KABUL (Pajhwok): A number of institutions last week expressed their concern about girls’ rights in Afghanistan, while Russia declared talks with Afghanistan necessary for peace in Central Asia, something Afghan official welcomed.
The US said it was concerned about terrorist attacks from Afghanistan, but the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said that there was no threat to any country from Afghanistan.
Last week’s major events:
Ushakov: Russia to remove Taliban from banned groups soon
US concern regarding terrorist attacks from Afghanistan: IEA rules out such threat
Russia: Talks with IEA necessary for peace in Central Asia: Fitrat: We welcome Russia’s positive position
International Day of Girl Chid: Reza Otunbayeva: Afghan girls mark this day with sorrow
Gas extraction contract worth $1b signed, 12 projects approved.
Kabul: Political tension in Pakistan worrying. Islamabad: IEA should focus on own problems
Casualties
Last week, three people were killed and five others were injured in two different incidents in Afghanistan.
Unknown persons stabbed a man to death in Farah and injured his wife. In Kandahar, a person killed his wife and injured her brother and a man killed his father in Sari Pul province.
According to reports, three children were injured when an unexploded ordnance went off in Nangarhar province.
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, three people had been killed and eight others injured in two different incidents in Afghanistan.
Before the regime change in 2021, hundreds of civilians, insurgents and security forces would get killed and maimed every week.
Removing IEA from Russia’s blacklist
Russian Vice President Yuri Ushakov said that the Islamic Emirate would be removed from the list of terrorist groups in the near future and in this regard efforts were underway.
In addition, Zamir Kabulov, special representative of the Russian president for Afghanistan, also said that Russia would remove the name of the Islamic Emirate from the list of terrorist groups in the country in the near future.
IEA deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat praised Russia’s decision and said the caretaker government of Afghanistan believed in interaction with other countries and wanted other countries to think about this.
Fitrat said removing the IEA from the list of banned groups would be an effective step towards developing relations between the two countries.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believes in interactions which are beneficial to all parties”.
Kazakhstan was the first country to remove the Islamic Emirate from the list of terrorist groups, followed by Kyrgyzstan.
Dialogue with IEA
Last week, Russia deputy minister for foreign affairs Grigory Karasin said at a meeting in Tajikistan regarding regional security in Central Asia that talks with the current authorities of Afghanistan were essential for peace and stability in Central Asia.
In response, Fitrat, said in a voice message: “We welcome this positive position of the Russian Federation”.
He said dialogue and talks between regional countries and the Islamic Emirate were important to ensure regional stability and further develop relations.
He said political dialogue always paved the way for positive interactions and the Islamic Emirate also believed in constructive political interaction through dialogue.
Scott Smith, UNAMA’s political affairs head, said that they were trying to create positive relations and an atmosphere of trust between Afghanistan and the international community through dialogue and to find basic solutions to major issues worth discussing.
US concerns about terrorist attacks and IEA response
Matthew Miller, US Department of State spokesman, expressed his concern about what he called threat from the territory of Afghanistan.
He said it should be made sure that the US did not come under attack from Afghan soil again.
“We have made it clear that the normalization of relations with the Taliban depends on a change in their attitude towards human rights, education for girls and permission for women to work”.
Meanwhile, US Defense Ministry deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh also expressed concern about the threats of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and the region.
However, Fitrat said no terrorist group was present in Afghanistan and the concerns in this regard were unfounded.
He said: “We call all these concerns baseless and we reject these claims that there is a threat to other countries from Afghanistan, there is no concern or threat to any country other than Afghanistan, no foreign group is active in Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not allow anyone to threaten other countries from the territory of Afghanistan.”
International Day of Girl Child
Last week, this year’s International Day of the Girl Child was celebrated around the world under the theme “Girls’ vision for the future”.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that the day was celebrated with great sorrow in Afghanistan.
”As each day passes, even greater damage is being done to the lives of women and girls. Afghanistan is being taken backwards, not forwards, in its quest for peace, recovery, and prosperity,” the UN envoy added, urging the acting government to change course by lifting the restrictions.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) wrote in a report that a collective action was needed to protect girls’ rights.
It emphasized that investments should be made in this area and the voice of girls should be strengthened.
This is while the Islamic Emirate has always insisted that it is committed to ensuring the rights of women and girls within the framework of Sharia and countries should not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
Investment and economic development
Last week, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum signed an agreement with an Uzbek company on exploring and extracting gas in Tuti Maidan area of Jawzjan province.
In addition, the deputy prime minister for economic affairs office said the National Procurement Commission approved contracts of 12 projects worth about 10 billion afghanis and amended 15 others.
Last week, the foundation stone of a 22.75 MW of solar power was laid in Sarubi district of Kabul that would cost 18.2 million dollars.
Afghan officials have said that a company called “Renewa” wants to invest in Afghanistan to produce 40 megawatts of solar power and an Indian investor has also expressed interest in investing in metal mines, precious stones, oil and gas in Afghanistan. .
Afghanistan and Pakistan statements
Last week, Tehreek-i-Insaf Party supporters started mass demonstrations in some provinces of Pakistan and demanded the release of their incarcerated leader Imran Khan from prison.
These protests turned violent after the Pakistani police arrested dozens of people.
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, said the tension between government and the political opponents in Pakistan had reached an alarming level and its continuation might have a negative impact on the entire region.
However, his Pakistani counterpart Mumtaz Zahra Baloch called Balkhi’s statement interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan and said that the caretaker government of Afghanistan should focus on solving its domestic problems.
Continuity of aid
Last week, Japan announced more than seven million dollars in aid to Afghanistan and the World Health Organization donated medicine and medical kits worth 1.4 million dollars to Afghanistan.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) has said that Afghanistan needs 603.5 million US dollars for emergency aid next winter.
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