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Imran Khan says Taliban won’t talk peace unless Ghani goes
Taliban leaders have said they will not negotiate with the Afghan government as long as Ashraf Ghani remains president, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday (August 11), Reuters reported.
With peace talks stalled, violence in Afghanistan has escalated spiked sharply as the insurgent group makes rapid territorial gains. A U.S. defence official said on Wednesday that Taliban fighters could take over Kabul in 90 days.
Khan said a political settlement was looking difficult under current conditions.
"I tried to persuade the Taliban... three to four months back when the Taliban senior leadership came here," Khan told foreign journalists at his home in Islamabad.
"The condition is that as long as Ashraf Ghani is there, we (Taliban) are not going to talk to the Afghan government," Khan said, quoting the Taliban leaders as telling him.
According to Reuters peace talks between the Taliban, who view Ghani and his government as puppets of the United States, and a team of Kabul-nominated Afghan negotiators started last September but have made no substantive progress.
Representatives of a number of countries, including the United States, are currently in the Qatari capital of Doha talking to both sides in a last-ditch push for a ceasefire before Aug 31 - the day all foreign forces officially exit Afghanistan.
The Pakistani prime minister said he felt the Afghan government was now trying to convince the United States to come back and intervene again, Reuters reported.
"They've been here for 20 years... What will they do now that they did not do for 20 years?" he said.
U.S. forces have continued to use airstrikes to support Afghan forces against Taliban advances, but it remains unclear if such support will continue after Aug 31.
Khan said Pakistan had "made it very clear" that it does not want any American military bases in Pakistan after U.S. forces exit Afghanistan.
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IEA says Israel’s actions more complicate situation in the region
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate has condemned the attacks of the "Zionist regime" on Iran and said this country's actions are an attempt to intensify violence in the region, which makes the unpleasant situation in the region even more complicated.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that Israel's actions are considered a clear violation of Iran's privacy.
“All the influential parties are responsible for stopping the Zionist regime from spreading more violence and crimes in the region,” the statement said.
The statement stated: “Unfortunately, in the course of more than a year, the Zionist regime not only ended its crimes in Gaza but also expanded it to other areas.”
The ministry added that continuing this situation has led to serious concerns about the humanitarian and security situation in the region.
The Iranian army confirmed on Saturday that the country's military bases in three provinces, including Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam, were targeted by Israeli attacks.
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IEA’s restrictions on girls’ education cannot be called Islamic: Khalilzad
Khalilzad said in a post on X that the current IEA leadership has “sadly turned Afghanistan into the only country in the entire world where female education above elementary school is not allowed.”
Zalmay Khalilzad, former US special envoy for Afghanistan peace, has criticized the Islamic Emirate’s restrictions on girls’ education, saying that the move cannot be called Islamic.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that the current IEA leadership has “sadly turned Afghanistan into the only country in the entire world where female education above elementary school is not allowed.”
“This includes the Islamic world, leading to the conclusion that what is being done on girls' and women's higher education can not be called Islamic. In fact, calling it Islamic is a disgrace,” Khalilzad said. “It is not shared by even one other Islamic country.”
The former diplomat mentioned that BRICs in their summit statement added their voices to the uniform global opposition to this policy of the IEA.
The Islamic Emirate has previously said that laws in Afghanistan are based on Sharia, and that the girls’ education is an internal matter.
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Mullah Baradar inaugurates construction of second Kabul-Jalalabad road
Mullah Baradar said that the road will be built based on the decree of the leader of the Islamic Emirate and with toll collected on Kabul-Jalalabad highway.
Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar inaugurated the construction of a second road between Kabul and Jalalabad cities on Saturday.
Mullah Baradar said at a ceremony that the road project is important for transportation as it would connect the two major commercial and strategic provinces of Kabul and Nangarhar.
He added that trade facilities between the two important economic, commercial and transit provinces would not only contribute to the growth of domestic trade, but also play an important role in the development of trade relations with countries in the region and beyond and can contribute to the national economy of the country.
Mullah Baradar said that the road will be built based on the decree of the leader of the Islamic Emirate and with toll collected on Kabul-Jalalabad highway.
He said that with the completion of the second Kabul-Jalalabad road, traffic congestion in the first road will be reduced, which will reduce traffic accidents.
Mullah Baradar said that the construction of the road will facilitate traffic, safe, low-cost and fast transportation of commercial goods, and will also lead to the growth of small and medium-sized businesses along the road.
The second road of Kabul-Jalalabad highway, which is 150 kilometers long, starts from Bagrami district of Kabul and passes through Kabul’s Khak Jabbar district and Hesarak, Khogyani and Surkhrod districts in Nangarhar province before it is connected to Nangarhar’s ring road.
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