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Taliban prepare to reveal new Afghan government amid economic turmoil
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers were preparing on Thursday to unveil their new government as the economy teetered on the edge of collapse.
Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said on social media a ceremony was being prepared at the presidential palace in Kabul while Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters he could not give an exact date but it was a matter of a few days.
The legitimacy of the new government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy as the country battles drought and the ravages of a conflict that took the lives of an estimated 240,000 Afghans, Reuters reported.
Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said the Gulf state was talking with the Taliban and working with Turkey about technical support to restart operations at Kabul airport, which would facilitate humanitarian assistance and possibly more evacuations.
Speaking at a joint news conference with the Qatari minister in Doha, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he would be talking with regional countries about how to secure safe passage through third countries for people who want to leave Afghanistan.
"The prospects of getting Kabul airport up and running and safe passage for foreign nationals and Afghans across land borders (are) top of the agenda," the British Foreign Office said in a statement.
The Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, is expected to have ultimate power over a new governing council with a president below him, a senior Taliban official told Reuters last month.
The supreme Taliban leader has three deputies: Mawlavi Yaqoob, son of the movement's late founder Mullah Omar; Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of the powerful Haqqani network; and Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the founding members of the group.
The Taliban have tried to present a more moderate face to the world since they swept aside the U.S.-backed government and returned to power last month, promising to protect human rights and refrain from reprisals against old enemies.
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Iran steps up efforts to tighten security along border with Afghanistan, Pakistan
Tehran’s plan to block the eastern border will eventually consist of a 300 km-long wall along with the use of advanced technology and precise military drills
Iran’s border security operations along its shared border with Afghanistan and Pakistan have been ramped up with 65 kms of the border wall already having been completed.
According to Iran media, Tehran’s plan to block the eastern border will eventually consist of a 300 km-long wall along with the use of advanced technology and precise military drills.
On November 2, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said Iran would complete construction of a border wall along its eastern frontiers by the end of September next year.
The first phase of the border-sealing initiative spans approximately 90 kilometers and commenced at the end of June.
The border blockade includes physical barriers, such as barbed wire and cement walls as well as smart technology that include radar systems.
Last month, Tehran Times reported that during a visit to the city of Mirjaveh, the primary crossing point between Iran and Pakistan,Momeni said the first phase of the border-sealing initiative spans approximately 90 kms and work commenced at the end of June.
He stated, "Based on our projections, this border-blocking project is expected to be completed in the first half of the next Iranian year."
Momeni stressed that an unsealed border allows deported illegal immigrants to easily return. He said: “The plan to secure the border will tackle this issue and improve regional security.”
Amir Na’mati, Deputy Commander of Iran’s Army Ground Forces, meanwhile gave more information this week and said significant progress will be made on the project by the end of the solar year (April).
Systems such as surveillance sensors, reconnaissance drones, and thermal cameras are set to be deployed, he said. Additionally, mobile assault battalions are tasked with maintaining constant border control.
Wanaen meanwhile reported that Iranian Army rapid reaction forces are currently conducting complex security drills which include tasks to identify terrorist gathering spots using advanced Mohajer-6 drones, destroying their command vehicles with highly explosive precision bombs (Qaem), and shelling enemy positions with artillery.
Amir Cheshk, Deputy Operations Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Forces, said: “Based on international agreements, any threatening gatherings that endanger the security of the Islamic Republic (Iran) will be met with a decisive response from the Army Ground Forces and Iran’s armed forces.”
In addition, special forces supported by Army Aviation helicopters, are dispatched to terrorist gathering locations and carry out high-precision clearance operations.
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IEA supreme leader says vice and virtue law must be enforced
Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate, has ordered that the Law on Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice must be enforced in order to preserve Afghanistan’s Islamic system.
The Kandahar media center said Monday that the IEA leader met with military and civilian officials, the Ulema Council, businessmen, and security forces in Spin Boldak in Kandahar on Sunday, where he also delivered a speech.
He said that great sacrifices were made over 20 years to attain the Islamic system and efforts should be made to preserve it.
He added that this can only be done through obedience, piousness, and following the advice of religious scholars.
The leader of the Islamic Emirate told scholars present to fully cooperate with the relevant departments in implementing the Law on Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice and to explain to people every day in their mosques issues related to faith, belief, and prayer.
He also advised military and civilian officials in Spin Boldak district not to have disputes, to maintain full coordination and cooperation with each other, be committed to carrying out their responsibilities, and obey their superiors.
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IEA, Chinese company signs deal for Kapisa dam feasibility study
The Ministry of Energy and Water on Sunday signed an agreement for feasibility, geophysics and geotechnical studies of the Baghdara Dam in Kapisa province with Metallurgical Corp of China (MCC), the contractor of Mes Aynak copper mine.
The agreement was signed between Abdul Latif Mansoor, Acting Minister of Energy and Water, and Song Wen Bing, director of MCC.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mansoor highlighted the importance of the Baghdara Dam project in providing the electricity needed for the Mes Aynak project in Logar province and emphasized that the implementation of the Baghdara Dam project will be a milestone in joint cooperation between Afghanistan and China.
He also emphasized the expansion and development of cooperation between China and Afghanistan and assured the Chinese ambassador and MCC officials that the environment is favorable for investment in Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate is committed to cooperate in this regard.
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