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No decision yet in Turkey’s negotiations for Kabul Airport
Turkey’s defense minister said Friday that negotiations over his country’s proposal to operate and secure the key international airport in Afghanistan are taking place, the Associated Press reported.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey was discussing the plan with several countries. “There must be some political decisions at the United Nations and NATO, and an agreement must be reached with the Afghan government,” he said, adding that Turkey was seeking political, financial and logistical support from various countries.
He emphasized that a final decision had not yet been reached, but negotiations with the United States were continuing and the plan would be executed after the Turkish president’s approval.
Earlier this summer, Turkey proposed to operate and provide security for Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in the aftermath of the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed it with U.S. President Joe Biden at their first face-to-face meeting during the NATO summit in mid-June.
An agreement on the protection of the airport has become increasingly urgent as the final withdrawal of the remaining 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops and 76,000 allied NATO soldiers nears a conclusion.
On Friday all U.S. troops left Bagram Airfield after 20 years. The airfield had been the epicenter of the countrywide military operation to defeat the Taliban and hunt down al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
NATO-member Turkey has over 500 troops in Afghanistan and already plays a significant role at the airport. Akar has previously said Turkey has no plans to deploy more troops.
“The airport must be open and operate. If the airport doesn’t work, embassies will pull out, and in such a situation, Afghanistan would become an isolated state,” the defense minister said.
Without a separate agreement on the airport the current operations would have to be maintained under the Resolute Support Mission, which is the current U.S.-led military mission. Until there is an agreement it is not clear that the U.S. and NATO can declare their military mission in Afghanistan over.
“We have stated our intent. We said we can stay if these conditions are realized,” Akar said.
The minister’s comments were carried by official Anadolu news agency.
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More than 800 Afghan refugees deported from Pakistan in two days
As many as 837 Afghan refugees have been forced to return to their country through Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings in the last two days, officials announced on Saturday.
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said in a statement that 90 families comprising 468 people returned through Torkham crossing.
Another 67 families comprising 369 people returned through Spin Boldak crossing, it said.
The returnees have been introduced to international organizations to receive aid, and the Islamic Emirate has also paid 10,000 Afghanis to each family.
Pakistani government launched the second phase of deporting illegal refugees five days ago.
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Iran executes four Afghan prisoners
Iran executed four Afghan prisoners in Vakliabad Prison in Mashhad on Thursday morning, a human rights group reported.
Haalvsh said that the individuals had been arrested in 1398 over drug-related charges and then sentenced to death by the court.
This organization announced the names of the executed prisoners as Zaman Taheri, Salam Taheri, Gholam Qadir Samani and Ebrahim Noorzahi.
Zaman Taheri and Salam Taheri were brothers.
Iranian officials have not commented about the matter so far.
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Roof collapse kills two in Helmand
Two people were killed after roof of their house collapsed in southern Helmand province on Friday night, officials said.
Abdul Bari Rashid, head of information and culture in Helmand, told Ariana News that the incident occurred in Tajkan village of Gershak district due to heavy rain.
According to him, the dead include a woman and a child. A man was injured in the incident.
This comes as 10 people have died and six others have been injured as a result of the floods in Helmand province in the last one week.
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