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Afghan interpreters with Australian visas unable to get to safety

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The Australian government has granted 90 visas since the beginning of May to Afghans who worked alongside Australian forces but the interpreters say they have been unable to leave Afghanistan due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The Guardian Australia reported that while officials have offered to help the Afghans get on commercial flights to Australia in the near future, this has not been possible for many.

Speaking from Kabul on Tuesday, one interpreter said that without access to military flights, their situation would not change.

“If they can’t relocate us, what is the point of having a visa?” the man said. He was among 41 interpreters who wrote to the government twice earlier this year pleading for urgent help.

Last month Australia suddenly closed its Kabul embassy, saying it could not guarantee the security of staff in the light of the impending withdrawal of Australian troops by 11 September.

The Guardian reported that on Tuesday another interpreter said his family was awaiting passports, but without access to the embassy and its staff he had no certainty of being able to leave.

Another former translator has been sent into hiding after a letter stamped and signed by the Taliban was taped to his front gate, ABC reported.

Earlier on Tuesday Scott Morrison told reporters the government was “working urgently and steadfastly” to resolve the matter.

“This is not the first time that we have had to support in these circumstances, bringing people to Australia under the appropriate visa arrangements for humanitarian visas that are in place,” the prime minister said.

“We have done this before safely. And we will be able to do it again … We are very aware of it. And we are working urgently and steadfastly and patiently to ensure that we do this in the appropriate way as we have done on earlier occasions. I was the minister responsible at the time last time we were doing this when I was in immigration, so I’m very well aware of the sensitivities and the need to move swiftly.”

In March 2020, Australia closed its borders to non-nationals and non-residents due to the Coronavirus pandemic and has since been allowing only limited international arrivals, mainly citizens returning from abroad.

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Kyrgyz leader urges world to recognize current Afghan government

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Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov has called one European countries and the United States to recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) as the government of the country.

“Currently, they are in near-total isolation. We, as the global community, must understand one crucial thing: isolating Afghanistan from the rest of the world will not solve the problem. On the contrary, the longer this situation persists, the more the afghan people will endure difficult days,” Japarov said in an interview with Turkish TV channel TRT,

He also called for the return of the frozen assets for the future of the Afghan people.

“These funds could help the current Afghan government not only rebuild its infrastructure but also provide affordable loans to citizens through local banks, develop agriculture, and create opportunities to improve the lives of those living in poverty. Right now, the afghan people are suffering from hunger,” he said.

Japarov said that Afghanistan's leadership could be invited for a working visit to one or two European countries. “If they visit so-called developed countries and see firsthand how people live in various parts of the world, it could positively influence their governance experience. If we continue to isolate them, there won’t be any positive outcomes, even after 50 years.”

He also said that if European countries or the United States are willing to provide technical assistance to Afghanistan through various projects or specialized programs, Kyrgyzstan is ready to help implement these initiatives.

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US diplomat: Decision to ban medical education for women in Afghanistan is ‘indefensible’

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US charge d’affaires for Afghanistan, Karen Decker, on Saturday criticized reports of a decision to close medical educational institutions to women, saying the decision was “indefensible in any language, culture, or religion.”

Decker said on X that the leadership of the Islamic Emirate in Kandahar has already risked the future of Afghanistan by preventing girls from becoming teachers or engineers.

“They would now destroy it completely by preventing girls from becoming doctors or midwives. Babies will not be born. Mothers will die. All the Afghan people will suffer. This decision must be reversed to prevent unnecessary misery,” she said.

Decker added that it is difficult to see the value of the IEA diplomacy abroad “if this is what they are selling.”

Recently, there have been reports that the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate ordered the closure of medical institutes for women. The Islamic Emirate has not yet officially commented on the matter.

 

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IEA says World Bank’s report on Afghan economic situation ‘far from reality’

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Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Office on Saturday in a statement rejected the recent report of the World Bank on the economic situation of Afghanistan and called it “far from reality”.

The statement stated that the World Bank has ignored some of the economic achievements of the Islamic Emirate.

According to the statement, important projects have been started in different sectors since IEA’s takeover.

The statement added that only in the mining sector, about 415 billion afghanis of domestic and foreign investment have been attracted and similar projects are being implemented in other sectors.

The deputy PM’s office has emphasized that the international community should turn to positive interaction with Afghanistan.

This reaction comes while the World Bank said in a recent report that Afghanistan's economic outlook remains very fragile.

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