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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.
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Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.
Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.
Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”
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Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”
Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.
“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.
Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.
He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.
Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.
The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.
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Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin
Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”
Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.
“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”
He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.
His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.
The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.
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