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Withdrawing without Taliban commitment to peace would be “rash”: former NATO SCR
Former NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan, Sir Nicholas Kay, has warned that withdrawing international troops without a full Taliban commitment to peace would be “rash”.
In an interview with the Forces News, Kay said, “It would be very rash for us to have a comprehensive military withdrawal from Afghanistan before there is a comprehensive political peace agreement.”
The US and Taliban signed an agreement for bringing peace in Afghanistan on February 29, in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
According to the deal, the Afghan government would release up to five thousand Taliban and the US forces would leave Afghanistan within 14 months after the deal.
In exchange, the Taliban militant group would release 1,000 prisoners of the Afghan government and it promised to stop al-Qaeda operating in the areas of its control.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Kay told the Forces News that the only commitment on the NATO side is “for this first stage of withdrawal down to 12,000 and then there would be a stocktake.”
Kay, however, said that the deal is conditions-based, adding, “If the Taliban do not live up to their commitments, then there will not be a deal.”
“Those commitments have to be demonstrated,” he noted.
One of the commitments the Taliban are expected to fulfill is the reduction of violence, but this is not the reality at the moment.
“Yes, the Taliban stopped attacking coalition forces. Yes, they stopped attacking high-profile targets in cities […] but they were killing Afghan security forces, Afghan civilians in rural areas [and] districts across the country at a very high rate.”
The next step of the process, the former ambassador explained, should be the beginning of actual negotiations between the Taliban, the Afghan government, and the wider Afghan society.
Earlier, sources said that the first round of talks between the Afghans is scheduled to take place on June 15, but sources close to the Taliban have said that talks would not begin unless all 5,000 Taliban prisoners are released.
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IEA urges World Bank to resume work on 7,000 incomplete projects
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.
According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.
“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.
According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.
“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.
However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.
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Ten people killed by floods in Helmand
Ten people have been killed and six others injured by floods in Helmand province in the past week, local officials said on Friday.
According to officials, seven of those were members of the same family, and they were killed in Kajaki district last night.
“Most of the people moved from vulnerable areas to high lands and mountains, and thanks Allah the number of casualties is low,” Sher Mohammad Vahdat, the head of information of the Directorate of Information and Culture in Helmand, said adding rescue teams and security forces have been dispatched to help people.
It is said that the telecommunication system has also been disrupted due to the effect of floods in Kajaki district. Floods have also destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land.
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UN envoy meets Indian foreign minister to discuss Afghanistan
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues related to Afghanistan, it was announced on Thursday.
During the meeting, Otunbayeva thanked India for “its critical humanitarian support and longstanding friendship for the Afghan people” and discussed the importance of regional and international cooperation to address prevailing challenges in Afghanistan, UNAMA said on X.
Jaishankar also said on X that the sides exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan.
“Underlined that India has provided wheat, medicines, pesticides and school supplies. Appreciate the role of UN agencies as partners in these endeavors,” he said.
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