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‘Our Commitment to Afghanistan is Unwavering’ – NATO
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee says the alliance commitment to Afghanistan is “unwavering”.
Speaking at the start of the military committee conference on Saturday in Warsaw, Poland, Mr. Peach said that almost 20,000 military personnel are engaged in NATO Missions around the world in complex ground, naval and air operations in all types of environment.
At the meeting, he said they are focusing on their operational efforts, the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan to train, advise and assist the Afghan security and defense forces and government institutions.
“Our commitment to Afghanistan is unwavering. The security situation remains challenging. Nevertheless, the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces are working hard to secure their country and deny a safe haven to terrorists,” Mr. Peach said.
Following the issue, the Afghan Defense Ministry said that they need the support of NATO to assist and help the Afghan forces in the fight against terrorism.
“Our forces are ready to fight with any insurgent group. The foreign forces can support and strengthen us,” the Ministry Spokesman Javid Ghafoori said.
Some military commentators, however, questioned NATO’s war strategy in Afghanistan, saying it hasn’t been effective as of yet.
“I don’t think NATO is being honest to end the ongoing war in Afghanistan. When it had 160,000 troops in the country, it wasn’t able to end the war, how can they end it now,” said a military analyst Atiqullah Amarkhail.
This comes as NATO has about 16,000 troops in Afghanistan –mainly engaged in advising and training the local military forces under the Resolute Support Mission.
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Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
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.
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Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh
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.
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Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani
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.
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