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Blinken tells House Committee no decision yet on troops withdrawal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Washington has not completed its review on troop posture in Afghanistan but that it is also focusing on diplomatic efforts to get the Afghan government and the Taliban to engage in negotiations.
Addressing a House Committee on Foreign Affairs session on Wednesday, Blinken said he does not want to “prejudge the outcome of that review” as there hasn’t been any decision made yet on troops when it comes to May 1st deadline.
But he said US President Joe Biden’s “goal is very clear.”
He said: “It’s to end the conflict, bring our troops home and to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorism and an ongoing threat to the United States.”
“We’re engaged in a diplomatic effort right now to try to drive the two parties to negotiate and to move forward on commitment that the Taliban made to the United States a year ago to negotiate meaningfully on a peaceful future for Afghanistan.”
He told House representatives that Washington is also “enlisting other countries, [and] the United Nations, in that effort”.
This is being done in the hope of driving the two parties to negotiate and to put in place agreements that would be the foundation for a just and durable peace in Afghanistan.
“And that, of course, is a very tall order but one that we’re working on,” he said.
Blinken stated that many of Afghanistan’s neighbors have a “real stake” in the country’s future and that diplomatic efforts on the part of the US are ongoing.
He said that “neighboring countries have a huge stake in Afghanistan not being a terrain for civil war that spills over the borders. And they have influence with various parties. So we’re engaging them.”
He said the Biden administration wants “to see where this [diplomatic] effort goes to actually get the parties to engage in a meaningful way.
“The Taliban made other commitments when it comes to reducing violence; when it comes to not harboring and supporting terrorists; we want to see them make good on those obligations,” he said.
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.
According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.
“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.
According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.
“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.
However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.
Ten people have been killed and six others injured by floods in Helmand province in the past week, local officials said on Friday.
According to officials, seven of those were members of the same family, and they were killed in Kajaki district last night.
“Most of the people moved from vulnerable areas to high lands and mountains, and thanks Allah the number of casualties is low,” Sher Mohammad Vahdat, the head of information of the Directorate of Information and Culture in Helmand, said adding rescue teams and security forces have been dispatched to help people.
It is said that the telecommunication system has also been disrupted due to the effect of floods in Kajaki district. Floods have also destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues related to Afghanistan, it was announced on Thursday.
During the meeting, Otunbayeva thanked India for “its critical humanitarian support and longstanding friendship for the Afghan people” and discussed the importance of regional and international cooperation to address prevailing challenges in Afghanistan, UNAMA said on X.
Jaishankar also said on X that the sides exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan.
“Underlined that India has provided wheat, medicines, pesticides and school supplies. Appreciate the role of UN agencies as partners in these endeavors,” he said.
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