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Islamabad downplays Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman’s invitation to Kabul
Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Thursday downplayed Kabul’s invitation to Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), characterizing the gesture as a personal visit.
“That question may be best addressed to the Afghan authorities because we are not aware of any such initiative,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly media briefing while responding to a question about the invitation for the JUI-F chief.
In response to another question, she said: “We do not comment on visits or invitations for private individuals to foreign countries.”
Earlier this week, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), said it had formally extended an invitation to Fazl to visit Kabul. He said that Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman is a religious and political figure who can create mindset in both dimensions.
Baloch clarified that Islamabad’s position on the issue of talks with TTP, an option advocated by the IEA, was “very clear”.
“There are no talks taking place, and there are no talks on the agenda between the State of Pakistan and TTP. We are focusing on the demand that Afghan authorities must take action against TTP elements and rein them in so that the terror threat against Pakistan from the Afghan soil is eliminated,” she said.
She reiterated concerns about possession and use of modern sophisticated arms and weapons by TTP and called for international cooperation for neutralising the threat.
The spokesperson confirmed that Pakistan was in talks with US for enhancement of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism capacity.
Explaining Pakistan’s engagement with the US and other neighbours of Afghanistan on counter-terrorism cooperation, Baloch said: “We have no designs to create difficulties for the people of Afghanistan. Our complete focus is to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan and to work with our Afghan brothers and sisters to ensure that terror threat from Afghanistan does not target Pakistan.”
This comes as IEA has rejected claims of Afghanistan soil being used in attacks against Pakistan and has emphasized that Afghanistan is not responsible for the security failure of Pakistan.
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Tripartite trade meeting held in Kabul to boost regional connectivity
A tripartite meeting between the delegations of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was held in Kabul with the aim of connecting North Asia to South Asia and reducing transit and transportation costs among these three countries, the Ministry of Trade and Commerce said in a statement.
In this meeting, an agreement was reached on the creation of a joint technical committee to continue the talks.
This tripartite meeting was held under the leadership of Nooruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Vice President of Turkmenistan and Srik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
Earlier, a bilateral meeting was held between the delegation of the Islamic Emirate and Turkmenistan. The ministry of commerce said the participants of the meeting discussed the construction of a large joint logistics center in Torghondi, the trilateral transit agreement between the IEA, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, the expansion of Afghanistan’s railway, solving issues related to Afghan transit and export goods, and a number of other commercial issues.
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No destructive groups including Daesh present in Afghanistan: Yaqub Mujahid
Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid has said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan, adding the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) will not allow anyone to pose threat to any country in the region from the Afghan soil.
Mujahid made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Malaysia in Kabul on Thursday.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, Mujahid highlighted Malaysia’s “good treatment” of Afghan refugees and its long-standing relations with Afghanistan, and said that Malaysia is a powerful Islamic country and visits should increase.
He added that with the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, occupation and war ended in Afghanistan, and the country is fully secure.
Based on the statement, the Malaysian delegation called Afghanistan a friendly country and while emphasizing on comprehensive cooperation, it assured that what they have seen in Afghanistan will be shared with the authorities of their country.
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EU allocates 17 million euros to support Afghans on the move
The European Union signed an agreement worth 17 million euros with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to improve access to basic services, increased economic opportunities and protection for Afghans on the move and their host communities in Afghanistan.
The needs of women and girls are a particular focus of the programme, EU said in a statement released on Thursday.
The statement noted that from January 2023 until April 2024, over 1.5 million Afghans returned from Pakistan and Iran.
“I am deeply moved by the hardship returnees face when being deported to Afghanistan. In a country suffering from poverty and climate change, and in a city that just saw devastating earthquakes, this truly is a crisis within a crisis.”, said Peteris Ustubs, Director for the Middle East, Asia and Pacific of the European Commission’s Department for International Partnerships during the signing ceremony at the IOM transit centre in Herat.
Raffaella Iodice, EU Chargée d’Affaires a.i. to Afghanistan, added “The solidarity of the Afghan people towards their brothers and sisters is an inspiration. We must assure that communities hosting and helping new arrivals are supported. The partnership with IOM ensures access to essential services and provides protection for Afghan returnees and their host communities. As women and girls can be particularly affected, we make sure that all members of society can benefit”.
“IOM’s continued partnership with the EU has been critical in enabling our teams to reach hundreds of thousands of Afghan returnees and other vulnerable communities in the country”, said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission, Maria Moita. “Thanks to this renewed commitment, we will be able to focus on addressing the immense challenges in the areas of return and contribute to reintegration, social cohesion, and longer-term solutions for those communities.”
This additional contribution is part of a 5-year programme that is being implemented across Afghanistan and in four countries in the region. It builds on the EU’s previous support to IOM to improve the wellbeing of Afghans forced to return to the country, EU said.
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