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US State Dept reiterates Istanbul was not meant to replace Doha talks

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The US State Department’s spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday night that the Istanbul Conference was never meant to replace the Doha talks but rather it was part of a broader diplomatic effort to secure a political settlement.

Addressing a press conference, Price said the Doha talks “is an effort that continues to be ongoing and it’s an effort where we will continue to invest our resources, our political heft, knowing again that only through diplomacy, only through a political settlement, an Afghan-owned, Afghan-led process, will we be able to help support bringing peace, stability, and security to the people of Afghanistan.”

Soon after Price’s press conference, word spread that the Istanbul Conference had been postponed.This was confirmed on Wednesday morning by the three co-hosts, United Nations, Turkey and Qatar, in a statement.

“In view of recent developments, and after extensive consultations with the parties, it has been agreed to postpone the conference to a later date when conditions for making meaningful progress would be more favorable,” the statement read.

Price meanwhile again pointed out that the Biden administration is in no doubt that there is no military solution to the situation in Afghanistan.

He said: “The conference in Istanbul is part of that broader effort, that broader diplomatic engagement. We are grateful to the hosts – Turkey, Qatar, and the UN – for convening it. I would need to refer to them when it comes to the current status of that timing of it or timing of it going forward.”

The postponement comes after the Taliban’s announcement last week that they would not attend any peace conference until all foreign troops had withdrawn from the country.

Their announcement followed closely on the heels of US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s announcement that all foreign troops would be out of Afghanistan by September 11.

The Taliban said however this was in contravention of the US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha last year which stipulated foreign troops need to leave by May 1.

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Thirty, killed, 155 injured in traffic accidents in Afghanistan during Eid

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As many as 80 traffic accidents occurred across Afghanistan on the last day of Ramadan and the three days of Eid-ul-Fitr, resulting in 30 deaths and 155 injuries, the General Directorate of Traffic of the Ministry of Interior Affairs has announced.

It said in a statement that the number of traffic accidents during Eid this year has decreased compared to last year, as there were 98 accidents during Eid last year, leaving 50 dead and 185 injured.

The statement said that the fatalities in traffic accidents during Eid this year include 19 men, 2 women and 9 children.

The injured include 117 men, 8 women and 30 children.

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More international support desperately needed for Afghanistan mine action: UNAMA

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More international support is desperately needed for mine action in Afghanistan, which is one of one of the countries on earth that is most impacted by the explosive remnants of war, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, said on Friday.

Marking the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, UNAMA said on X that over decades of conflict, tens of thousands of ordinary Afghans have lost their lives or limbs because of landmines and unexploded ordnance, adding that most of the victims today are children.

“Mine clearance work is painstaking, dangerous, and costly. Education to prevent accidents, and rehabilitation for those left with disabilities is also essential,” UNAMA said.

UNAMA called for more international support to Afghanistan, saying it “saves lives, and serves as an investment in a safer, more stable, and prosperous future for Afghanistan.”

In 2024, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recorded that there were 434 children among those injured or killed in 251 incidents linked to diverse forms of explosive ordnance. This accounts for over 76 percent of the total number of recorded casualties.

 
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister proposes permanent residence for Afghan refugees

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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has proposed that Afghan refugees be granted permanent residence in Pakistan.

This comes as the Pakistani government is deporting Afghan refugees citing security concerns.

There are currently 2.1 million registered Afghan migrants in Pakistan, more than half of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that attacks in the country are planned on Afghan soil and that Afghan citizens have been involved in a number of attacks. The Islamic Emirate, however, has denied the claim, saying Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan’s “security failure”.

While the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has called for permanent residence for Afghan refugees, its governor, Faisal Karim Kundi, has criticized the statement as “absurd.”

Kundi said the current security crisis in Pakistan is deeply linked to Afghanistan and 70 percent of recent attacks in Pakistan have been planned on Afghan soil.

He also claimed that weapons left over from foreign forces in Afghanistan are now being used against Pakistan, a claim the Islamic Emirate has previously denied.

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