Latest News
NATO chief says it’s time for Afghans to take ‘full responsibility’
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said late Monday that “there is no doubt that Afghanistan faces serious challenges,” but that he strongly believes Afghans have to take full responsibility for their own future.
Addressing a press conference in Brussels ahead of Tuesday’s virtual NATO foreign and Defense Ministers meeting, Stoltenberg said the only way to lasting peace in Afghanistan is for an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process.
He said Afghans are now responsible for the security in their own country “and at some stage the Afghans have to take full responsibility, responsibility for their own future.”
“And as we end our military presence in Afghanistan, we will continue to provide support to the country with our civilian presence, helping with capacity building, with funding for the Afghan security forces, with helping to maintain some critical infrastructure including the airport, and then out-of-country training.
On Tuesday’s meeting he said NATO ministers will discuss a range of issues regarding Afghanistan, including the way forward.
On the decision to withdraw troops he said: “The security situation in Afghanistan remains very difficult and challenging,” but stated “I think we have to understand that the intention was never to stay in Afghanistan forever.”
He said however that as NATO ends its military mission, it is “stepping up our support to Afghanistan in other ways.”
He said the civilian presence will be maintained in Afghanistan to provide advice and capacity building to the Afghan security institutions and that NATO will help fund the Afghan Security Forces.
“We are planning to provide out-of-country training for the Afghan Security Forces. And we are also now working on how we can sustain critical infrastructure. For instance, the airport provides support to the running of the airport and other critical infrastructure, which is important for the continued presence of the international community in Afghanistan,” he said.
He said: “We have been there for twenty years and we will continue to provide support but no longer through a military presence in Afghanistan.”
Tajik authorities say their border guards clashed with militants who crossed into Tajikistan’s Khatlon region from Afghanistan on Tuesday night.
Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said in a statement that militants intended to carry out an armed attack on one of the border outposts.
Three militants were killed and two Tajik soldiers died in the clash. From the scene, three firearms—an M-16 rifle and a Kalashnikov assault rifle—three foreign-made pistols equipped with suppressors, ten hand grenades, one night-vision device, explosives, and other military equipment were seized, according to the committee.
This was the third reported attack from Afghanistan into Tajikistan in the past month, with the previous ones targeting Chinese nationals.
The Islamic Emirate previously said it assured Tajikistan it was ready to tighten border security and conduct joint investigations.
Business
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can factory launched in Herat with $120 million investment
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, laid the foundation stone of the “Pamir” aluminum can production company at the industrial parks of Herat on Thursday.
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can manufacturing plant was officially launched on Thursday in Herat province, marking a significant step toward industrial development and economic self-reliance.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, laid the foundation stone of the “Pamir” aluminum can production company at the industrial parks of Herat on Thursday.
According to officials, the Pamir factory is the first of its kind in Afghanistan and is being established with an investment of $120 million. The project will be built on 16 jeribs of land within Herat’s industrial zones.
Once completed, the factory is expected to create employment opportunities for around 1,700 Afghan citizens. Officials say the project will play a key role in boosting domestic production, reducing reliance on imports, and strengthening the national economy.
Authorities described the launch of the project as a clear sign of growing investment in the industrial sector and ongoing efforts to promote economic self-sufficiency in the country.
Latest News
Medvedev: IEA posed less threat to Russia than western-backed groups
He added that such organisations have consistently pursued one objective: “to break apart the multiethnic people of Russia.”
Russia’s Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) caused less harm to Russia than Western-backed civic organisations that, he claims, sought to undermine the country’s unity.
In an article published in the Russian journal Rodina, Medvedev wrote that while the IEA had long been designated as a terrorist organisation, its actions did not inflict the same level of damage on Russia as what he described as Western-supported institutions operating under the banner of academic or humanitarian work.
“Let us be honest: the Taliban (IEA) movement, long listed as a terrorist organisation, has caused modern Russia far less damage than all those pseudo-scientific institutions whose aim is to dismantle our country under the guise of aiding the oppressed,” Medvedev stated.
He added that such organisations have consistently pursued one objective: “to break apart the multiethnic people of Russia.”
Medvedev’s remarks come amid a shift in Russia’s official stance toward Afghanistan. In April, Russia’s Supreme Court suspended the ban on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which had previously been included on the country’s list of terrorist organisations.
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Afghanistan’s first aluminum can factory launched in Herat with $120 million investment
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