Kabul hosts meeting for strengthening regional consensus on peace
The Afghan government Monday held a meeting in Kabul on the peace process for strengthening regional consensus on the Afghan peace process.
Representatives from 19 countries and international organizations including the United Nations participated in the meeting.
The video session, led by Acting Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar, kicked off with a speech by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Monday evening.
Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the meeting was aimed at strengthening regional consensus and focused on reducing violence, starting Intra-Afghan talks, reaching a ceasefire, and releasing Taliban prisoners.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation called on all laterals to the war in Afghanistan to reduce violence and increase their efforts to achieve peace.
Speculation to start the talks between the two sides comes as tensions have escalated and the level of violence has risen.
The Taliban have made the release of their prisoners conditional on the start of peace talks between Afghans in which an agreement will be reached on a ceasefire, and the government has made the release of all Taliban prisoners conditional on the release of prisoners.
The Afghan government, however, says it is not possible to release specific figures of Taliban prisoners whose group insists on their release.
The Taliban have carried out 36 offensive attacks on Afghan forces in six provinces in the past 24 hours, according to the latest government figures. In addition to the escalation of attacks, it is to be seen whether the regional consensus and international organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will succeed in bringing the two sides to the negotiating table or not.
Officials from the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment say that 294,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit have been exported from the province to foreign countries over the past year.
According to them, the total value of these exports amounts to $519 million.
Abdulbaqi Bina, Deputy Head of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment, says the products were exported to India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Canada and several other countries.
Meanwhile, fresh and dried fruit traders are calling on the government to provide alternative transit routes, new markets, and greater facilitation for obtaining visas and transportation for the export of these products.
This comes as nearly 59,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit were exported from Kandahar to foreign countries
The case of 87 Afghan students seeking extensions of their study visas has reached the Islamabad High Court, with the students also asking for protection from arrest, detention and deportation, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
According to Pakistani journalist Tahir Khan, the students have petitioned the court to order the government to extend their visas and prevent law-enforcement agencies from harassing, arresting, detaining or deporting them solely because their previous study visas have expired.
During Friday’s hearing, lawyer Aimal Khan Mandokhel told the court that Pakistan’s Interior Ministry had issued study visas to the Afghan students about a year ago. However, the students say authorities have since stopped extending existing visas and issuing new ones.
The Afghan Students Union at the International Islamic University Islamabad has also said Pakistani authorities have suspended study visa extensions for Afghan students for an extended period. It added that several students have allegedly been arrested and deported in recent months.
The hearing was adjourned following an exchange between Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and lawyer Aimal Khan Mandokhel.
The case is expected to be heard again later this month.
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