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Khalilzad: Prisoners’ exchange is part of the US-Taliban agreement
Zalmay Khalilzad insisted that exchanging prisoners was a part of the US-Taliban deal, and Washington would try to remove every hurdle on the way to the Intra-Afghan talks; however, the presidential palace underlines that the release of the Taliban prisoners before the Intra-Afghan talks is not feasible.
The US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation is meeting Afghan leaders in Kabul. Khalilzad called the continuation of the violence a boundary against peace. Through tweets, Khalilzad talked about the US commitment to easing up the peace talks.
Khalilzad tweeted, “The US is committed to facilitating prisoner exchange, agreed in both US-Taliban Agreement & US-Afghanistan Joint Declaration. We will support each side to release significant numbers.”
In another tweet, he said, “We must act on all fronts to clear the road of obstacles that slows down our progress toward intra-Afghan negotiations. I once again call on all Afghans to rise to the occasion, put country first and not to lose this historic opportunity.”
The Presidential Palace, however, has a different viewpoint.
Latif Mahmoud, the deputy spokesperson of the Presidential Palace said, “People expect the Taliban to leave killing and start negotiations with the government. Releasing prisoners will be a part of the agenda of the Intra-Afghan talks.”
This comes as the Wall Street Journal, based on a source at Arg, wrote that President Ghani refused to meet Khalilzad on Wednesday. This was rejected by Mahmoud though.
Noorullah Jalili, leader of Hezb-e-Madarwatan, said, “Both the laterals should use this opportunity and release the prisoners.”
Khalilzad has met Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai, and other political figures, lately.
Sources in the office of CE indicate that Abdullah Abdullah agreed on releasing the Taliban prisoners.
Omid Maisam, Abdulah’s deputy spokesperson said, “In this meeting, both the laterals talked over peace and the election’s crisis. Khalilzad applauded Abdullah for his goodwill on peace.”
Based on the US-Taliban agreement, the Intra-Afghan talks is supposed to start in five days, however, President Ghani not only disagreed with releasing 5000 prisoners of the Taliban but also hasn’t reached to an agreement with the political figures to form the negotiating delegation.
Turkmenistan is committed to complete the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan– Pakistan–India (TAPI) energy project together with the regional countries, Muhammetmyrat Amanov, CEO of TAPI Pipeline Company Limited, said.
“Turkmenistan is making significant progress on the TAPI natural gas pipeline, which aims to supply 33 billion cubic meters annually to South Asia” Amanov said speaking at the Turkmen Energy Investment Forum (TEIF 2024) in Paris.
He highlighted that the Turkmenistan section of the pipeline is complete and the ongoing discussions to advance the project beyond Turkmenistan are in strict alignment with international standards.
Amanov said the project emphasizes environmental sustainability by leveraging natural gas to reduce emissions significantly compared to coal and oil, thereby tackling indoor pollution and enhancing regional air quality.
“In light of the ongoing project developments, Turkmenistan remains committed to upholding international law, fulfilling its obligations, and adhering to international norms and regulations,” he stressed.
Three road construction projects worth about one billion Afghanis started in capital Kabul on Saturday.
The projects were inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The projects are: the second phase of Kotal Khairkhane road, the first part of the Shahid square to Qasaba, and the Airport road to Gumruk.
In the inauguration ceremony, Mullah Baradar said that Kabul municipality is working hard to beautify and regulate the city, and people should cooperate with the government in protecting public benefit projects.
He directed the officials of Kabul municipality to complete the mentioned projects on time and with good quality.
The second phase of Kotel Khairkhaneh road is 2.5 kilometers long and 60 meters wide. Thie road will cost 364 million Afghanis and will be completed in 20 months.
The Shahid square-Qasaba road is 1.8 kilometers long and 45 meters wide, which will be built at a cost of 175 million Afghanis in one year.
The Airport-Gumruk road is 2.7 km long and 60 meters wide, which will be completed at a cost of 407 million Afghanis in 20 months.
The projects are funded by Kabul Municipality.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said on Friday that the main threat for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members emanates from Afghanistan where international terrorist groups find shelter due to unstable and indefinite political situation.
Speaking at a meeting of the SCO defense ministers in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, Shoygu said Washington has stepped up efforts to restore its positions in Central and South Asia that were lost after the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan, Anadolu Agency reported.
The military chief called “unacceptable” the deployment of the American military infrastructure in the region, arguing that intentions should be regarded as “a direct threat to stability in the SCO space.”
According to him, the US is trying to impose a new security system in the Asia-Pacific region for dominance.
This comes as the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly emphasized that it does not allow anyone to pose threats to any other country from Afghanistan soil.
Recently, Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan,
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