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Afghanistan, US, Russia hold trilateral meeting on Afghan peace process
The Acting Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar held a trilateral meeting with US Special Peace Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Russian Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov via video teleconference Monday.
The three countries have reiterated their strong commitment to an Afghan-owned peace process and support for safeguarding Afghanistan’s achievements over the past 19 years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
According to the statement, all sides agreed as follow:
- The Russian and the US Governments welcome the Afghan Government’s commitment and progress towards releasing of the Taliban prisoners as a necessary step towards the early start of the intra-Afghan negotiations. The parties call on the Taliban to reciprocate the Afghan Government’s move by releasing all Afghan Government prisoners held by them consistent with their commitment in the Doha Agreement.
- Recognizing the importance of ensuring a positive atmosphere for the impending negotiations, the parties call for a significant reduction in violence as a confidence-building measure. The Afghan Government’s proposal concerning the establishment of a monitoring mechanism for compliance with ‘Reduction in Violence (RiV) measures and to ensure mutual accountability overall through the peace process is a positive contribution.
- The parties welcome the readiness of both sides to the intra-Afghan negotiations for an early start of the negotiations and expect that an initial meeting between the negotiating teams must be held immediately to agree on the agenda and next steps. Consistent with the Doha Agreement, the parties expect that achieving a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire will be included in the agenda of the intra-Afghan negotiations at the outset.
- The parties agree on the importance of regional and international cooperation as key to sustaining the intra-Afghan negotiations and ultimately to the success of the peace process. In this context, the parties call for further consultations through existing or new inclusive regional and international mechanisms aimed at further strengthening regional and international consensus in support of the peace process.
- The parties agree to meet again in this Trilateral format to discuss the progress made in the intra-Afghan negotiation process. The schedule and details of the next meeting are to be determined through diplomatic channels.
On the other hand, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, described the situation in Afghanistan as “challenging” and said, “NATO will continue to adjust our presence in support of the peace process. But for the peace to succeed, the Taliban must live up to their commitments. To reduce violence, break all bonds with Al Qaida and other international terrorist groups, and engage in intra-Afghan talks in good faith.”
Meanwhile, the Afghan government also speaks about the increase in violence by the Taliban.
The US ambassador to NATO, Bailey Hutchison, underlined that the Intra-Afghan talks is expected to put an end to violence, protect human rights, uphold the rule of law and eliminate terrorist shelters forever.
Sources in the Afghan government have said that an agreement has been reached to hold the first round of the Intra-Afghan talks in Doha in the coming days.
The Taliban, however, has said that negotiation with the government depends on the release of all 5,000 prisoners of the group.
It is noteworthy that more than 3,000 Taliban prisoners have been released by the government so far, and the Taliban too, have released nearly 500 government prisoners.
Some 2,000 other Taliban prisoners are set to be released in a week’s time.
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Iranian official: Only vulnerable points of Afghanistan’s border will be walled and fenced
An Iranian security official has said that the entire border of Iran with Afghanistan will not be fenced, rather barriers will be created only at vulnerable points.
Iranian army has announced that the plan to create barriers at the border with a four-meter concrete wall, barbed wire and fence will be implemented within three years.
“In some northwestern and eastern borders, there are threats from the other side of the borders that we are countering,” said Qassem Rezaei, Iran’s deputy police commander.
He added that drug trafficking, human trafficking, and even terrorist infiltration may take place through these borders.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior of Iran Ahmad Vahidi has announced that over 1.3 million illegal foreign nationals have returned to their country in the past year.
He added that illegal citizens should leave Iran as they are not allowed to stay.
Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi on Sunday met with WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Hanan Balkhy, and called for the organization’s cooperation including in the establishment of clinics in remote areas and training of specialists.
According to a statement released by his office, Hanafi pointed out that since the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan regained power, there has been progress in various fields, including the fight against drug production and trafficking, the roundup and treatment of drug addicts, the eradication of corruption and nationwide security.
He asked the WHO to hand over Afghanistan’s seat to the representative of the Islamic Emirate and restore Afghanistan’s membership in meetings of the executive board and leadership meetings of the Mediterranean region.
Hanafi also called for the cooperation of international organizations in providing alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers and in providing assistance to flood victims.
While stressing that the eradication of polio is one of the priorities of the Islamic Emirate, Hanafi asked the WHO to activate polio diagnosis laboratories and supply vaccines, establish a cancer treatment center, prevent malnutrition among children and provide safe drinking water.
According to the statement, WHO official Balkhy said in the meeting that the health issue is non-political and one of the priorities of the organization.
She pointed to the achievements of the Islamic Emirate in various fields and expressed hope that better conditions will be provided for Afghans in the health and education sector.
Balkhy explained that WHO, together with other international organizations and the European Union, has a three-year project that includes the establishment of health centers in different provinces of Afghanistan.
She also expressed her appreciation for the efforts of the Islamic Emirate in the fight against polio and added that she will discuss the issue of providing alternative livelihoods for Afghan farmers with the WHO and other relevant organizations.
The 15th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Gambia on Sunday called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to respect Afghan girls and women’s right to education and work.
In a declaration, OIC described the right to education and work as the fundamental rights of Afghan girls and women, and called for more communication with the IEA authorities on these issues.
Additionally, the participants emphasized the need for more efforts to address the challenges related to ethnic groups, drugs, terrorism, and social issues to ensure inclusive governance and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan.
“We also emphasize the need to make more efforts to address the challenges associated with ethnic groups, terrorism, drugs and social aspects for inclusive governance to achieve sustainable stability,” the declaration said.
Delegations from the 57 OIC member states attended the conference, organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation under the theme “Enhancing unity and solidarity through dialogue for sustainable development.”.
The summit was also attended by an IEA delegation.
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