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Abdullah addresses HCNR meeting, confirms talks to resume January 5
Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation on Saturday confirmed the second round of peace talks will resume on January 5.
He did not state where the talks would be held but did say “the venue for the talks should not be an obstacle.”
This comes after numerous calls have been made in the past few weeks by public figures, including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, for the talks to move from Doha, Qatar, to Afghanistan.
Government officials have said the talks are between Afghans and should therefore be held on Afghan soil. However, no indication has yet been made as to whether the talks will continue in Doha or whether they will be moved to a new location.
In a series of tweets, Abdullah said on Saturday the talks team would report to the HCNR, and specifically to the Leadership Council.
“You will report to the HCNR, and to the Leadership Committee. We are here to listen to you, and support you at all levels. The LC meetings will take place on a regular basis,” he said.
“You are representing the Republic of Afghanistan, and it’s great people. You can enter into talks with Taliban, and discuss all the topics of the agenda. You have to demonstrate that peace is a priority for the republic,” Abdullah said.
“I thank all the leaders, members of LC and prominent personalities attending today’s LC’s meeting for demonstrating unity, and for their unanimous support for the peace process, and the republic’s negotiation team, and referring to the HCNR as the only body to represent the peace efforts,” he said.
Other prominent figures, including First Vice President Amrullah Saleh and former president Hamid Karzai also addressed the meeting.
Karzai said the talks team was doing a good job but that Afghans were in urgent need of peace.
Saleh in turn stated the Afghan war was extremely complicated and that external influence was much greater than internal interference.
He also warned against the further killing of elders, activists and journalists and said the peace process will be impacted by this if it carries on.
This is the second formal meeting of the HCNR this month.
On December 5, Ghani inaugurated the first meeting after having established the council a few months ago.
Hundreds of former U.S. officials are calling on Washington to cancel a reported plan to relocate Afghan refugees from Qatar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In an open letter addressed to the U.S. State Department, more than 600 former civilian and military officials, along with around 100 organizations, urged the administration to stop the proposed transfer. The letter was sent to Marco Rubio.
The signatories argue that the Afghan nationals in question were brought to Qatar by the United States to complete legal immigration procedures after undergoing extensive security vetting. The letter states that while the individuals were cleared for resettlement in the United States, they are now being considered for relocation to Congo, a country for which they were never screened.
“Those individuals were vetted and approved for the United States, not for the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the letter reads.
According to the report, more than 1,100 Afghan allies and their family members are currently being held at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar under U.S. supervision. Around 800 of them have already completed all security checks and received authorization to travel to the United States. More than half are women and children, and many have remained in transit limbo for over 15 months.
The situation has drawn criticism from former officials and policy observers, who describe the proposed relocation as a betrayal of Afghan allies who supported U.S. missions and risked their lives during the war in Afghanistan. Critics also warn that the move could damage U.S. credibility with future partners.
Several members of the U.S. Congress had previously expressed opposition to the proposal, cautioning that it could significantly undermine trust in the United States among its allies.
Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former special envoy for Afghanistan, has said that no country should interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, stressing that it is up to Afghans themselves to bring about any change in their country.
In a post on X, Durrani said Afghans should be “left to their own devices” and that they would eventually “find the way out” of their challenges.
However, he warned that instability inside Afghanistan could have negative consequences for neighbouring countries, adding that Afghan leaders and their supporters should take responsibility to address such risks.
Durrani described his remarks as a simple expression of goodwill and best wishes for the Afghan people and their future.
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Uzbekistan and Japan discuss joint projects for Afghanistan’s socio-economic development
The Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan, Ismatulla Irgashev, has met with Tetsuya Yamada, Director General of the South Asia Department at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), to discuss cooperation on Afghanistan-related development projects.
According to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both sides focused on the implementation of joint initiatives aimed at supporting the socio-economic development of Afghanistan.
During the meeting, the Japanese side praised Uzbekistan’s “pragmatic approach” toward Afghanistan, as well as the infrastructure developed in the border city of Termez.
Japan also expressed interest in utilizing the Termez facilities for future humanitarian and development projects in Afghanistan, particularly in the fields of education, healthcare, agriculture, private sector development, and counter-narcotics efforts.
Both sides emphasized that such cooperation is aimed at improving the living conditions and overall well-being of the Afghan people.
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