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Key actors vow to speed up intra-Afghan talks
The United States, Russia, China, and Pakistan have vowed to speed up the Intra-Afghan Talks process.
The new envoys and representatives of the United States, Russia, China, and Pakistan, spoke at a video conference on speeding up the release of Afghan and Taliban prisoners and voting to begin negotiations between the government and the Taliban as soon as possible.
Russia’s special envoy to Afghanistan has said that initial steps had been taken to start direct talks.
“The main result is we will do our utmost together to speed up the exchange of prisoners of war between Kabul and the Taliban and to promote intra-Afghan talks,” the Russian special envoy in Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov said.
He added, “The exchange process is on. It is slower than we would like it to be, but it is continuing and now the need has emerged to hold a preliminary discussion of further steps.”
The Presidential Spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said, “Considerable reduction in violence or ceasefire will lead us to take further steps to start direct talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. We hope the Taliban enter a new phase.”
The European Union, the British Embassy, and some other European representatives in Kabul have also issued a joint statement urging the government and the Taliban to grant a constructive role for women throughout the peace process.
The statement also stressed the need for the government to announce the time for the Intra-Afghan talks as soon as possible.
Ghulam Farooq Majrooh, a member of the government’s negotiating team, said: “The negotiating team is fully prepared to start negotiations. It is up to the leaders to determine the time and place, and we will be ready to negotiate whenever they say.”
Earlier, sources said that the first round of talks between the Afghans is scheduled to take place on June 15, 11 days later, but sources close to the Taliban have said that talks would not begin unless all 5,000 Taliban prisoners are released.
“The Taliban’s stance so far is that Intra-Afghan talks will begin after the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners, according to the list,” said Khalil Safi, head of the Afghan Institute for Peace Studies.
The National Security Council said in a statement that the government had released 2,710 Taliban prisoners and that the list of prisoners released by the Taliban was under investigation.
Since then, there have been no further releases by either side – progress in the matter will spark the beginning of negotiations.
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Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.
Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.
Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”
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Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”
Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.
“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.
Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.
He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.
Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.
The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.
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Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin
Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”
Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.
“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”
He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.
His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.
The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.
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