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Saudi Arabia to Host Quadrilateral Meeting on Afghan Peace This Week

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(Last Updated On: October 24, 2022)

Afghanistan’s High Peace Council (HPC) on Saturday reported that Saudi Arabia is expected to host a Quadrilateral meeting on peace in Afghanistan.

The four-nation conference including Afghanistan, the United States, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will be held in Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh this week, aimed at facilitating peace talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban.

Mohammad Akram Khpalwak, head of HPC’s secretariat said that a joint delegation of High Peace Council and Ulema Council of Afghanistan is expected to leave Kabul for Qatar to begin direct talks with representatives of the Taliban’s political office in Doha.

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on the plans aimed at providing guarantees and conditions which could be shared in negotiating table with the Taliban. 

In addition, NBC reported that the U.S. officials have begun indirect talks with former Taliban members amid intensifying efforts to end the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan.

Citing the Taliban sources, the report said the talks have occurred in Afghanistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates,

The report also noted that the Taliban delegations had been joined by five Americans for a series of meetings in hotel suites in Doha, Qatar.

In reaction, Afghan President’s Office Spokesman Mohammad Haroon Chakhansoori said that the peace meetings should be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned, adding that peace is the initiative of the Afghan government and its people.

Head of Afghanistan’s Ulema Council Qimuddin Kashaf, however, considered the role of Islamic countries in Afghan peace process as highly important for ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan.  

This comes two weeks after Saudi Arabia hosted an International Ulema Conference on Afghanistan, where the Islamic scholars declared the Taliban’s war in Afghanistan as “illegitimate” and called for an end to the violence in the country.  

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Contract worth $53 million signed for construction of last section of Khaf–Herat railway

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

A contract worth $53 million was signed Thursday for the construction of the last section of Khaf-Herat railway that connects Afghanistan with Iran.

The contract was signed between Afghanistan Railway Authority and Gamma Group in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, his office said in a statement.

The segment is 47-kilometer long, stretching from Rabat Parian to Herat International Airport and the Industrial Town, according to the statement.

It added that completion and standard operational readiness are expected within approximately two years.

“Upon its completion, this segment will integrate the Khaf-Herat regional connectivity project with Iran’s significant seaports and facilitate access to Europe via the Turkish railway network,” the statement said.

“Furthermore, traversing Afghan territory, it will bolster commercial exchanges between Central and South Asia. Notably, this project’s realization will enable the expansion of railway networks into Farah, Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces,” it added.

Gamma operates across Europe and Asia in multiple sectors including construction, renewable energy, power transmission, mining, railways among others.

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US urges IEA to fulfill counter-terrorism commitments

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The US State Department said on Thursday that Washington is committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism.

“We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism, and we continue to push the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) to fulfill all of their counterterrorism commitments to the international community,” the department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing in Washington.

He reiterated that the United States had clearly communicated to the IEA that it’s their responsibility to ensure that “they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether it be Al Qaeda or ISIS-K or any other terrorist organization”.

Miller also reassured US allies that Washington was closely watching the developments in Afghanistan and was ready to deal with any threat emerging from the region.

“We remain vigilant against the evolving threat of these terrorist groups, and our global coalition to defeat ISIS and the C5+1 help intensify our efforts to monitor terrorist threats from the region and prevent their ability to raise funds, travel, and spread propaganda,” he said.

C5+1 refers to a diplomatic platform involving the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgy­zstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and the United States. It serves as a forum for discussing and addressing regional issues such as security, economic development, and cooperation.

“The United States remains vigilant against the evolving threat posed by terrorist groups, including ISIS-K, and has maintained an unwavering focus on terrorism since President Joe Biden took office three years ago,” Miller said.

The US, he said, was “working both unilaterally and with its partners to successfully disrupt threats across the globe and degrade ISIS”.

“We will continue to work to hold ISIS accountable for its actions and to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western countries,” Miller said.

This comes as IEA has repeatedly said that it is committed to not allowing anyone to use Afghanistan soil against any other country.

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IEA condemns Israel for confiscating 800 hectares of land in West Bank’s Jordan Valley

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) strongly condemned on Thursday Israel’s decision to seize 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank’s Jordan Valley region.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the recent actions by “the Zionist regime demonstrate that it does not to adhere to international laws, especially international humanitarian law.”

“Continuation of such unilateral actions and ignoring the rights of Palestinian people will further deteriorate the situation,” the statement said.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expects international actors, particularly influential regional Muslim countries to fulfill their legitimate, human and moral responsibilities in supporting the oppressed people of Palestine and prevent the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories,” it added.

Israeli media have reported that Israel seized 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley region of the occupied West Bank, claiming it as “state land.”

It is reported the seized land could be used for the construction of illegal Jewish settlements.

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