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Kabul Had No Role in Taliban Prisoners Exchange: Sources
The Afghan government had no role in the exchange of three Taliban prisoners for two foreign professors, a source close to Taliban told Ariana News on Wednesday.
According to sources close to the Taliban, the prisoner swap was agreed between the Taliban and the government of the United States.
“The negotiations took place between Taliban and Americans. A number of army soldiers who are under Taliban custody in Helmand will be released in the coming days,” said Abdul Shakoor Mutmaeen, a former Taliban official.
Meanwhile, concerns rise that with the release of Taliban’s high-profile officials, violence may increase in the country.
Fazel Rahman Orya, a political analyst, said that he believes the presence of Anas Haqqani and two other Taliban officials will accelerate the U.S.-Taliban talks which in turn will open the way for the launch of intra-Afghan talks.
However, Najia Anwari, a spokesperson of the State Ministry for Peace Affairs, said the Taliban militants were released as a goodwill gesture to build confidence and pave the way for direct talks.
This comes a day after the U.S. officials confirmed the release of American Kevin King, 63, and Australian Timothy Weeks, 50. Both individuals, professors at The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), were abducted by the Haqqani Network in Kabul in 2016.
In a statement, Taliban also confirmed the release of Anas Haqqani, Mali Khan, and Hafiz Abdul Rashid, calling it a step forward in “good-will” and “confidence-building measures” that can help the Afghan peace process.
The group further said that they have released ten Afghan soldiers in addition to the two AUAF professors.
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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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