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Pakistan urges troops withdrawal be done ‘responsibly’

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2021)

Pakistan government said on Sunday that a foreign troop withdrawal from Afghanistan should be done in a responsible way in order to avoid a “vacuum”.

Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Pakistan believes “that the withdrawal of troops should be orderly and responsible so as not to create a vacuum”.

This was in response to the Taliban’s statement Friday warning of “death and destruction” if US troops fail to leave by the May 1 deadline as set out in the US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha in February last year.

“Pakistan has always upheld that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.

“We have supported an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive dialogue among the Afghan parties to resolve their differences,” Chaudhri said.

“Pakistan believes that the Doha process provides an historic opportunity to achieve such a lasting political solution.”

This comes after the Taliban on Friday reacted strongly against recent remarks by US President Joe Biden on extending troop presence and after Germany announced it was extending its military footprint in the country.

In its statement, the Taliban warned: “In such a case, the Islamic Emirate [Taliban] – as a representative of the believing, valiant and Mujahid Afghan nations – will be compelled to defend its religion and homeland and continue its ‘Jihad’ and armed struggle against foreign forces to liberate its country. All responsibility for the prolongation of war, death and destruction will be on the shoulders of those who committed this violation.”

While the US has not yet made a decision on whether to withdraw its forces by May 1, and nor has NATO indicated its position, Germany announced it has agreed to extend its Afghanistan mission into 2022.

German lawmakers approved the new mandate late Thursday which allows the German military to keep up to 1,300 troops in Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission until Jan 31, 2022.

The German government has warned that a premature withdrawal of NATO troops could jeopardize peace talks, and that NATO troops would need to prepare for Taliban violence if they stay beyond the end of April.

On Thursday, the U.S. President Joe Biden said that it would be “hard” to withdraw the last U.S. troops from Afghanistan by a May 1 deadline, but he added that he did not think they still would be there next year.

During the news conference Biden said it would be hard to meet the May 1 deadline to withdraw the last 3,500 U.S. troops “just in terms of tactical reasons.”

He apparently was referring to the enormous logistical challenges of pulling out the roughly 10,000 American and NATO troops and their equipment within the next six weeks.

Biden was asked if it was possible that there still would be U.S troops in Afghanistan next year. “I can’t picture that being the case,” he responded.

The Taliban have also indicated they could resume attacks on foreign troops if Biden does not meet the May 1 deadline.

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Contract worth $53 million signed for construction of last section of Khaf–Herat railway

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

A contract worth $53 million was signed Thursday for the construction of the last section of Khaf-Herat railway that connects Afghanistan with Iran.

The contract was signed between Afghanistan Railway Authority and Gamma Group in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, his office said in a statement.

The segment is 47-kilometer long, stretching from Rabat Parian to Herat International Airport and the Industrial Town, according to the statement.

It added that completion and standard operational readiness are expected within approximately two years.

“Upon its completion, this segment will integrate the Khaf-Herat regional connectivity project with Iran’s significant seaports and facilitate access to Europe via the Turkish railway network,” the statement said.

“Furthermore, traversing Afghan territory, it will bolster commercial exchanges between Central and South Asia. Notably, this project’s realization will enable the expansion of railway networks into Farah, Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces,” it added.

Gamma operates across Europe and Asia in multiple sectors including construction, renewable energy, power transmission, mining, railways among others.

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US urges IEA to fulfill counter-terrorism commitments

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The US State Department said on Thursday that Washington is committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism.

“We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism, and we continue to push the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) to fulfill all of their counterterrorism commitments to the international community,” the department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing in Washington.

He reiterated that the United States had clearly communicated to the IEA that it’s their responsibility to ensure that “they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether it be Al Qaeda or ISIS-K or any other terrorist organization”.

Miller also reassured US allies that Washington was closely watching the developments in Afghanistan and was ready to deal with any threat emerging from the region.

“We remain vigilant against the evolving threat of these terrorist groups, and our global coalition to defeat ISIS and the C5+1 help intensify our efforts to monitor terrorist threats from the region and prevent their ability to raise funds, travel, and spread propaganda,” he said.

C5+1 refers to a diplomatic platform involving the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgy­zstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and the United States. It serves as a forum for discussing and addressing regional issues such as security, economic development, and cooperation.

“The United States remains vigilant against the evolving threat posed by terrorist groups, including ISIS-K, and has maintained an unwavering focus on terrorism since President Joe Biden took office three years ago,” Miller said.

The US, he said, was “working both unilaterally and with its partners to successfully disrupt threats across the globe and degrade ISIS”.

“We will continue to work to hold ISIS accountable for its actions and to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western countries,” Miller said.

This comes as IEA has repeatedly said that it is committed to not allowing anyone to use Afghanistan soil against any other country.

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IEA condemns Israel for confiscating 800 hectares of land in West Bank’s Jordan Valley

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) strongly condemned on Thursday Israel’s decision to seize 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank’s Jordan Valley region.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the recent actions by “the Zionist regime demonstrate that it does not to adhere to international laws, especially international humanitarian law.”

“Continuation of such unilateral actions and ignoring the rights of Palestinian people will further deteriorate the situation,” the statement said.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expects international actors, particularly influential regional Muslim countries to fulfill their legitimate, human and moral responsibilities in supporting the oppressed people of Palestine and prevent the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories,” it added.

Israeli media have reported that Israel seized 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley region of the occupied West Bank, claiming it as “state land.”

It is reported the seized land could be used for the construction of illegal Jewish settlements.

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