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Foreign envoys meet Afghan journalists over targeted killings
Ambassadors and diplomats of the United States, Canada and European Union nations met with representatives of the Afghan media on Wednesday to discuss the current safety and security threats the sector faces.
The group of foreign diplomats emphasized the importance of preserving press freedom and protecting media workers.
Among the diplomats present were the Charge d’ Affairs of the US to Kabul, and the ambassadors of Canada, UK, France, Sweden, Denmark, and the European Union to Afghanistan’s ambassador.
The aim of the meeting was to discuss security strategies to help journalists “who are at risk right now.”
Following the meeting, US Chargé d’Affaires Ross Wilson stated in a series of tweets: “In light of the recent targeted attacks in Helmand, Ghazni, Jalalabad and Kabul that have silenced respected voices in the Afghan media, I met today with representatives of Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC), NAI, Ariana News, Tolo News, and the Killid Group as well as Kabul’s diplomatic corps.”
Wilson added that the US and partner missions wanted to hear directly from Afghanistan’s “extraordinary press and NGO leaders” about the threats their colleagues are facing.
“But more than this, we wanted to discuss strategies for security and for assisting reporters who are at risk right now,” he noted.
“I have said it before: we must preserve Press Freedom in Afghanistan as one of the most important gains of the past 19 years,” Wilson said.
“Media workers here demonstrate remarkable courage in ensuring transparency and accountability. We hear you and we support you,” the US diplomat pointed out.
The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) said it was extremely concerned about the number of targeted killings of Afghan journalists in recent months.
Najib Sharifi, from the AJSC stated: “We are concerned about the announcement that Afghanistan is among the five most dangerous countries to be a journalist; but this is not new; in recent years Afghanistan has been one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.”
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Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.
Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.
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Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh
A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.
Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.
The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.
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Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani
Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.
Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.
He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.
Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.
“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.
Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”
However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.
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