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Karzai says new US plan is best chance for peace

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(Last Updated On: March 12, 2021)

Washington’s new plan for a transitional government that includes the Taliban is the best chance to accelerate stalled peace talks between the group and the Afghan government, former president Hamid Karzai said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.

Karzai said after decades of war, Afghans themselves “are in a hurry for peace”.

The new proposal was delivered early last week by US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the High Council for National Reconciliation Chairman Abdullah Abdullah and other politicians and former government leaders. Later in the week Khalilzad met with Taliban representatives and put the plan to them.

No decisions have yet been made by either side on the proposal nor have there been any new developments in the past 10 days on the peace talks process in Doha.

But according to Karzai, the proposed U.S. peace plan contains important provisions that could help bring peace to Afghanistan — with some revisions by both sides.

However, Ghani has long opposed the idea of an interim government.

Karzai meanwhile told AP the U.S. proposal can shepherd a war-weary nation to elections; it protects rights of women and minorities, offers a way to achieve constitutional reform and proffers an interim administration.

“Peace is such a deep, deep, deeply desired wish of the Afghan people,” said Karzai. “You can’t imagine how much of a hurry we are in to reach peace for us and for our younger ones.”

He expressed hope that the U.S. proposal could serve as a catalyst for both sides to make peace perhaps even before May 1 — the deadline for a final U.S. troop withdrawal under a U.S.-Taliban deal reached a year ago.

Karzai said he was against the May 1 withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops, warning it would create chaos. He said it was in both Washington’s and Kabul’s interest to have a responsible exit.

“It’s extremely important for the United States and the U.S allies and those who (have been) involved in the past 20 years in Afghanistan to be responsible, to do things that will bring lasting peace,” he said.

“So a responsible exit or a responsible stay in a peaceful Afghanistan are both issues that we should consider very carefully.”

The Taliban have until now rejected the idea of international forces staying in Afghanistan after May 1, but Karzai said they may be convinced to accept a modified U.S. presence in a peaceful Afghanistan.

Karzai also said HCNR, of which he is a member, will meet on Sunday to review the U.S. proposal. The council will respond with proposed revisions in coming days, he said.

The council leadership is the final arbiter on what the government will accept in a peace agreement.

Karzai told AP that if Ghani’s government could bring the warring groups together “we would support it,” but he said he hasn’t been able to and warned against sacrificing an opportunity for peace to hold on to power.

Karzai also said a peaceful Afghanistan is of interest to all its neighbors but particularly Pakistan, where the Taliban leadership has been headquartered and with whom Afghanistan has had a troubled relationship.

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Three road construction projects launched in Kabul

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(Last Updated On: April 27, 2024)

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.

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Russian defense minister says main threat for SCO countries emanates from Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: April 27, 2024)

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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IEA calls Mujahideen Victory Day ‘freedom day’

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(Last Updated On: April 27, 2024)

In a statement on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the victory of the Mujahideen against the then communist government, the Islamic Emirate said that it is a day of freedom of the Afghan nation.

The Islamic Emirate described the coup by People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan on 27th April 1978 as a dark day in history, as a result of which the people of Afghanistan suffered severe human and financial losses.

The statement said that the Afghan nation suffered huge casualties in their 14-year struggle against the thoughts and actions of the communists, as 1.5 million people died and millions more faced various hardships.

“After 20 years of Jihad, our country was freed from another occupation and the Islamic system was established, so the Islamic Emirate will make its utmost efforts so that the fruits of decades of sacrifice and struggle of this nation are not wasted,” the statement said.

“It was the wish of the martyrs to fully implement the Islamic system in the country, and therefore, the Islamic Emirate is trying to facilitate development and prosperity under the shadow of the Islamic system in order to realize the goals of the Afghan people’s jihads,” it added.

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