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US pledges $300 million more in aid before troops withdrawal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States will provide Afghanistan with nearly $300 million in additional civilian assistance in order to sustain and build on the gains of the past 20 years.
Blinken said in a statement issued on Wednesday night that US President Joe Biden was clear that while the United States will withdraw military forces from Afghanistan, Washington’s support for the country will continue.
“As part of our commitment to invest in and support the Afghan people, we are working with Congress to provide nearly $300 million in additional civilian assistance for Afghanistan in 2021 from both the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development.
“This assistance, which we announced at the quadrennial donors’ conference in November 2020 as potentially being available at a future date, is being made available now to demonstrate our enduring support for the Afghan people,” he said.
According to Blinken, the funding will be targeted at sustaining and building on the gains of the past 20 years by improving access to essential services for Afghan citizens, promoting economic growth, fighting corruption and the narcotics trade, improving health and education service delivery, supporting women’s empowerment, enhancing conflict resolution mechanisms, and bolstering Afghan civil society and independent media.
“As the United States begins withdrawing our troops, we will use our civilian and economic assistance to advance a just and durable peace for Afghanistan and a brighter future for the Afghan people,” he said.
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Magnitude 5.2 quake jolts Afghanistan
An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter Scale jolted Afghanistan on Thursday afternoon, the National Center for Seismology reported.
The quake was at a depth of 70km and epicentered in the mountainous north-eastern area of Ashkāsham.
The jolt was felt across the region including in Kabul, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan
There were no immediate reports of any casualties.
In October last year, over 2,000 people were killed when four 6.3-magnitude earthquakes struck in Herat province.
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Bayat Foundation helps needy families in Balkh
As part of Bayat Foundation’s Ramadan aid campaign, needy families in Mazar-e-Sharif, in Balkh province, received much needed food packages this week.
The aid package includes rice, flour and oil.
“In continuation of Bayat Foundation’s assistance, this time also a quantity of food such as flour, oil and rice was distributed to needy families in Mazar-e-Sharif; Inshallah, these contributions will continue,” said a representative of the foundation.
Needy families that received aid packages expressed their gratitude but called on other aid organizations to help the needy during these difficult times.
“Many thanks to Bayat Foundation, I thank Bayat Foundation for helping the needy and poor people of this region,” said a recipient said.
“I would like to thank Bayat Foundation for their cooperation in helping the needy in this holy month of Ramadan; it is hoped that traders and charities will do such sustainable work,” said another recipient.
Bayat Foundation is one of the charitable organizations that has played an important role in helping the needy in Afghanistan over the last two decades.
In addition to distributing aid packages to needy and vulnerable families, it has carried out numerous other projects, including the construction of health centers and schools.
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MoI registers over 8,700 criminal cases in the past six months
Abdul Matin Qani, the Ministry of Interior’s spokesman said on Thursday that in the last six months, 8,747 criminal cases have been recorded across the country.
Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Qani said of these cases, 7,233 have been solved while the remaining 1,525 are still being investigated.
He said 12,540 people have been arrested in connection with these crimes.
In addition, 21 kidnappers have been killed, 18 hostages have been freed and 172 people have been arrested in connection with kidnappings in the same period of time.
Qani also said in the last six months 837,000 passports have been distributed. He said three new passport offices will be established in Kabul in the near future.
“10,000 passports are distributed to citizens daily by the Passport Department,” said Qani.
On the issue of narcotics, he said drug cultivation, production and trafficking has been eradicated. He said drug manufacturing equipment and 377 drug factories have been destroyed across the country.
According to him, the ministry has also made advances in collecting illegal weapons, fighting corruption and improving police skills.
Qani stated that during this period, no security incidents took place in most provinces across the country.
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