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US-Taliban Representatives Hold Secret Talks in Islamabad
The U.S. and Taliban negotiation teams have held secret talks in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
A six-member American delegation has met with the Taliban’s 12-member delegation during their visit to Pakistan on October 2.
According to sources informed of the Afghan peace talks, the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and the top commander of NATO and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan General Scott Miller were also present at the pre-scheduled meeting.
Apparently, the meeting was scheduled at the sideline of the UN General Assembly in New York where the U.S. chief negotiator Ambassador Khalilzad met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The two sides have discussed the Afghan presidential election which took place on September 28 and the formation of an interim government after the announcement of the election results, sources close to the Taliban insurgent group told Ariana News.
“Ambassador Khalilzad wanted to know the position of Taliban if Afghanistan fails to have an elected government and forms an interim government,” said Waheed Muzhda, a pro-Taliban political commentator.
However, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister on Political Affairs Edris Zaman said on Saturday that the U.S.-Taliban meeting focused on the release of two American prisoners.
“The ongoing talks in Islamabad is focused on two U.S. hostages with Taliban. The talks is held between hostage takers which is Taliban and the government of the United States and is mediated by Pakistan,” Mr. Zaman said.
Minawar Shah Bahaduri, an Afghan lawmaker believes that the result of the Afghan presidential election will lead the country into a crisis and Washington will raise question on its legitimacy; therefore, the U.S. is paving the ground for the formation of an interim government in the country.
“An interim government will be formed in order to put pressures on the government and the Taliban to accept peace and at the same time to have its permanent presence in Afghanistan,” Mr. Bahaduri said.
Both the U.S. and the Taliban group have not made a comment about the report yet.
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Kyrgyz leader urges world to recognize current Afghan government
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov has called one European countries and the United States to recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) as the government of the country.
“Currently, they are in near-total isolation. We, as the global community, must understand one crucial thing: isolating Afghanistan from the rest of the world will not solve the problem. On the contrary, the longer this situation persists, the more the afghan people will endure difficult days,” Japarov said in an interview with Turkish TV channel TRT,
He also called for the return of the frozen assets for the future of the Afghan people.
“These funds could help the current Afghan government not only rebuild its infrastructure but also provide affordable loans to citizens through local banks, develop agriculture, and create opportunities to improve the lives of those living in poverty. Right now, the afghan people are suffering from hunger,” he said.
Japarov said that Afghanistan's leadership could be invited for a working visit to one or two European countries. “If they visit so-called developed countries and see firsthand how people live in various parts of the world, it could positively influence their governance experience. If we continue to isolate them, there won’t be any positive outcomes, even after 50 years.”
He also said that if European countries or the United States are willing to provide technical assistance to Afghanistan through various projects or specialized programs, Kyrgyzstan is ready to help implement these initiatives.
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US diplomat: Decision to ban medical education for women in Afghanistan is ‘indefensible’
US charge d’affaires for Afghanistan, Karen Decker, on Saturday criticized reports of a decision to close medical educational institutions to women, saying the decision was “indefensible in any language, culture, or religion.”
Decker said on X that the leadership of the Islamic Emirate in Kandahar has already risked the future of Afghanistan by preventing girls from becoming teachers or engineers.
“They would now destroy it completely by preventing girls from becoming doctors or midwives. Babies will not be born. Mothers will die. All the Afghan people will suffer. This decision must be reversed to prevent unnecessary misery,” she said.
Decker added that it is difficult to see the value of the IEA diplomacy abroad “if this is what they are selling.”
Recently, there have been reports that the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate ordered the closure of medical institutes for women. The Islamic Emirate has not yet officially commented on the matter.
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IEA says World Bank’s report on Afghan economic situation ‘far from reality’
Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Office on Saturday in a statement rejected the recent report of the World Bank on the economic situation of Afghanistan and called it “far from reality”.
The statement stated that the World Bank has ignored some of the economic achievements of the Islamic Emirate.
According to the statement, important projects have been started in different sectors since IEA’s takeover.
The statement added that only in the mining sector, about 415 billion afghanis of domestic and foreign investment have been attracted and similar projects are being implemented in other sectors.
The deputy PM’s office has emphasized that the international community should turn to positive interaction with Afghanistan.
This reaction comes while the World Bank said in a recent report that Afghanistan's economic outlook remains very fragile.
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