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Construction of Afghanistan section of TAPI gas pipeline launched
The TAPI pipeline is a large-scale project that envisions the transportation of natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India.
Construction of the Serhetabat-Herat section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project was officially inaugurated on Wednesday in Turkmenistan.
Attending a ceremonial opening event in Turkmenistan was Afghanistan’s Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund along with Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov joined via video.
The construction of this section of the pipeline is an important step toward creating sustainable energy infrastructure in the region, aimed at supplying gas from Turkmenistan to South Asia.
The TAPI pipeline is a large-scale project that envisions the transportation of natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India.
Construction on the project, with an annual delivery capacity of 33 billion cubic meters, began in Turkmenistan on December 13, 2015.
Turkmenistan is the primary supplier of gas and plays a key role in the development of the pipeline, aiming to diversify energy export routes and strengthen regional economic ties.
At the same time other large development projects were also inaugurated including the Turghondi port development project, which includes the construction of a railway line from Herat to Sanubar, and the construction of warehouses, facilities and the Noor-ul-Jihad substation.
"The important part of our policy is that we continue our cooperation with the people of Afghanistan in the economic, political and diplomatic fields" - Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov
Addressing officials at the launch, Akhund said: "Today is the day we have been waiting for, for years, and after passing through difficulties and hardships, the opening of these big projects has been realized."
He said the launch of these projects represents the good ties between the two countries, which will continue to strengthen.
Serdar Berdimuhamedow also addressed officials present, via video, and said: "Friendly, brotherly and good neighborly relations between the two countries are developing and the implementation of these important projects is very important not only for the interests of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, but also for the benefit of the region."
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said: "Today is a historic day for the two countries and a new page will be opened in the relations between the two countries."
He added that the relations between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan are historical, and there is good mutual respect, equality, brotherhood and good neighborliness between the two countries.
He said that the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of transportation, telecommunications, energy and other fields is beneficial for Afghanistan and is an example of true friendship and the opening of a new page between the two countries.
He said that: "The important part of our policy is that we continue our cooperation with the people of Afghanistan in the economic, political and diplomatic fields."
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stated that the projects will have a positive impact on the economic development and growth of industry in Afghanistan, and that these projects will create jobs for about 12,000 Afghans.
He also said these projects will generate in total about $1 billion a year for Afghanistan.
Once completed, the TAPI line will carry gas from Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan. The line will stretch 1,821 km and Afghanistan will receive $400 million a year.
TAPI pipeline
This pipeline was first proposed in 1997 during the Islamic Emirate’s previous rule. However, construction was delayed after the US overthrew the Islamic Emirate government in 2001.
Since returning to power three years ago, the Islamic Emirate has made the project one of their priorities.
The section of the pipeline in Afghanistan will extend for 816km and will pass through the provinces of Herat, Farah, Nimroz, Helmand and Kandahar.
The TAPI pipeline will have the capacity to transfer 33 billion cubic meters of gas annually to the three countries - Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
According to the agreement in place with Turkmenistan, Afghanistan will purchase three billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan over the course of 30 years.
Twelve pressure pumps will be installed along the TAPI gas pipeline, five of which will be in Afghanistan.
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IEA will not trample on Islamic values to appease others, deputy PM says
He also stressed that the Islamic Emirate does not interfere in the internal affairs of any country, nor does it allow other countries to interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy of the prime minister, has said that the Islamic Emirate wants to have good relations with all countries, but it will not compromise on the principles of Islam and trample on Islamic values to appease others.
In a meeting with officials and students of Kabul University at Sapidar Palace, Kabir said that the Islamic Emirate has worked for Afghanistan to shine in the political and economic sectors and currently it has 40 missions in different countries and engagement with the world is moving in a positive direction.
He also stressed that the Islamic Emirate does not interfere in the internal affairs of any country, nor does it allow other countries to interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.
In the meeting, Kabul University officials provided information about the new master's program called "Afghanistan Studies.”
Expressing his satisfaction with the start of the program, Kabir urged the students to invite Afghan cadres living abroad to return home.
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UN extends mandate of Afghanistan human rights envoy for another year
The resolution also called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to reverse its decision to ban entry of the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan.
The United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday adopted by consensus a European Union-led resolution renewing the mandate of the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan for a period of one year.
The resolution urges the Islamic Emirate to “reverse its policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment of human rights by people in Afghanistan, including by repealing the recent “Law on propagation of virtue and prevention of vice.”
