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Acting Interior Minister Haqqani shows face for first time
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and a longtime leader of the so-called Haqqani network with a US bounty on his head, has appeared in front of the media for the first time.
Haqqani, nicknamed Khalifa, made the rare public appearance during a ceremony that saw the graduation of hundreds of police officers in Kabul on Saturday.
“Since we had not appeared in front of the media, we have now openly appeared in front of the media in order to build trust. Allah Almighty bestowed on us this honor and happiness,” Haqqani said.
In his speech, Haqqani gave serious orders to the security forces over the ongoing house search operation, telling them not to harass people and reach out to the local religious scholars if they encounter any problems during the operation.
“Please be patient and do not harass people during house to house searches and seek help from local clerics in case of any problems,” Haqqani said.
He also said that the IEA was committed to the Doha agreement signed with the United States in 2020 that paved the way to a pullout of US-led international troops that culminated in late August.
Haqqani told the graduating police cadets that the world faces no threat from Afghanistan; and countries that used to spend large sums of money on war in the past can now spend it on the development of Afghanistan.
“We also assure the world that no country will be threatened from Afghanistan’s soil. We protect the lives and property of the people, and it is our responsibility,” Haqqani added.
Haqqani had never allowed himself to be filmed, and an FBI notice of a $10 million bounty on his head for alleged activities featured only a blurry image of a bearded man mostly shrouded by a blanket.
The ceremony was also addressed by Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi who said IEA was planning to have 350,000 security personnel to ensure security and defend Islamic values and Afghanistan’s territorial integrity.
“The leaders of the Islamic Emirate are committed to building a national and professional police, national and professional army and national and professional security force; we wholeheartedly support all our national facilities,” said Hanafi.
A total of 470 cadets including women graduated from Kabul Police Academy on Saturday.
The force has been trained at the center for four years in the criminal, logistical and border fields, and will be deployed in government departments according to their profession.
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US understands importance of Chabahar Port for Afghanistan: India
The United States understands the importance of Chabahar Port for continued humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan and to provide the country economic alternatives, India’s foreign ministry said on Friday.
India recently signed a 10-year agreement to develop and operate Iran’s strategic Chabahar Port as New Delhi aims to boost trade ties with landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asian countries, bypassing ports in its western neighbour and arch foe Pakistan.
But the deal has prompted a thinly veiled threat of sanctions from the United States, with whom India has developed close economic and military ties in recent decades.
India’s foreign ministry spokesman, Randhir Jaiswal, noted that since 2018, India has supplied 85,000 metric tons of wheat, 200 metric tons of pulses and 40,000 litres of pesticide Malathion to Afghanistan through Chabahar Port.
“The United States also has an understanding…understands the importance of Chabahar Port for continued humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan and to provide Afghanistan economic alternatives,” he said in a press conference.
“Our External Affairs Minister also spoke on this matter in several forums recently, where he said that we should not take a narrow view of this particular project, it has an important role to play as far as the region is concerned, connectivity is concerned, particularly for the landlocked countries in the area,” he added.
He also said that Russia‘s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, met with an Indian delegation led by Joint Secretary, J.P. Singh, who looks after Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, in the Ministry of External Affairs, essentially exchange of views on the ground and the situation and how the two countries look at the situation.
He said that they emphasized on the need to provide development assistance and humanitarian support to the people of Afghanistan.
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Nicaragua president sends letter of condolence to IEA leader after floods
The Afghan Embassy in China announced Saturday that the President of Nicaragua has sent a letter of condolence to the leader of the Islamic Emirate, Mawlawi Hebatullah Akhundzada, following the recent deadly floods in Afghanistan.
Based on the embassy’s statement, the letter was handed over by Michael Campbell, the Nicaraguan ambassador to China, to Bilal Karimi, the Afghan ambassador to China.
In the letter, Nicaragua president, Daniel Ortega, while expressing his sympathy over the floods, expressed his interest in establishing good relations with the Islamic Emirate and cooperation in various fields.
The Nicaraguan ambassador stated that the Nicaraguan people, like the Afghans, achieved independence after a hard struggle against the colonialists, which is a common point between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Bilal Karimi, Afghanistan’s ambassador to China, has said that he will convey the condolence letter of the President of Nicaragua to the leader of the Islamic Emirate. He also assured of maintaining good relations with the country.
Karimi emphasized that all Latin American countries are important, but Nicaragua’s taking the initiative is a positive and admirable move.
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UN Doha meeting should reflect realities of Afghanistan: Iranian envoy
Iran’s special representative for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, said in a meeting with his Italian counterpart that the next UN-convened meeting on Afghanistan should reflect the realities of the country.
Qomi said that Tehran is ready to work with Europe on the development of a comprehensive cooperation plan for Afghanistan based on the consultations it has conducted.
He added that the topics of the third meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan in Doha should be based on the realities of the region and Afghanistan.
“The actions of countries outside the region have not been useful in solving the crisis and challenges of Afghanistan so far, and if this situation continues, Europe will also be plagued by the problems,” he said.
The last meeting of the United Nations on Afghanistan was held in Doha in February this year, but it failed to achieve its primary objectives.
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