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Salang Pass reconstruction project officially underway
The Salang Pass reconstruction project was officially inaugurated on Wednesday by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund.
During the opening ceremony, Baradar said: “After the Qosh Tepa Canal, this is the second largest national and economic project, and once complete, the necessary facilities will be provided for [people] to travel from the north to the south, and for the trade sector.”
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is ready to complete the projects with all its energy and promises any kind of cooperation for the contracted companies in this sector,” Baradar added.
He also called on the contractors to complete the project as soon as possible and ensure a quality job was done with honesty.
The reconstruction spans 80km of the busy road, which connects nine provinces to Kabul. Work will take an estimated two years to finish. The project will also provide jobs to thousands of Afghans, officials said.
Thousands of motorists and truck drivers use the road daily, which crosses the Hindu Kush mountains. The Salang Tunnel, which is on the same road, bypasses through the mountains and is 2.67-kilometres-long.
The road has carried heavy military traffic in recent conflicts and is in very bad repair.
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Pakistan says cross-Durand Line communities seek peace and stability
Pakistan says communities living along the Afghanistan-Pakistan Durand Line want peace and stability, despite ongoing security concerns in the region.
Speaking during a weekly media briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said there are no major issues between the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, adding that residents on both sides of the Durand Line want peaceful relations and greater regional stability.
However, Andrabi claimed that terrorism originating from Afghan territory continues to undermine peace efforts.
He said Islamabad believes militant activity crossing from Afghanistan remains a significant obstacle to improving regional security and bilateral ties.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly rejected such allegations, maintaining that no militant group is allowed to use Afghan soil to threaten neighboring countries.
Andrabi also said Pakistan remains diplomatically engaged on regional matters involving Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Somalia, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy remain Islamabad’s preferred means of resolving disputes.
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Afghanistan-Gambia ties discussed during Doha meeting
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
Suhail Shaheen, head of the Islamic Emirate’s embassy in Doha, has met with Omar Jah, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of The Gambia to Qatar, to discuss bilateral relations and areas of mutual interest.
According to a statement from the Afghan embassy in Doha, Jah also oversees Gambian diplomatic affairs related to Afghanistan.
The meeting focused on Afghanistan-Gambia relations, the current security situation in Afghanistan, and potential investment opportunities in the country.
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
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Pakistan’s Achakzai calls for freer movement across disputed Durand Line
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly and head of the Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party, has said that if capable statesmen had been in power, people living on both sides of the Durand Line could have moved freely across the line.
Speaking during a podcast interview, Achakzai said that countries with histories of major conflict, including Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, now maintain far more open borders despite past wars. He said that in many such regions, only a “paper line” remains, with limited border restrictions.
Drawing comparisons with the disputed Durand Line boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Achakzai argued that a similar arrangement could have been possible in South Asia.
“What is the problem here? A Punjabi could dance in Kandahar and a Pashtun could come here. Even if we are not formally one country, we could have effectively functioned like one,” he said.
The Pakistani politician also referred to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the later U.S.-led intervention, saying Afghanistan has the right to seek war reparations from those countries to support reconstruction efforts.
Achakzai further criticised the treatment of Pashtuns in Pakistan, alleging that individuals in cities including Lahore and Karachi have faced detention and deportation.
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