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US insists on prisoner releases by Taliban, Afghan gov’t
The U.S. government insists that the Taliban and the Afghan government should come to a conclusion about prisoner releases.
Apparently, the U.S. is trying to convince the Afghan government to change its stand on releasing the five thousand prisoners of the Taliban.
The U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said, “We continue to press all sides to stop posturing, start the practical discussion about the prisoner releases.” He also said, “We, the United States, has opened a door for you, the Afghan people, to come to the table to determine the future of your country. We will stand with you. We are ready to support you. Do not squander this opportunity.”
After the U.S.-Taliban deal is signed, the U.S. troops will decrease to 8,600 in 135 days, and in the next nine months, if the Taliban fully remains committed, the U.S. will withdraw from Afghanistan as a whole.
Donald Trump, the US President said, “There is a big question about the government of Afghanistan. We are getting along well with everybody. We have to get our people back home. It’s not fair. We don’t want to stay there for another 20 years. We don’t want to stay there for 100 years. We want our people back home.”
Now that the peace deal has been signed, the Taliban resumed their attacks on the Afghan forces which have faced criticism from the US officials.
Pompeo said, “The upsurge in violence in parts of Afghanistan over the last couple of days is unacceptable. In no uncertain terms, violence must be reduced immediately for the peace process to move forward.”
In the meantime, President Ghani has recently said that the Afghan government has no commitment over releasing five thousand prisoners of the Taliban, and it is not the US’s responsibility either. So the prisoner releases can be discussed in the Intra-Afghan talks.
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Mullah Baradar discusses creation of railway with Kazakh deputy PM
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister for economic affairs has met with Erik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, and discussed the establishment of a railway network from Kazakhstan to Pakistan through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, the deputy PM’s office said in a statement.
During the meeting, Baradar emphasized the need to sign agreements to solve the banking problems of traders from both countries, the creation of Afghan-Kazakh joint companies, and the facilitation of visas for Afghan traders.
According to the statement, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan said that the Kazakh government intends to establish a joint chamber of industry and commerce and a joint trade and labor group between the two countries, and is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in the sectors of e-governance, industry, higher education, education, health, and banking.
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Iran, Pakistan leaders raise concerns over ‘terrorist groups’ in Afghanistan
Following a two-day official visit to Pakistan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a joint statement emphasizing the need to further expand commercial and economic cooperation and transform the common border of the two countries from a “border of peace” to “border of prosperity”.
The two leaders also strongly condemned aggressions and crimes of Israel in Gaza, and demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as well as unimpeded humanitarian access to the besieged people of Gaza.
Numerous other issues were also discussed but on the topic of Afghanistan, they jointly declared their commitment to the development of Afghanistan as a peaceful, united, independent country free from the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking.
According to the statement the two countries pointed out that the existence of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan is a serious threat to the security of the region and the world.
The two sides stressed their desire to strengthen cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism and ensuring security and creating a united front against terrorism.
They also discussed the importance of coordinating regional and international efforts to ensure security and stability in the region.
“While respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, the two sides recognized that increasing participation of all strata of Afghans in basic decision-making will lead to the strengthening of peace and stability in this country,” the statement read.
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Over 1,000 Afghan refugees forced out of Pakistan in one day
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) says over 1,000 Afghan migrants were forcibly returned from Pakistan on Tuesday through Spin Boldak border crossing in Kandahar province, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry stated that based on information provided by the Spin Boldak Kandahar border command, these returnees comprised 191 families, totalling 998 people.
In addition, three migrants released from Pakistani prisons were also returned, according to the statement.
The statement added that after registering the returnees, the refugees were referred to the offices of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Each family received 10,000 afghanis – paid to them by the Islamic Emirate.
In another statement, the ministry said that 2,783 migrants living in Iran voluntarily and forcibly returned to the country during this week.
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