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AWCC launches 3G services in a remote area of Kunar province
Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC) has rolled out 3G services to the remote Chaghan district in the northeastern province of Kunar.
Being so remote, Chaghan residents have struggled with limited telecommunications in the past but this week they welcomed AWCC’s initiative.
Officials in the area also welcomed the move and said the new infrastructure installed in Chaghan also helps cover surrounding areas.
“An AWCC site was opened in a dominant location. This is a very good place. It is connected to the [provincial] center and covers some areas of Marawar district and Watepur district. We are grateful to AWCC,” said Sajjad, provincial director of communications.
Ejazul Haq Yousufzai, head of Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA) in Kunar, said efforts are ongoing for the development of telecommunication services so as to reach all districts in the province.
Local authorities in Kunar expressed their appreciation for the provision of telecommunication and internet services by AWCC and acknowledged that the services provided by the company are of a good quality.
“First of all, we are very grateful to the employees of AWCC for providing these services to the people of Kunar. We ask all companies and institutions to provide such services to the mountainous province of Kunar,” provincial governor, Ahmad Taha, said.
Abdullah Haqqani, deputy governor of Kunar, said: “Kunar is a mountainous province. The number of [cellphone] towers is not enough. We demand that problems faced by the people get solved.”
Local residents also expressed their satisfaction with the recent move of AWCC.
“The opening of this site is a great achievement for these two valleys. With this, these two valleys were connected to the center. The problems that people were facing before have now been solved,” Hayatullah, a resident of Kunar province, said.
Meanwhile, AWCC officials in the eastern zone assured the people of Kunar that the company will provide telecommunication services to all remote areas of the province.
“This site plays a key role for these two valleys, Dangam, Ghazi Abad, Nari, Watepur and up to Nuristan. Without the site, other sites cannot provide these services,” said Attaullah Sahil, head of AWCC in the eastern zone.
With the improvement of the security situation, AWCC has not only expanded its telecommunication services in the eastern zone, but it has covered many remote areas of the zone with 3G and 4G internet services.
Kunar province lies in the northeastern section of the country and borders northern Pakistan. The vast majority of the province is mountainous and extremely rugged.
The province is dominated by the lower Hindu Kush mountains which are cut by the Kunar River to form the forested Kunar Valley. The mountains, narrow valleys with steep walls, and rivers present formidable natural obstacles and have historically constrained all movement through the province.
Even in the early 21st century, movement on foot, with pack animals, or with motorized vehicles is extremely limited and channeled due to the significant geographic restrictions.
A senior Red Cross official has called for the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan to occur “in a more staggered way” so Afghanistan can better absorb them.
“It will be important to work with the government of Pakistan in 2024 to ask that if there are going to be returnees,” that they arrive “in smaller numbers at a time just so it is more manageable on the Afghan side,” said Alexander Matheou, regional director, Asia Pacific Region for the International Federation of the Red Cross, Voice of America (VOA) reported on Saturday.
Speaking in the Qatari capital, Doha, Matheou told journalists on Friday the challenges facing Afghan returnees from Pakistan was one of several pressing issues he discussed with the officials of the Islamic Emirate in Kabul.
“You will be aware that over half a million have crossed the border over recent months, and it is likely that we will see large numbers of new arrivals in the coming months,” he said.
“I imagine this is probably the largest population flow in a short period of time in Asia since the population movement from Myanmar into Bangladesh in 2017,” he added. “So, it is a significant event.”
Since October, Pakistan has expelled more than 500,000 Afghan refugees who lacked proper documentation.
Matheou noted many of the returnees have lived in Pakistan for decades and are ill-equipped to begin a new life in a country that to them is unknown, without government or international support.
He described the returnees as being in generally poor health, especially the children, who account for nearly half of all returnees.
“The evidence of that was we visited clinics where they reported a real spike in cases of acute malnutrition coming from the arrivals from Pakistan.
“We visited routine immunization programs of the IFRC and the Afghan Red Crescent in the villages, and there it was clear looking at the children that as well as being anemic, you could see wasting and stunting among the children,” he said.
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.
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