10 people killed in Afghanistan last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): Kabul, Beijing and Islamabad last week pledged to further strengthen trilateral cooperation on security and counterterrorism, with China calling on the Islamic Emirate to reform its policy regarding women and girls.

However, Kabul said issues related to women were Afghanistan’s internal matter which would be resolved based on Islamic laws.

• At trilateral meet, Muttaqi says no one allowed to use Afghan soil against others
• European Union, UNAMA to continue interaction with Islamic Emirate
• Kabul, Doha vow mutual cooperation
• China asks Kabul to form coalition government
• Muttaqi: Current caretaker government represents all Afghans
• China: Afghanistan should change policy towards women and girls
• Islamic Emirate: Issues related to women and girls internal matters

Casualties

Last week saw violent incidents claiming 10 lives across the country.

Unidentified gunmen killed a cleric in Baghlan, a judge in Ghor, a man in Parwan, and two women in Badghis and Uruzgan provinces last week.

Three children were killed when an unexploded landmine went off in Kandahar, a person killed his wife in Balkh and another person killed his sister’s husband as a result of a dispute over land in Takhar and injured his sister.

Note: These figures are based on reports reaching Pajhwok. Some incidents might have gone unreported or sources provided incorrect figures.

In the previous week, eight people were killed and as many others were injured in various incidents of violence across the country.

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Before the regime change, hundreds of civilians, government forces and insurgents would get killed and wounded every week as a result of the conflict.

Trilateral meeting in Pakistan

Foreign ministers of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan held the fifth dialogue meeting in Islamabad on Sunday and Monday and pledged to further strengthen trilateral cooperation on security and counterterrorism.

In the meeting, the ministers agreed to uphold good relations, deepen political mutual trust, respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and properly address differences and disputes through equal consultation.

The joint statement said the three sides stressed the need to prevent any individual, group or party “to use their territories to harm and threaten regional security and interests or conduct terrorist actions and activities.”

On the heels of the mini summit, China said it was ready to help Afghanistan in the fields of economy, reconstruction and fighting terrorism, but asked Kabul to adopt a moderate approach and form an inclusive government.

However, Muttaqi told a ceremony at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad that the current acting government was inclusive and represented all Afghans.

Continued interaction with caretaker government

The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) last week condemned the restrictions on women’s work in UN agencies, but said it could not stop interacting with the new rulers despite problems.

Also, the European Union said it would continue diplomatic interaction with Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said interaction with Afghanistan was in the interest of both Afghans and the world, adding pressure and freezing Afghanistan’s assets or holding Afghanistan’s political status and relations hostage was not a solution.

He also said that interaction and discussion should be held with the ruling party about Afghanistan’s issues.

On Friday, Qatari prime minister and foreign minister Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and Qatari spymaster Abdullah Al-Khalifi and their delegation met with Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund in Kandahar.

The Qatari officials promised to strengthen relations with Afghanistan, increase trust and cooperate in education, health and economic fields.

Respect for human rights

On Wednesday, UNAMA claimed in a recent report that a number of UN women workers in Afghanistan faced ‘harassment, detention and other restrictions’ in the past three months.

“UNAMA is concerned by increasing restrictions on civic space across Afghanistan,” Chief Human Rights Service, Fiona Frazer said in an update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan. https://bit.ly/3VHonUI.

In the report, Frazer criticised corporal punishments and executions and called for the suspension of the death penalty in Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a press conference in Qatar that all Islamic countries were against the ban on education of girls and women in Afghanistan as it had no religious justification.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called on the Islamic Emirate to reform its policy towards women and girls in Afghanistan, but the Islamic Emirate called it an internal issue which would be solved under Islamic laws.

On Thursday, deputy prime minister for administrative affairs Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi once again asked neighboring and regional countries not to meddle in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

Aid

Last week, a humanitarian aid package amounting to $40 million arrived in Kabul and was handed over to a commercial bank.

Qatar has pledged provision of medicines to hospitals in eleven provinces of Afghanistan and Japan and World Food Program also said they were committed to continuing their humanitarian activities in the war-torn country.

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