Need for political settlement in Afghanistan underlined last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): Thirty-three people were killed and injured in Afghanistan last week when different domestic and foreign circles stressed political settlement to disputes in Afghanistan.

• Japan to reopen its embassy in Kabul, India is considering the same.
• Problems in Afghanistan should be resolved through talks: Russian Foreign Minister
• No one in Afghanistan supports war and militant groups: UNAMA
• We do not see US as an enemy now, we want good relations with the world: MoI
• Afghan politicians in Turkey created a council and urged negotiations for solving problems.
• Commission to contact Afghan personalities abroad and encourage them to return started working: Govt
• The media should implement the hijab order: Ministry of Vice and Virtue
• World Bank approves $150 million in assistance for the Ministry of Public Health.
• 17 people killed and 16 others injured in Afghanistan last week.

Casualties

Last week, 17 people were killed and 16 others were injured in Afghanistan.Casualties from natural disasters are not included in these figures.

According to reports, unidentified gunmen shot dead a young man in Logar, a young girl was killed in Faryab province where a man also killed his sister-in-law.

Reports show that unidentified armed men killed a young man in Kandahar, another young man was killed in Zabul and a man killed his father-in-law and injured his mother-in-law in Ghazni province. Two children were killed and three others were injured in IEDs blasts in Ghazni and Farah provinces.

According to reports, four people have been injured in a dispute between two families in Uruzgan province where a drug addict killed his wife.

Two civilians were injured in a roadside bomb blast in Kabul and three security personnel were injured in a blast in Balkh province.

According to local sources, two armed robbers were killed in a clash with security forces in Herat province and another in Ghor province.

Three people were killed by unidentified armed men in Takhar and a money changer was killed in Kunduz along with his son and secretary. Three people were injured when an explosion occurred during the funeral of the money changer in Kunduz.

The week before last, 26 people were killed and 16 others were injured in Afghanistan.

This comes as before the regime change last year, hundreds of people would get killed and injured every week.

Efforts on for reopening of Japanese and Indian embassies in Kabul

Last week, Japanese ambassador to Kabul, Takashi Okada, saidhis country's embassy in Kabul would reopen in the near future.

An Indian media outlet reported last week that the country was considering reopening its embassy in Kabul and was in talks with Afghanistan's caretaker government on the regard.

Efforts for resolving problems through talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week called on the international community to take into account the humanitarian, security and political situation in Afghanistan.

He said that Afghanistan should not be allowed to collapse again and conflicts between the ‘Taliban and oppositions’ should not increase and problems should be solved through talks.

Deborah Lyons, the head of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), also told Afghan officials that no one in Afghanistan supports war or armed oppositions.

She said that steps should be taken for reconciliation and formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan.

Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani in an exclusive interview with CNN said that the current Afghan government does not term US as an enemy and wants better relations with the US and the world.

Last week,a number of Afghan politicians and officials of the previous government including Abdul Rab RasulSayyaf, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Atta Mohammad Noor, Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, Mir RahmanRahmani and some others met in Turkey and announced creation of (National Resistance Council for Salvation of Afghanistan).

These politicians in a statement called on the caretaker government of Afghanistan to come to the negotiating table.

One of the participants of the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Deutsche Welle that the meeting was attended by 40 people and after nine hours of talks, they decided to first invite the current Afghan officials to negotiations or they would start armed opposition.

Afghan caretaker government’s officials last week said that they have created a commission to communicate with Afghan figures abroad and encourage them to return.

However, they say that no one would be allowed to try for creating armed groups in Afghanistan.

Continuation of foreign assistance to Afghanistan

The World Bank (WB) says it has approved $150 million in assistance to the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health.

In addition, last week, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it plans to assist five million people in Afghanistan this year affected by war, drought and economic crisis.

Iranian envoy to Afghanistan, BahadarAminyan, last week said that if Afghanistan meets its agricultural needs, the country will stop importing agricultural products from other countries.

Japanese envoy to Kabul, Takashi Okada, said his country did not link humanitarian, development and other assistance to Afghanistan with politics. Referring to the international community’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, he said that the assistance shows that the world wants to interact with the Afghan government.

Hijab

The Ministry of Vice and Virtue last week asked television channels to ensure female presenters cover their faces except the eyes when on air.

The ministry said that the hijab order was announced earlier, but had not been implemented in the media for the past two weeks, so it directly asks media to implement the order.

A number of female students at Paktia University in a gathering last week said that hijab was a national and religious value for Afghan women and supported the government's decision on the regard.

Five government institutes dissolved

The Afghan caretaker government announced the dissolution of the Human Rights Commission, High Council for National Reconciliation, the Independent Commission for overseeing the implementation of the Constitution, the Secretariat of the Wolesi Jirga and National Security Council.

Heather Barr, deputy director of the Human Rights Watch for Afghanistan, said the dissolution of the mentioned institutions was an attempt to escape from human rights in Afghanistan.

UNHCR commissioner,Michelle Bacheletsaid in a statement that she was "shocked" by the dissolution of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

Deputy government spokesman,InamullahSamangani said that the budget for current fiscal year was based on ground needs and only those institutions that were functional and needed were considered in the budget. He said that the mentioned organs were not included in the budget and were not dissolved, but they may be reactivated in the future when needed.

mds/ma