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Karzai and Abdullah call for urgent aid for earthquake victims
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life and property caused by Sunday night’s 6.0-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces.
So far over 610 people are confirmed dead. Officials say the number is expected to rise as frantic rescue efforts continue.
The worst hit province was Kunar, but other provinces that were also badly affected included Nangarhar, Laghman, Nuristan, and Panjshir.
Karzai meanwhile urged the Afghan people and aid organizations to provide comprehensive support and assistance to those affected.
Abdullah Abdullah, former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, wrote on his Facebook page: “With immense grief and sorrow, we have learned that last night’s earthquake in Kunar province claimed the lives of many of our compatriots, leaving others injured and causing severe financial losses.”
He added: “This great tragedy, which has impacted all Afghans and also caused damage in Laghman and Nangarhar provinces, has deeply saddened us. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and I pray to Almighty
Allah for paradise for the martyrs, a speedy recovery for the injured, and patience for the bereaved families.”
Abdullah further appealed to all aid agencies, charitable organizations, investors, and citizens across the country to deliver urgent assistance to the victims and to help rescue those still trapped under the rubble.
Separately, Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, expressed deep sorrow and solidarity on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan with the people and government of Afghanistan. “We stand with the affected families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said.
A 13-member delegation of Afghan traders and industrialists has departed for Iran to strengthen trade and economic ties between the two countries.
The delegation is visiting Iran at the official invitation of the Iran-Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and in coordination with the Afghanistan-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce.
During the visit, the delegation is scheduled to meet with Iranian economic officials, attend bilateral trade meetings and visit industrial centers across the country.
The visit will also focus on exploring new investment opportunities, expanding joint ventures, exchanging expertise and identifying ways to strengthen economic cooperation between the private sectors of Afghanistan and Iran.
France is holding technical discussions with Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan authorities to facilitate the return of Afghan nationals living in the country without legal immigration status, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has confirmed.
Speaking before the French parliament on Monday, Nunez said Paris was seeking arrangements to return a number of Afghans who are in an irregular immigration situation.
“We are trying to obtain the possibility to return a certain number of Afghans who are in an irregular situation. These are technical discussions,” Nunez told lawmakers, adding that other European countries, including Germany, were pursuing similar arrangements.
The French minister said some Afghan nationals could pose threats to public order and described their deportation as a priority for the government.
According to AFP, France had already begun discussions with IEA authorities in early October to facilitate the deportation of Afghan nationals.
Although France does not officially recognise the Islamic Emirate administration or maintain diplomatic relations with it, Paris has joined around 20 European Union countries, including Germany, Belgium and Sweden, in efforts to accelerate the return of Afghan nationals, particularly those convicted of criminal offences.
However, the discussions have drawn criticism from some French lawmakers and human rights groups.
Lea Balage El Mariky, a lawmaker from the Ecologists party, accused the French government of moving towards normalising relations with an IEA she criticised over restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, a meeting held in Brussels in June between a IEA delegation and representatives from 15 EU countries also faced criticism from human rights organisations and left-wing European lawmakers. The discussions focused on irregular migration and increasing deportations.
In September, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern over what he described as international silence surrounding Afghanistan’s worsening human rights and humanitarian situation, calling for an end to forced returns.
A coordination meeting on economic cooperation between Afghanistan and the Russian Federation was held in Kabul under the chairmanship of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs said that the Ministry of Finance presented a report on the latest meeting of the Afghanistan-Russia Joint Economic Commission.
According to the statement, a plan to advance the commission’s work has been prepared and submitted to the office of the leader of the Islamic Emirate for final approval. It added that an economic cooperation document, prepared with the Russian side on the sidelines of the recent
Kazan Forum in Tatarstan, has been finalized and is expected to be signed with the Russian Federation in the near future.
The meeting also discussed ways to implement the decisions of the latest session of the Joint Economic Commission, as well as investment opportunities and priorities in infrastructure, trade, electricity, transport, mining, higher education, agriculture, irrigation, livestock, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, business visa issuance, telecommunications and information technology.
Participants also reviewed and identified investment opportunities and priorities in these sectors.
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