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Taliban shall follow political goals through democratic ways: Ghani
President Ashraf Ghani said the Taliban should pursue their political goals through democratic ways such as taking part in the Afghan elections.
Speaking at a summit to strengthen the global consensus on peace hosted in Kabul, Ghani said that the group could take part in the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Representatives from 19 countries and international organizations including NATO, the United Nations, the European Union had participated in the summit.
President Ghani stressed that the Taliban must be present within the framework of the republican system. Much of the president’s speech focused on global support in Afghanistan’s peace talks. Ashraf Ghani said the government is investigating the release of 1,000 Taliban prisoners from the Taliban.
Meanwhile, Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Reconciliation Council, also said that the government has boost efforts to finalize the process of releasing prisoners, saying that the first round of intra-Afghan talks would be held in Qatar a week after the completion of the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners. Abdullah stressed that the ceasefire is the main agenda of the first round of talks.
“At the moment as we are well aware, the first round will be held in Doha. The initial understanding is that after the completion of exchange of prisoners, it will be one week after that,” Abdullah said, adding, “There is an understanding about the facilitation that the host country should do the facilitation, but on the details of the facilitation, the two sides needs to agree.”
The head of the High Reconciliation Council says that in the first round of talks between Afghans, the ceasefire will be the main agenda and that important issues will be prioritized. According to Abdullah Abdullah, strategies will be discussed in the negotiations on issues of serious disagreement.
He added, “We need to secure the commitment from the Taliban that it will not be a sort of one of the negotiations, but to secure their commitment, not only for deduction in violence in a comprehensive ceasefire but at the same time for continued engagement and as part of strategy, the first agenda will be ceasefire. How to strategize and prioritize it is important.”
The Taliban’s political bureau, however, accuses the Afghan government of delaying the release of prisoners on the pretext of delaying the start of talks between Afghans, although the office acknowledges that there are only a few Taliban prisoners left to be released until the number of released prisoners reaches 5,000.
“They say we have released 4,000 prisoners, but we say more than 3,000. But if they had released the same thousands of prisoners, negotiations would have started and other prisoners would have been released later. They are creating obstacles on the way of the process,” said Sohail Shahin, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political bureau in Qatar.
The National Security Council says the Taliban have so far released about half of the 1,000 captured security forces. The council emphasizes that the government has so far released 4,099 Taliban prisoners, but the release of 592 prisoners who have been convicted of serious crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, rape, stoning women, assassination, and other criminal offenses will not happen.
Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid has said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan, adding the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) will not allow anyone to pose threat to any country in the region from the Afghan soil.
Mujahid made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Malaysia in Kabul on Thursday.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, Mujahid highlighted Malaysia’s “good treatment” of Afghan refugees and its long-standing relations with Afghanistan, and said that Malaysia is a powerful Islamic country and visits should increase.
He added that with the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, occupation and war ended in Afghanistan, and the country is fully secure.
Based on the statement, the Malaysian delegation called Afghanistan a friendly country and while emphasizing on comprehensive cooperation, it assured that what they have seen in Afghanistan will be shared with the authorities of their country.
The European Union signed an agreement worth 17 million euros with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to improve access to basic services, increased economic opportunities and protection for Afghans on the move and their host communities in Afghanistan.
The needs of women and girls are a particular focus of the programme, EU said in a statement released on Thursday.
The statement noted that from January 2023 until April 2024, over 1.5 million Afghans returned from Pakistan and Iran.
“I am deeply moved by the hardship returnees face when being deported to Afghanistan. In a country suffering from poverty and climate change, and in a city that just saw devastating earthquakes, this truly is a crisis within a crisis.”, said Peteris Ustubs, Director for the Middle East, Asia and Pacific of the European Commission’s Department for International Partnerships during the signing ceremony at the IOM transit centre in Herat.
Raffaella Iodice, EU Chargée d’Affaires a.i. to Afghanistan, added “The solidarity of the Afghan people towards their brothers and sisters is an inspiration. We must assure that communities hosting and helping new arrivals are supported. The partnership with IOM ensures access to essential services and provides protection for Afghan returnees and their host communities. As women and girls can be particularly affected, we make sure that all members of society can benefit”.
“IOM’s continued partnership with the EU has been critical in enabling our teams to reach hundreds of thousands of Afghan returnees and other vulnerable communities in the country”, said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission, Maria Moita. “Thanks to this renewed commitment, we will be able to focus on addressing the immense challenges in the areas of return and contribute to reintegration, social cohesion, and longer-term solutions for those communities.”
This additional contribution is part of a 5-year programme that is being implemented across Afghanistan and in four countries in the region. It builds on the EU’s previous support to IOM to improve the wellbeing of Afghans forced to return to the country, EU said.
Acting Minister of Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani has said in a meeting with a delegation from Malaysia in Kabul that Malaysia is an advanced country and that Afghanistan should use is experiences.
According to a statement released by the Interior Ministry, Haqqani, in the meeting on Thursday, emphasized that security is ensured in Afghanistan and unity among Afghans has been restored.
He stated that the Islamic Emirate wants to have close relations and engagement with the world, especially Islamic countries.
The Malaysian delegation consists of representatives of the Ministries of Interior and Defense, and advisers of the Prime Minister’s Office.
According to the statement, a member of the delegation provided information about Malaysia’s capabilities in cyber security and tackling cyber crime, and said that Malaysia will share its experiences in this field with the Islamic Emirate.
In the meeting, the two sides also discussed the fight against drugs, police training, bilateral cooperation and exchange of experiences between Malaysia and Afghanistan.
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