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Chinese FM makes four-point proposal to tackle Afghan issues
The Group of 20 (G20) should leverage its characteristics and strengths to contribute to the peace, stability and prosperity of Afghanistan and the region, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s special representative Wang Yi, also Chinese state councilor and foreign minister, said on Tuesday.
Wang made a four-point proposal on tackling issues including the humanitarian crisis and terrorism in Afghanistan while attending a special G20 leaders’ meeting on Afghanistan via video link in Beijing.
According to Wang, Afghanistan is at the crossroads with both opportunities and challenges, difficulties and hopes. The experience from the past 20-years shows that a country should choose its development path based on its condition, and imposing ideology and military intervention to intervene in other’s internal affairs will only lead to constant turbulence and severe humanitarian disasters.
Wang called on the G20 to respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity and let the Afghan people decide their destiny to contribute to the Afghanistan and the region’s peace, stability, prosperity, and development.
Regarding the situation in Afghanistan, Wang made four proposals.
First, he called on the international community to focus on people’s livelihood with humanitarian support to help the Afghans overcome difficulties such as food shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of medical supplies.
China has announced to urgently provide Afghanistan with 200 million yuan (about 31 million U.S. dollars) worth of assistance for mostly food, materials for winter, medicines and COVID-19 vaccines. The first batch of supplies has been delivered to the Afghan side, Wang said, urging countries that created the crisis to take on responsibilities to avoid new humanitarian crises in the country.
Second, Afghanistan should stay committed to an open, inclusive path of development, Wang said, suggesting the international community engage with the Afghan side in a rational and pragmatic manner and support the country to establish an inclusive political structure and sound domestic and foreign policies.
Stressing that the fundamental way to settle the Afghan issue is to help the country realize a peaceful reconstruction and a sound economic and social development, Wang appealed countries to lift their unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan.
International financial institutions should also enhance financial support to facilitate Afghanistan’s poverty alleviation and infrastructure constructions, Wang added.
Third, the Chinese foreign minister reiterated its zero-tolerance attitude towards terrorism. He called for concrete actions to ensure Afghanistan stay away from terrorism and proposed a united front for the international community to counter-terrorism.
Fourth, the international community should reach consensuses and work jointly to push forward the establishment of relevant mechanisms of Afghanistan, Wang pointed out, adding that he recognized the UN’s central role in providing humanitarian assistance and maintaining peace and stability in Afghanistan.
China supports the Afghans to realize a peaceful and prosperous future in their country and is ready to work with all parties to help Afghans open up a new chapter in their country’s history, Wang stated.
The meeting is being convened by Italy, the current seat of the rotating G20 presidency.
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Mullah Baradar discusses creation of railway with Kazakh deputy PM
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister for economic affairs has met with Erik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, and discussed the establishment of a railway network from Kazakhstan to Pakistan through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, the deputy PM’s office said in a statement.
During the meeting, Baradar emphasized the need to sign agreements to solve the banking problems of traders from both countries, the creation of Afghan-Kazakh joint companies, and the facilitation of visas for Afghan traders.
According to the statement, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan said that the Kazakh government intends to establish a joint chamber of industry and commerce and a joint trade and labor group between the two countries, and is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in the sectors of e-governance, industry, higher education, education, health, and banking.
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Iran, Pakistan leaders raise concerns over ‘terrorist groups’ in Afghanistan
Following a two-day official visit to Pakistan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a joint statement emphasizing the need to further expand commercial and economic cooperation and transform the common border of the two countries from a “border of peace” to “border of prosperity”.
The two leaders also strongly condemned aggressions and crimes of Israel in Gaza, and demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as well as unimpeded humanitarian access to the besieged people of Gaza.
Numerous other issues were also discussed but on the topic of Afghanistan, they jointly declared their commitment to the development of Afghanistan as a peaceful, united, independent country free from the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking.
According to the statement the two countries pointed out that the existence of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan is a serious threat to the security of the region and the world.
The two sides stressed their desire to strengthen cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism and ensuring security and creating a united front against terrorism.
They also discussed the importance of coordinating regional and international efforts to ensure security and stability in the region.
“While respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, the two sides recognized that increasing participation of all strata of Afghans in basic decision-making will lead to the strengthening of peace and stability in this country,” the statement read.
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Over 1,000 Afghan refugees forced out of Pakistan in one day
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) says over 1,000 Afghan migrants were forcibly returned from Pakistan on Tuesday through Spin Boldak border crossing in Kandahar province, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry stated that based on information provided by the Spin Boldak Kandahar border command, these returnees comprised 191 families, totalling 998 people.
In addition, three migrants released from Pakistani prisons were also returned, according to the statement.
The statement added that after registering the returnees, the refugees were referred to the offices of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Each family received 10,000 afghanis – paid to them by the Islamic Emirate.
In another statement, the ministry said that 2,783 migrants living in Iran voluntarily and forcibly returned to the country during this week.
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