by other countries,” he said adding that the next administration must be decided by elections.

He stated that to achieve peace, difficult decisions and sacrifices need to be made.

“We have proven to all that we are ready to shorten our legal term and hold an early election,” he said.

Ghani called on the Taliban to take part in a Loya Jirga and share their problems with the people and make a commitment to denounce war and to solve the problems through talks.

He also said decisions made that bring suffering to the nation need to be prevented.

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1402, a difficult year for Afghan women and girls

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(Last Updated On: March 19, 2024)

As this solar year, 1402 draws to a close, the suspension of high school and higher education for girls continues, despite repeated calls to the Afghan government to reconsider this decision.

This year, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials repeatedly said they plan to reopen schools above grade 6, and universities, to girls – once plans were finalized. However, nothing has come of this.

In many meetings, both in Afghanistan and outside the country, repeated requests were made to the IEA to provide education for everyone – and some officials of the Islamic Emirate even expressed their dissatisfaction over the decision.

Representatives of the United Nations and countries of the world have repeatedly emphasized that the right to education should be given to women and girls, but these requests were not accepted by the Islamic Emirate.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said: “Supporting the rights of women and girls is a central part of our foreign policy. Over the past three years, we have put forward concrete strategies, policies and programs to support women and girls around the world. It’s not just rhetoric, it’s action.”

Spokespersons of the Islamic Emirate said many times in interviews with the media that schools and universities for girls would reopen. However, they did not say when the wait for girls would end.

Now, almost three years after schools, above grade 6, were closed to girls, the hope is that in the new academic year there will be changes in the policy of the Islamic Emirate and the school bell will ring with a good news for girls.

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US urges Pakistan to exercise restraint after airstrikes in Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: March 19, 2024)

The United States on Monday urged Pakistan to exercise restraint in its counter-terrorist offensive in Afghanistan.

Addressing a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre called on both sides to address differences through dialogue.

This came after Islamabad carried out airstrikes early Monday on what they claim were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts in Khost and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate in turn responded and said they targeted Pakistan’s military posts along the Durand Line.

Jean-Pierre meanwhile said: “We are aware of the reports, obviously, that Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan in response to an attack in Pakistan on Saturday at a military post. We deeply regret the loss of life and injuries sustained during the attack in Pakistan and the loss of civilian lives during the strikes in Afghanistan.”

“We urge the Taliban to ensure that terrorist attacks are not launched from Afghan soil. We urge Pakistan to exercise restraint and ensure civilians are not harmed in their counterterrorism efforts. We urge both sides to address any differences through dialogue. We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists who wish to harm the United States or our other partners or allies,” she continued.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Monday said “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations” were carried out inside the border regions of Afghanistan, hours after Kabul said airstrikes conducted on its soil had killed eight people.

The dead included five women and three children in the airstrikes carried out by Pakistan.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Monday the attack was a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) does not allow anyone to compromise security by using Afghan territory,” he said in a statement.

While Pakistan blames Afghanistan for sheltering the TTP responsible for the rise of such attacks, the ruling Taliban has denied these allegations.

In response to the Pakistani military’s air strikes the IEA claimed it carried out attacks on “Pakistani military centers with heavy weapons” and warned Islamabad of repercussions.

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IEA’s foreign ministry summons Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over airstrike

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2024)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over Islamabad’s airstrike inside Afghanistan in the early hours of Monday morning.

The ministry presented the charge d’affaires with a letter of protest and advised the new civilian government to curb anti-Afghanistan actions and to not ‘complicate’ relations between the two Muslim countries.

The ministry also condemned the airstrikes, in Paktika and Khost, and warned Islamabad it has a long history of fighting foreign powers and that it will not tolerate military action on its territory.

The ministry said in a statement that Pakistan’s new civilian government and the people of Pakistan should not allow some circles to complicate the relations between the two neighboring Muslim countries.

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