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US, China in dispute over who should draft UNSC resolutions on Afghanistan
Richard Gowan, the UN Director at the International Crisis Group, said on Friday that United States and China have been at odds over who should draft Afghanistan resolutions in the Security Council, adding that the debate has escalated since President Donald Trump took office.
In an article published on the website of an American organization called Just Security, Gowan wrote that the dispute has significant implications not only for how the UN engages with the Islamic Emirate in Kabul, but also for how Beijing positions itself as a leading power in the Security Council.
In UN parlance, penholders are the council members that “initiate and chair” the drafting of mandates, tabling the initial versions of texts for negotiations. The nation that “holds the pen” on a given file has significant leeway to set the terms for how the council approaches a peace operation or sanctions regime.
China, to date, has stood apart from the other permanent members. While it co-drafted some resolutions with the United States on North Korea in the 2010s, it has wielded the pen on no other country-specific issues on the council agenda.
This is despite the fact that Beijing has become more willing to assert itself in other ways in the council – such as casting its veto – in recent decades.
However, last fall, China indicated that it wished to act as penholder on Afghanistan.
Beijing has a number of reasons to focus on Afghanistan and the U.N. Assistance Mission there (UNAMA). Beijing appears to see a continuing U.N. presence in Afghanistan as suiting its interests. Beijing is both wary about Afghanistan as a potential haven for terrorists, and intrigued by its mineral wealth, according to Gowan.
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.
Major power projects launched in Herat
Tajikistan says two soldiers killed in clash with militants near Afghan border
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Russia plans a nuclear power plant on the moon within a decade
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can factory launched in Herat with $120 million investment
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