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Khalilzad proposes ‘agenda’ for UN chief’s meeting on Afghanistan
Former US special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said in a series of tweets on Tuesday night that he welcomes the decision by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterrez to host a meeting in Doha of Special Envoys for Afghanistan.
The meeting, expected early next month, should focus on four key factors, Khalilzad said.
He recommended the “full implementation of the Doha Agreement should be embraced as the common goal.”
He also said major figures from the previous Afghan government should embrace the agreement “as the best framework for dealing with Afghanistan’s challenges.”
The agreement has not been fully implemented, and no alternative has comparable broad support among Afghans and the international community, he added.
He also suggested a road map for implementation be drawn up, considering the current conditions in Afghanistan.
In order to develop the road map, “the Secretary-General and the Envoys should have a session with the Taliban (IEA) during their deliberations.”
“This is needed to determine for themselves both whether the Taliban remain committed to the Doha Agreement and to communicate the international community’s commitment to work with them and others on a roadmap for implementation.
“This includes a sequence of steps by the Taliban and the international community. The roadmap must address the issue of women’s education and employment,” Khalilzad said.
In addition, he recommended a follow-up to the meeting, and that “the Secretary-General should appoint a personal Envoy to work with Afghans and the relevant internationals in developing and implementing the roadmap.”
Khalilzad’s remarks came a day after United Nations deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed said the organization plans to arrange a conference in the coming days to discuss granting recognition to the IEA.
Mohammed told an audience at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs that the international meeting would bring envoys for Afghanistan from around the world to the table, among others.
“What we are hoping is that we’ll gather them now in another two weeks in the region, and they will have that first meeting of envoys across the board — the region and internationally — with the secretary-general for the first time,” she said.
“And out of that, we hope that we’ll find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition [of the IEA], a principled recognition,” Mohammed said. “Is it possible? I don’t know. [But] that discussion has to happen. The Taliban clearly want recognition, and that’s the leverage we have.”
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.
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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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