Latest News
NATO chief says ‘no guarantee of success’ in Afghanistan peace process
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this week there is no guarantee of success in Afghanistan but that the organization will meet with incoming US President Joe Biden’s team in February in order to make a decision on whether to stay in the country or withdraw all its troops.
In an interview with Germany’s dpa news agency, Stoltenberg said: “Whatever we decide, there is a risk. If we decide to leave, the risk is that we will lose the gains we have made in fighting international terrorism to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven.
“If we stay, of course there is the risk that we will see increased fighting, violence, and that we will remain engaged in a long-term military conflict in Afghanistan,” he said.
He stated that “it’s a fragile peace process” currently and that there is “no guarantee of success”.
“But the ongoing talks in Doha between the Afghan government and Taliban is the only path to peace, and NATO strongly supports those efforts.
“We will have another meeting in February with the new Biden administration and then make our decisions,” Stoltenberg said.
This comes amid what he described as a fragile peace process – intra-Afghan negotiations, which are set to resume in Doha, Qatar, on January 5.
However, in February the US signed an agreement with the Taliban agreeing to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by April next year.
Already the US is down to only about 4,000 troops, from 13,000 a year ago, and by mid-January only 2,500 will remain.
According to Military.com, NATO had about 11,000 troops in Afghanistan at the end of November – a figure that includes US troops.
The largest contingents from other nations include Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. Each had roughly between 900 and 1,000 troops supporting the effort as of June.
Stoltenberg’s interview with dpa comes a month after he expressed concern about the US’s withdrawal plan, saying the Taliban had not kept its end of the deal and a hasty withdrawal of troops could make the country a haven for terror groups.
“As you know, the United States has announced that it will reduce its presence in Afghanistan. But the NATO mission will remain,” he said in November. “And we will continue to provide support to Afghan security forces,” he said at the time.
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.
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.
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.
Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh
India’s Pant boosts World Cup hopes with IPL batting blitz
Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani
Attack Energy and Istiqlal Kabul secure wins in respective ACL matches
Dead body of Quran-burner found in Norway
ATN secures rights to produce, broadcast second season of KPL
UN expert says Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, calls for arms embargo
Yadav hits 156.7 km/h as Lucknow trump Bengaluru in IPL match
Afghanistan’s national futsal team ‘ready for’ group stage of Asian Cup
Tahawol: Calls for handing over Afghanistan’s seat to IEA discussed
Malaysian delegation trip to Kabul discussed
Tahawol: US State Dept’s criticism of human rights violations in Afghanistan discussed
Saar: Afghanistan’s economic situation and WFP’s concerns discussed
Tahawol: Muttaqi Meets Iran Envoy Qomi
-
Latest News4 days agoPakistan’s frontiers minister stresses ‘dignified’ return of Afghan refugees
-
Regional3 days agoIranian president lands in Pakistan for three-day visit to mend ties
-
Climate Change4 days agoMassive river flooding expected in China, threatening millions
-
Latest News4 days agoChinese keen to invest in Panjshir-Kabul water conduit project
-
Latest News2 days agoRashid Khan named AWCC’s brand ambassador
-
World4 days agoTwo Japan navy helicopters crash, one body found, 7 missing
-
Sport3 days agoKolkata beat Bengaluru by one run in IPL as Kohli fumes at dismissal
-
Sport3 days agoACL: Aino Mina 3-0 Istiqlal Kabul; Attack Energy 3-0 Khadim