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US shares Istanbul Summit agenda with Afghan officials
First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said on Sunday in Kabul that the US has shared the agenda for the Istanbul Summit with Afghan officials and that among the topics listed is that of an interim government, a ceasefire and the preservation of gains made over the past two decades.
This comes a day after US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, in Kabul on Saturday to discuss the way forward regarding the summit and the peace process.
On Sunday, in an address to delegates attending the event, Saleh said that the agenda will also include discussions on achievements made by Afghanistan over the past 20 – especially those relating to the rights of the people.
Saleh meanwhile criticized the Taliban for their lack of contribution during the recent Moscow summit and said the group presented nothing but insults.
He also said Sunday that the Taliban were “strangers” and questioned how Afghanistan could hand over the country under such circumstances.
Saleh said that the Taliban was afraid to go to the polls in an election as they “know” they will only secure five percent of the people’s vote.
Meanwhile he stated that one of government’s biggest mistakes was releasing the 5,000 Taliban prisoners last year – as per the US agreement with the group.
He said of these prisoners freed, 75 percent have returned to the battlefields while between 40 and 50 of the freed inmates were in fact drug smugglers how paid the Taliban to help secure their release.
On the system of governance – an Emirate – that the Taliban are insisting on, Saleh said neither the Afghan people nor the countries in the region want this.
President Ashraf Ghani also addressed the gathering, in a recorded video, and said Afghanistan has the capacity and ability to create a plan for peace.
“We have the alternative to any plan prepared by other countries,” he said adding that the next administration must be decided by elections.
He stated that to achieve peace, difficult decisions and sacrifices need to be made.
“We have proven to all that we are ready to shorten our legal term and hold an early election,” he said.
Ghani called on the Taliban to take part in a Loya Jirga and share their problems with the people and make a commitment to denounce war and to solve the problems through talks.
He also said decisions made that bring suffering to the nation need to be prevented.
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.
According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.
“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.
According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.
“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.
However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.
Ten people have been killed and six others injured by floods in Helmand province in the past week, local officials said on Friday.
According to officials, seven of those were members of the same family, and they were killed in Kajaki district last night.
“Most of the people moved from vulnerable areas to high lands and mountains, and thanks Allah the number of casualties is low,” Sher Mohammad Vahdat, the head of information of the Directorate of Information and Culture in Helmand, said adding rescue teams and security forces have been dispatched to help people.
It is said that the telecommunication system has also been disrupted due to the effect of floods in Kajaki district. Floods have also destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues related to Afghanistan, it was announced on Thursday.
During the meeting, Otunbayeva thanked India for “its critical humanitarian support and longstanding friendship for the Afghan people” and discussed the importance of regional and international cooperation to address prevailing challenges in Afghanistan, UNAMA said on X.
Jaishankar also said on X that the sides exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan.
“Underlined that India has provided wheat, medicines, pesticides and school supplies. Appreciate the role of UN agencies as partners in these endeavors,” he said.
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