KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghan and American officials held a rare meeting in Doha, the capital of Qatar, and held wide-ranging talks last week, when Afghan and Kazakh traders signed agreements worth $100 million and the World Bank in a report said Afghanistan economically progressed.
Last week’s major events
Kabul, Washington hold wide-ranging talks in Doha
Afghan, Kazakh traders sign pacts worth $100m
Kabulov: Inclusive Afghan govt on Moscow talks agenda
IEA rejects Afghans’ role in Pakistan insecurity
Kabul welcomes WB report on Afghanistan progress
Casualties
According to reports, nearly a dozen people were killed and eight others injured in various incidents of violence across the country last week.
Unknown gunmen killed one person each in Faryab, Uruzgan, Ghazni and Baghlan provinces and kidnappers killed a two-year-old child in Khost and a 79-year-old man in Kabul.
Two shepherds killed a man and injured his wife after a quarrel n Faryab where a 16-year-old girl was shot dead by her father. A gunman opened fire at three civilians, killing one man and injuring two women.
Also last week, one person was killed and three others, including a security person, were injured in a clash over a land dispute in Parwan, and one person was killed and two others were injured after two tribes clashed in Nuristan.
Note: These figures are based on reports reaching Pajhwok Afghan News. Some incidents may have gone unreported or sources provided incorrect figures.
In the previous week, seven people were killed and two others were injured in various incidents across the country.
Before the regime change in August 2021, hundreds of civilians, insurgents and security forces would get killed and maimed every week.
Doha talks
Afghan and American officials held two days of talks in Doha, discussing issues including human rights, trust building, removing blacklists, economic sanctions, freeing Afghanistan central bank’s reserves, maintaining Afghanistan’s economic stability and fighting narcotics.
Reports said the American delegation led by Thomas West, US special representative for Afghanistan, expressed concerns about human rights related restrictions in Afghanistan, but noted progress in the fields of security, economic and narcotics.
The American officials asked the Afghan side to support aid agencies, including the United Nations, in delivering humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, US special representative for women and human rights in Afghanistan Rina Amiri discussed support for Afghan women in a meeting with Qatari deputy foreign minister Lolwah Alkhater.
She said: “Wonderful to see my friend Lolwah Alkhater again & continue our discussions on concrete support for Afghan women & girls in areas of education & economic empowerment.”
Meanwhile, US Special Representative Thomas West tweeted that they completed two days of meetings with senior representatives of the Taliban and Afghan technocrats in Doha on important interests in Afghanistan.
He said: “We discussed the country’s economic situation, human rights, human needs, security obligations, inclusiveness and the fight against drugs”.
Led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Afghan delegation met with ambassadors and special representatives of the US, UK, Spain, South Korea, Holland, Italy, Australia and Canada for Afghanistan in Qatar. Muttaqi briefed the ambassadors on recent developments in Afghanistan and asked them to carry out their missions from Afghanistan.
The meeting participants stressed continuation of such meetings and interaction with Afghanistan, according to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Separately, Muttaqi called for sustained cooperation between Qatar and Afghanistan at a meeting with Qatar’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Dr. Mutlaq -Al-Qahtani in Doha.
The diplomats exchanged notes on political, economic and commercial issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in Kabul said.
Al-Qahtani called Afghanistan’s current situation reassuring, urging all countries to forge a constructive relationship with the interim government in Kabul.
A statement from MoFA said the two sides also stressed on the need for Qatar’s comprehensive cooperation with Afghanistan.
Separately, Muttaqi also met Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation Lulwa Al Khater.
Kazakh-Afghan exhibition
Afghan and Kazakh traders held a communication meeting in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan last week and attended an exhibition on the sidelines of the meeting.
Afghanistan Minister of Industry and Trade Nooruddin Azizi and traders from Afghanistan attended the meeting in Astana where several contracts worth 100 million dollars were signed between the private sectors of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan.
About 350 Afghan companies from inside and outside the country showcased their industrial, agricultural and mineral products at the three-day exhibition.
Moscow format meeting
Russia’s special representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov last week said the next Moscow format meeting would focus on the establishment of an inclusive government in Afghanistan.
Zamir Kabulov told TASS news agency yesterday that Russia sees no progress in what concerns the inclusiveness of the interim government in Afghanistan.
According to Kabulov, the topic of the inclusiveness of the interim government will top the agenda of the upcoming Moscow-format meeting on Afghanistan due to be held in Kazan on September 29.
The first Moscow format meeting was held in 2017 to advance national reconciliation in Afghanistan. The group includes Afghanistan, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Islamabad’s claim and Kabul’s response
Pakistan last week claimed three Afghan nationals were involved in the July 12 attack on Zhob Military base in Balochistan province. The Foreign Office said the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad had been asked to receive the bodies of the three terrorists.
The attack on the military base in Zhob left 13 people dead.
But the Islamic Emirate rejected the claim as baseless, asking Pakistan to share their concerns directly if any.
Zabihullah Mujahid, IEA spokesman, tweeted that the statements of the Pakistan Foreign Office and officials were baseless accusations against Afghanistan and they rejected them.
He said the Islamic Emirate did not allow anyone to use the territory of Afghanistan against any other country.
He added: “Any concern should be shared with the Islamic Emirate face to face and making useless claims in the media confuses the public mind. Such claims are not in the interest of both countries and nations.”
Global reports and Kabul’s response
International Transitional Justice and Peace organization last week claimed prosecutors in Afghanistan were in danger, but Mujahid said rejected the claim as unfounded and that said the organization wanted to cause brain drain from Afghanistan and pave the way for human trafficking.
In a new report last week, the World Bank said that Afghanistan had economically progressed and the country’s exports increased between January and May.
The caretaker government of Afghanistan welcomed the report of the World Bank, saying it figures were correct.
Deputy prime minister for economic affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said Afghanistan could make significant progress in economic fields if the international community started positive interaction with the country.
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