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NATO now needs to deal with Kabul through diplomacy: Mujahid
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) says that the time for power displays by NATO is over and that the organization now needs to make statements regarding Afghanistan in accordance with good diplomatic principles.
In an exclusive interview with Ariana News this week, Zabihullah Mujahid, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture and spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said NATO’s efforts in Afghanistan were a failure and that all future contact should be through diplomacy.
“The NATO Secretary General, for a while, may feel his pain and talk about their failures, but they should know that the time for attacks is over; it was proven twenty years ago that these actions did not work and should be dealt with through diplomacy,” said Mujahid.
This comes after NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said last week that NATO must stay vigilant in tracking the developments in Afghanistan.
“The main task now is to do whatever we can to preserve as much as possible of the achievements we made on terrorism,” he said.
“That means to hold the Taliban (IEA) government accountable for their promises on terrorism, … but also to be ready to strike over the horizon, long distance, and to stay vigilant as NATO allies, to follow and monitor closely any attempt to reconstitute international terrorist groups in Afghanistan aiming at us.”
But Mujahid said in an interview with Ariana News, broadcast on Monday night, that the Islamic Emirate will never allow Afghanistan to be used as a center for proxy wars between world powers, including China and the United States.
Regarding the international community’s demand for women to be given the right to education and work, Mujahid said that the Islamic Emirate will consider giving women the right to education and work but first need to discuss this with Islamic scholars.
“There is a need in society; women also need jobs, for the implementation, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has shared the issue with Islamic Ulema, so that the issue can be discussed,” Mujahid said.
For more than two decades, Pakistan has been accused of interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs but Mujahid said Afghanistan is an independent country and that Pakistan does not have the right to interfere in the country’s internal affairs.
“I have to say 100% that we do not want anyone to interfere, including Pakistan. We are an independent country. We do not accept these interventions. Pakistan is a separate country. We do not want to interfere in their affairs and they cannot interfere (in Afghanistan’s affairs),” Mujahid said.
Regarding the dire economic situation, Mujahid said the IEA is working day and night to resolve the problem. He said an promising agreement was reached with Iran last week on exports of fuel and food as well as rail and border security, among other issues.
He said talks were also being held with other regional countries including Uzbekistan and acknowledged Pakistan for their support, particularly in trade.
To watch the full interview – with English subtitles – CLICK HERE
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.
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.
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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