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US Secretary of State meets Guterres ahead of Doha meeting on Afghanistan

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The U.S. Secretary of State met on Thursday with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Washington ahead of the Doha meeting on Afghanistan.

At the meeting, Antony Blinken said that they will closely discuss the situation in Afghanistan with the UN and will continue to express their deep concern over the ban on women's work and education.

“We’re also working closely together when it comes to Afghanistan, the deep concerns that so many countries share about the steps the Taliban (IEA) has taken when it comes to denying the rights of women and girls,” said Blinken.

“The broader humanitarian and economic situation, where again the United Nations is playing a leadership role.”

Marks Potzel, political deputy of UNAMA, in another meeting meanwhile with Abdul Salam Hanafi, the deputy prime minister of the Islamic Emirate said that the representatives of 22 countries and two international organizations will vote on human rights and security of Afghanistan, the region and beyond at Doha meeting.

In a newsletter, Potzel was quoted as saying that he praised the measures of IEA in providing security, fighting against drugs and administrative corruption, and said that these steps have a positive effect on the interaction between the current Afghan government and the international community.

“The Islamic Emirate respects international laws, human rights, education and press freedom within the framework of Islamic Sharia and national interests,” said Hanafi at the meeting.

“I hope the participants of Doha meeting can make an effective and positive decision considering the positive and important measures of the Islamic Emirate in line with the above issues.”

Hanafi called the provision of global security, the complete prohibition of cultivation, trade, smuggling, and the use of drugs, and the elimination of administrative corruption among the important achievements of the Islamic Emirate.

At this meeting. Hanafi also said that Afghanistan will not be used against any country.

The Doha meeting is scheduled to be held on May 1st and 2nd. The meeting will be held between the UN Secretary-General and special envoys of various countries on Afghanistan.

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Riyadh committed to expanding bilateral relations with Kabul: Saudi ambassador

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Faisal bin Talq al-Buqami, the Saudi Ambassador to Kabul, on Wednesday met with acting Minister of Defense Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid and emphasized Riyadh's commitment to expanding economic, political, and humanitarian cooperation with Afghanistan.

Enayatullah Khwarizm, the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Mujahid described Afghanistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia as culturally and ideologically shared and inseparable, and expressed appreciation for Riyadh's cooperation in various fields.

According to the statement, Mujahid called the resumption of the Saudi Embassy's activities in Kabul important and significant.

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Stanikzai says media is an essential part of society

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Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the political deputy foreign minister, says media is an essential need in society.

Speaking at a seminar aimed at improving the capacity of spokespersons from ministries and independent government institutions, Stanikzai emphasized the importance of access to information and the vital role of media in Afghanistan.

"In today's age, media and spokespersons are a significant need for society and the country, and this sector must be strengthened. Spokespersons must be strong and able to withstand any situation. In order to cope with the circumstances, they should strive to have comprehensive information not only about their work environment but also about the country and society,” he said.

Khabib Ghafran, spokesperson for the Ministry of Information and Culture, also addressed the seminar and said: "The main goal of this seminar is to discuss how to improve the capacity of spokespersons in central departments of the Islamic Emirate and how to address the issue of access to information."

Meanwhile, some journalists and organizations supporting journalists are calling for timely and comprehensive information to be made available to them.

Hujatullah Mujaddidi, head of Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association, said: "It is the responsibility of journalistic and media institutions to support the media by enhancing journalists' capacities, improving media literacy and ethics, and working on maintaining neutrality and innovation."

Rohullah Danish, a journalist, stated: "It is necessary that Afghan media receive more support because they play a significant role not only in information publication but also in education and cultural development within society."

After three years, journalists say they are still facing challenges regarding access to information, and that this issue has not been fully resolved.

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Egeland says Donald Trump’s aid pause ‘disastrous’ for Afghanistan

Trump signed an executive order temporarily suspending all US foreign assistance programs pending reviews to determine whether they are aligned with his policy goals

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Trumps cut aid programs for 90 days

The head of a major humanitarian organisation said U.S. President Donald Trump's order to halt foreign aid for 90 days would have immediate and disastrous consequences in Afghanistan where relief operations are already stretched thin.

Trump signed an executive order temporarily suspending all US foreign assistance programs pending reviews to determine whether they are aligned with his policy goals.

It was not immediately clear how much assistance would initially be affected by the Monday order as funding for many programs has already been appropriated by Congress and is obligated to be spent, if not already spent.

The scope of the order was not clear, including whether it applied to Afghanistan's humanitarian funding, which is channelled through NGOs and United Nations agencies.

Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters that the decision had left agencies reeling as they braced for further cuts from the biggest donor to Afghanistan.

"A 90-day suspension of all aid, no new grants, no new transfer of funding, will have disastrous consequences immediately ... for an already starved aid operation for very poor and vulnerable girls and women and civilians in Afghanistan," he said during a video interview from Kabul late on Tuesday.

Afghanistan is home to more than 23 million people requiring humanitarian assistance - more than half the country's population - but aid has shrunk as donors face competing global crises and diplomats raise concerns about the Islamic Emirate’s restrictions on women in most areas of public life, including education and health.

Development funding that formed the backbone of government finances was cut after the IEA took over and foreign forces left in 2021.

Reuters reported last year that non-governmental groups played a critical role in filling the humanitarian void.

"If you go back in time it was a well funded operation, we got development assistance, then we could have perhaps have lived through three months of suspension, we cannot any more," Egeland said.

Trump told a rally shortly before taking office that aid to Afghanistan would be contingent on getting back billions of dollars of military equipment that U.S. forces left behind.

 

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