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CSTO member countries discuss situation in Afghanistan
The member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have reviewed the current situation in Afghanistan in a joint meeting held on Thursday in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
According to the TASS news agency, the Collective Security Treaty Organization emphasized strengthening foreign policy, improving crisis response mechanisms, and expanding cooperation with other international and regional organizations.
The participants also discussed countering terrorist threats and drug trafficking.
The CSTO had previously stated that terrorist groups are actively present in Afghanistan, and drug trafficking continues from the country.
Earlier, the head of the Joint Staff of CSTO, General Anatoly Siderov, stated that the Islamic Emirate does not have control over all parts of northern Afghanistan and therefore they would take special security measures on the borders with Afghanistan.
However, IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid assures that the geography of Afghanistan is not a threat to any country and no group is allowed to create a threat to another country from the territory of Afghanistan.
“The concern that the Collective Security Treaty Organization has expressed is not true, we have repeatedly expressed the position of the Islamic Emirate that Afghanistan is not a threat to anyone and does not harm anyone, said Mujahid.
“Unfortunately, there are some circles that try to spread propaganda or threaten Afghanistan, which is not true,” he added.
The heads of state from Russia, Tajikistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Secretary General of the CSTO attended this meeting.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin and Emomali Rahmon, the presidents of Russia and Tajikistan, discussed Afghanistan and regional security in Moscow.
A German company, "Cinderella International Group," has assumed management of the Kabul Serena Hotel as of February 1, AFP reports.
The company has renamed the hotel to "Grand Kabul Hotel" and officially began overseeing its operations at the start of February.
Aaron Azim, CEO of the German firm, confirmed that a 10-year management contract has been signed with the Islamic Emirate for the hotel’s administration.
Azim, who holds dual Afghan-German citizenship, did not disclose the financial value of the contract.
He further shared that his company has been active in Afghanistan for 20 years, focusing primarily on road construction and mining projects.
Previously, the Islamic Emirate announced that the hotel’s management had been handed over to an international firm with substantial expertise in hotel management but withheld the company’s identity.
Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said on Thursday that the country has enforced stricter laws on the employment of illegal immigrants.
According to IRNA, Momeni told reporters that since March last year, about 1.1 million illegal foreign citizens have been repatriated to their country with the coordination of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Pointing out that some deported illegal foreign nationals return to Iran, he stated: "Plans in the areas of physical and electronic border closures have been prioritized to minimize the number of returns."
Momeni emphasized that employing illegal foreign nationals deprives Iranians of many job opportunities, therefore, labor laws have been implemented more strictly in this regard and violating employers will face action.
A foreign ministry official in Kabul said on Thursday that the Islamic Emirate's diplomats at the Afghanistan embassy in Ankara provide consular services and represent the country.
Earlier, the Afghan embassy in Ankara said in a statement that all diplomats appointed by the previous government would end their missions from February 6, 2025, adding that the embassy was handed over to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Zakir Jalali, director of the third political department of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, said on X that the Afghan embassy in Ankara continues to operate and is at the service of citizens and other visitors.
"Citizens should be assured that consular services and representating duties are carried out by the diplomats of the Islamic Emirate in the embassy with transparency, responsibility and full commitment," he said. "Changes in diplomatic personnel are common in diplomatic missions.”
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