It said that the law “institutionalizes a system of discrimination and oppression against women and girls that may amount to crimes against humanity.”
The resolution also called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to reverse its decision to ban entry of the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan.
It requested the envoy to prepare a report on access to justice and protection for women and girls and the impact of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination thereon, and to present it to the Council at its fifty-ninth session.
“I will independently and impartially carry out the strengthened mandate, engage to make a difference for Afghans, and document and report on violations,” UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennet, said on X.
Human Rights Watch in a statement, said despite consistent appeals from human rights groups, including HRW, the resolution does not establish a mechanism to advance accountability for “grave human rights abuses” that have been committed in the country.
The Islamic Emirate has meanwhile said that it is committed to ensuring human rights including the rights of women and girls according to Sharia.
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Biden, Netanyahu speak, Israel vows lethal retaliation against Iran
Wednesday’s call was “a positive call, and we appreciate the support of the U.S.,” Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a call on Wednesday amid tensions with Iran, while Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant promised an Israeli strike against Iran will be "lethal, precise and surprising."
The 30-minute call was the first known chat for Biden and Netanyahu since August and coincides with a sharp escalation of Israel's conflict with Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, but with no sign of an imminent ceasefire to end the conflict with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
The call was "direct and very productive," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, while acknowledging the two leaders have disagreements and are open about them.
The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's response to a missile attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel.
After describing Iran's Oct. 1 missile attack as a failure, Gallant said in a video issued by his office after the Biden-Netanyahu call had ended: "Whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price. Our attack will be deadly, precise and above all surprising, they will not understand what happened and how it happened, they will see the results."
Netanyahu has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region which could draw in the United States.
The United States has said it supports Israel going after Iran-backed targets like Hezbollah and Hamas but has tried, unsuccessfully, to stem rising conflict, to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and to persuade Israel to curb rocket attacks on residential areas that have killed thousands of people.
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu have been tense, strained over the Israeli leader’s handling of the war in Gaza and the conflict with Hezbollah. Israel has said it will pursue its military operations until Israelis are safe.
In "War," a book out next week, journalist Bob Woodward reports that Biden regularly accused Netanyahu of having no strategy, and shouted "Bibi, what the fuck?" at him in July, after Israeli strikes near Beirut and in Iran.
Asked about the book, one U.S. official familiar with the two leaders' past interactions said Biden has used sharp, direct, unfiltered and colorful language both with and about Netanyahu while in office.
Wednesday's call was "a positive call, and we appreciate the support of the U.S.," Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters.
"And as we stated earlier, Israel will retaliate for the attack ... We will choose the locations. It will be painful for the Iranian regime," Danon said.
Gallant canceled a Wednesday visit to the Pentagon, the Pentagon said. Gallant said in a statement he had postponed the visit at Netanyahu's request until after the prime minister spoke with Biden.
Tensions have increased in recent weeks as U.S. officials were repeatedly blindsided by Israeli actions, according to a person familiar with the matter. These included Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon that Israel has neither confirmed nor denied carrying out.
Israel has also been slow to share details of its planning for retaliation against Iran's ballistic missile attack, the person said.
Biden said last Friday he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields if he were in Israel's shoes, adding he thought Israel had not concluded how to respond to Iran. Last week, he also said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites.
Biden has been hit by sharp criticism from international partners as well as members of his own Democratic Party over his inability to use leverage, including the U.S. role as Israel’s chief arms supplier, to curb Netanyahu's attacks.
By extension, Kamala Harris, Biden's vice president and the Democrats' presidential candidate in the Nov. 5 election, has been challenged to defend the administration's policy on the campaign trail. Harris joined the call with Biden and Netanyahu, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Some Arab American voters in Michigan are backing independent candidate Jill Stein, a move that could cost Harris the battleground state and perhaps the White House in a race with Republican former President Donald Trump that opinion polls show to be very tight.
Harris is trailing Trump in Michigan with 47% of voters to his 50%, new Quinnipiac University polling showed on Wednesday. In a Sept. 18 poll, Harris held 50% of the vote and Trump 45%.
Israel and Netanyahu in particular have faced widespread condemnation over the nearly 42,000 Palestinians killed in the Gaza war, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and the deaths of over 2,000 people in Lebanon.
Israel says it is defending itself after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, and from attacks by other militants including Hezbollah who support Hamas.
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