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IEA official says there is no alternative to current government
It is not in the interest of anyone to have a failed Afghan state, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said in an interview this week.
Speaking to China’s CGTN, Balkhi said that there is no alternative to the current government and said people need to support it. He stated the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government is trying to create a win-win situation for everyone.
“It is a golden opportunity not only for Afghans to bring prosperity, security and well-being to our nation but also for the international community to finally have this burden that has been on its shoulders for 43 years [lifted] and to let the Afghans function as a normal state and as a normal people,” Balkhi said.
On the issue of restrictions on women and girls, Balkhi said there are some societal constraints within Afghanistan in terms of the culture and tradition that cannot change overnight.
He said that women are allowed to work and that 94,000 women are working in the education sector, 4,000 of which are in the higher education sector and 14,000 in the health sector.
He pointed out that women from certain tribes around the world, including in Africa and the Amazon, had different cultures, some of whom “did not wear clothes”.
“No one has any problems with how they operate. Yet when it comes to Afghanistan, there is focus on the dress code,” he said.
“Why am I not allowed to dress the way I want to dress, the way my woman wants to dress, why do we have to be a copy, carbon copy of the United States,” Balkhi said.
Pakistan says communities living along the Afghanistan-Pakistan Durand Line want peace and stability, despite ongoing security concerns in the region.
Speaking during a weekly media briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said there are no major issues between the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, adding that residents on both sides of the Durand Line want peaceful relations and greater regional stability.
However, Andrabi claimed that terrorism originating from Afghan territory continues to undermine peace efforts.
He said Islamabad believes militant activity crossing from Afghanistan remains a significant obstacle to improving regional security and bilateral ties.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly rejected such allegations, maintaining that no militant group is allowed to use Afghan soil to threaten neighboring countries.
Andrabi also said Pakistan remains diplomatically engaged on regional matters involving Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Somalia, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy remain Islamabad’s preferred means of resolving disputes.
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Afghanistan-Gambia ties discussed during Doha meeting
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
Suhail Shaheen, head of the Islamic Emirate’s embassy in Doha, has met with Omar Jah, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of The Gambia to Qatar, to discuss bilateral relations and areas of mutual interest.
According to a statement from the Afghan embassy in Doha, Jah also oversees Gambian diplomatic affairs related to Afghanistan.
The meeting focused on Afghanistan-Gambia relations, the current security situation in Afghanistan, and potential investment opportunities in the country.
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly and head of the Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party, has said that if capable statesmen had been in power, people living on both sides of the Durand Line could have moved freely across the line.
Speaking during a podcast interview, Achakzai said that countries with histories of major conflict, including Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, now maintain far more open borders despite past wars. He said that in many such regions, only a “paper line” remains, with limited border restrictions.
Drawing comparisons with the disputed Durand Line boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Achakzai argued that a similar arrangement could have been possible in South Asia.
“What is the problem here? A Punjabi could dance in Kandahar and a Pashtun could come here. Even if we are not formally one country, we could have effectively functioned like one,” he said.
The Pakistani politician also referred to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the later U.S.-led intervention, saying Afghanistan has the right to seek war reparations from those countries to support reconstruction efforts.
Achakzai further criticised the treatment of Pashtuns in Pakistan, alleging that individuals in cities including Lahore and Karachi have faced detention and deportation.
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