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Putin says Afghanistan is a serious security challenge for the region
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Afghanistan remains one of the most serious security challenges in the region.
Speaking at the sixth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana in Kazakhstan on Thursday, he said despite two decades of US and NATO presence, Afghanistan has been unable to address terrorist threats.
He mentioned the attack on the Russian Embassy in Kabul on September 5 and said that such attacks in Afghanistan confirm that terrorism remains a major challenge in country.
Addressing the participants, Putin noted that to normalize the situation in Afghanistan, joint support to improve the economic situation of the country is needed.
“We want reparation for the losses caused to Afghans during the years of occupation and the release of illegally frozen reserves of Afghanistan,” he said.
CICA is an organization that has 27 member countries and eight other countries and five organizations as observer members.
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, South Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam are permanent members of CICA.
However, Afghanistan’s representative was not present at this summit.
Meanwhile, the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova, also called for the release of the frozen funds and said Washington was fully responsible for the crisis in Afghanistan.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) does not consider the territory of Afghanistan to be a threat to any country, and insists that regional interaction and cooperation with the Islamic Emirate should be increased in order to alleviate the concerns of the countries in the region.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also addressed delegates and said ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan was critical in preventing migration and stemming terrorism.
“We should not leave Afghanistan to its fate. We, as the international community, should continue to support it with humanitarian aid,” Erdogan said.
Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Political Affairs, says Islamabad does not seek to impose war on Afghanistan or occupy any part of its territory.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, he stated that Pakistan’s primary expectation is for Afghanistan to prevent militant groups from using its soil to launch attacks against Pakistan. He warned that failure to address this concern could lead to the continuation of Pakistani operations targeting such groups.
Pakistani officials have long maintained that militant attacks in Pakistan are planned from Afghan territory. However, the Islamic Emirate has rejected the claim, insisting that Afghanistan is not responsible for what it describes as Pakistan’s “security failures.”
Afghanistan has once again been ranked the least happy country in the world, according to the latest edition of the World Happiness Report.
The report, which measures people’s overall life satisfaction across 147 countries, placed Afghanistan at the bottom of the global ranking for another year, with a score 1.4 out of 10. Researchers assess factors such as income levels, social support, freedom to make life choices, perceptions of corruption, and overall quality of life.
For the ninth consecutive year, Finland ranked as the world’s happiest country, with a score of 7.7. Iceland and Denmark followed it, as Nordic nations continued to dominate the top of the index.
A notable development came from Costa Rica, which climbed to fourth place — the highest ranking ever recorded for a Latin American country.
Other countries with low rankings included Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has welcomed the temporary ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan announced in connection with the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations, calling for continued efforts to reduce tensions and achieve lasting peace.
Anwar shared the message during a telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart, Shehbaz Sharif. In a Facebook post, Anwar emphasized the importance of dialogue and de-escalation, while also expressing concern over rising tensions in the Middle East, particularly involving Iran, and urging all parties to prioritize peaceful solutions.
Pakistan said it had temporarily suspended military operations in Afghanistan at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. Afghan authorities likewise announced a halt to operations during Eid, citing goodwill and similar requests from regional partners.
The ceasefire follows weeks of heightened tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, including Durand Line clashes and airstrikes.
Separately, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call discussed regional developments with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, reaffirming Turkey’s commitment to peace and stability and stressing continued cooperation for long-term security.
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