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Regional powers urge US to engage with Islamic Emirate

Published

2 years ago

September 18, 2021

(Last Updated On: September 18, 2021)

Russia, China, Pakistan and other regional states called on the United States on Friday to engage with the Islamic Emirate and fund aid to Afghanistan, though they also urged the Afghan government to yield power to a more inclusive government.

The fate of Afghanistan dominated a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, formed 20 years ago by Russia, China and ex-Soviet central Asian states. It has since expanded into a bloc with wider regional ambitions. India and Pakistan joined in 2017, and Iran joined on Friday.

Leaders of the group said it was the responsibility of the West in general and the United States in particular to help avert a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, where Western aid propped up the former Ashraf Ghani government, Reuters reported.

“The main part of the expenses related to Afghanistan’s post-conflict rebuilding should be borne by the United States and NATO countries who are directly responsible for the grave consequences of their prolonged presence in the country,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Putin also called on Washington to unfreeze assets of the Afghan central bank, which have been blocked since the Islamic Emirate takeover, saying without access to the funds, Afghanistan’s new rulers would be tempted to turn to the drugs and arms trades.

China’s President Xi Jinping, without mentioning the United States by name, said “certain countries” should assume their due responsibilities for Afghanistan’s future development, having been “instigators” of the situation.

Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan which has the closest ties to the Islamic Emirate of any neighbour, said the priority was to “prevent a humanitarian crisis and an economic meltdown. We must remember that the previous government depended heavily on foreign aid and its removal could lead to economic collapse.”

Pakistan’s Khan also said the Islamic Emirate should create an “inclusive political structure” representing all ethnic groups, and prevent Afghan soil from being used for international militancy.

Putin noted that the new government was only provisional. “One cannot call it representative or inclusive, as we do not see representatives of other ethnic groups there. But we believe we need to work with it.”

Related Topics:featured peace Taliban US

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International community must not forget Afghans: refugees minister

Published

9 hours ago

May 28, 2023

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 28, 2023)

The international community should not forget the Afghan people and should not politicize the humanitarian issue, the country’s minister of refugees and repatriation said on Sunday.

“We ask all the countries of the world to put politics, formalities and military issues aside. Immigration has its own rules. The ministry of refugees was created to solve the problems of refugees,” Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani said in an aid distribution ceremony in Kabul.

He noted that now that peace prevails throughout Afghanistan, the international community should cooperate with them in returning Afghan refugees instead of forcing Afghans to migrate.

“The international community should provide livelihoods and transportation facilities. The international community should not forget the people of Afghanistan,” Haqqani said.

In Afghanistan, many families struggle with poverty, so women and men stand in long queues to receive aid.

Among the needy women, there are also those who have even been forced to give their children to others out of poverty.

“I gave my daughter to my sister out of necessity. I could not afford bread and clothes for her,” Gulnar, one of the needy women said.

“My husband is jobless. We are four in our family,” Shakiba, another woman said.

Although aid is a short term solution to helping the needy, officials have called for large, sustainable programs in order to eradicate poverty.

“Ten aid items will be distributed. These materials are enough for a family of five to seven people for three months. We have also considered nutritional balance. For example, this aid includes flour, rice, dal, sugar, tea and salt,” said Fariduddin Nouri, head of Women for Afghan Women NGO.

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Afghanistan, Pakistan set up task team for cross-border movement

Published

13 hours ago

May 28, 2023

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 28, 2023)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has announced that a joint committee will be established between the consular section of the ministry and the Pakistani embassy in Kabul in order to facilitate the movement of nationals between the two countries.

According to the ministry, an agreement was reached on the formation of this committee on Saturday in a meeting between Amir Khan Muttaqi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the IEA and Obaid ur Rehman Nizamani, Chargé d’Affaires of the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul.

In this announcement, which was published on the Twitter page of Hafiz Zia Ahmad, the deputy spokesman of the foreign ministry, it is stated that an agreement was reached on the creation of this committee at the “request and insistence” of the foreign minister.

Ahmad added that the charge d’affaires of the Pakistani embassy requested an extended visa period for Pakistani students who come to Afghanistan to study.

According to the Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi has “assured” the charge d’affaires of the IEA’s cooperation in this regard.