Afghanistan’s North is Threat to Member Countries: CSTO

November 17, 2023
TOLOnews
TV Network
17 Nov 2023

This official added that the current leadership of Afghanistan does not yet fully have the situation in the country under control.

 A Russian Colonel-General has claimed that the north of Afghanistan is a threat for the members of the CSTO.

Russia’s TASS news agency quoted General Anatoly Sidorov as saying that the members of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are voting to curb the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan.

This official added that the current leadership of Afghanistan does not yet fully have the situation in the country under control.

“As of today, there is no overarching problem regarding military security or military danger coming from the territory of Afghanistan. However, at the same time we realize that the current leadership of Afghanistan does not yet fully have the situation in the country under control, including in the northern areas that border CSTO member states. Therefore, certain measures are being taken,” said Colonel-General Anatoly Sidorov, chief of the CSTO Joint Staff.

However, the Islamic Emirate rejected this claim and said that northern Afghanistan is one of the safe parts of the country and pledged that Afghanistan’s soil is not a threat to any country.

Zabihullah Mujahid added that the entire geography of the country is under the administration of the Islamic Emirate.

“There is a general certainty that all of Afghanistan is under the control of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, secondly, all of Afghanistan is safe and there is no one arbitrarily armed or posing threats to anyone or to any place or causing anxiety outside the territory of Afghanistan,” Mujahid said.

At the same time, a number of political analysts believe that the Islamic Emirate should make more efforts in providing security in order to solve the concerns of neighboring countries and the region.

“The meetings held about Afghanistan are undoubtedly in the interest of the people of Afghanistan and everyone is looking for the interests of their country and they are waiting to see which bloc Afghanistan will join,” Salim Paigir, a political analyst, told TOLOnews.

“These expressions of concern are political surfing … Some people will turn against the government of Kabul in order to accommodate the strategic depth of their political interests in governance,” said Mohammad Zulmai Afghanyar, another political analyst.

This is while the countries of the world have always expressed concern about the presence of terrorist groups in the country, but the Islamic Emirate has always pledged that Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against any country.

Afghanistan’s North is Threat to Member Countries: CSTO
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Guterres Stresses Roadmap for Intl Reintegration of Afghanistan

November 17, 2023
TOLOnews
TV Network
17 Nov 2023

“More integrated and coherent international engagement should be pursued through a performance-based roadmap,” the document stated.

The third recommendation of the assessment of the situation of Afghanistan to the UN Security Council by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, called for a roadmap for reintegration of the country into the international system.

In a document seen by TOLOnews, Guterres made four recommendations including building confidence by addressing the immediate needs of Afghans, continuing cooperation on key security, regional and political issues and a roadmap for reintegration of the state of Afghanistan into the international system as well as mechanisms to support engagement.

A part of his third recommendation highlighted the importance of beginning a more coherent political engagement process by the international community and Afghan stakeholders.

“More integrated and coherent international engagement should be pursued through a performance-based roadmap,” the document stated.

The document also stressed the need for international obligations of the State of Afghanistan with suggested benchmarks to indicate progress in meeting them, and a call for an intra-Afghan political process that will build toward inclusive constitution-making.

“Progress in both of these components will build toward an end state of the international community’s normalization of relations with the State of Afghanistan,” the document reads.

Torek Farhadi, a political analyst, told TOLOnews that the assessment shows that there has not been development in important issues.

“This is an independent assessment and the message for the interim government is that there has not been breakthroughs in important issues such as girls’ schooling, women’s integration in society and work as in other Islamic countries, the constitution and people’s role in the government,” he said.

“The question is that this roadmap, which is the will of the people of Afghanistan — will this roadmap be implemented by the interim government?” said Suraya Paikan, a women’s rights activist.

Guterres underscored a set of obligations for Afghanistan, saying that founding principles of the UN Charter, as set out in its preamble, are to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights.

He said that the de facto authorities in Afghanistan have asked to be recognized as the governing authority for Afghanistan but doing so comes with acceptance of their obligations and commitments in international conventions, and good faith measures to comply with these through policy, legislation and in practice.

“Afghanistan has committed to multiple treaties, including equal treatment of all citizens, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, identity or political opinion,” he said.

“Considering the specific policies on women and girls in place since August 2021, it is important to emphasize the commitments and obligations of the State of Afghanistan as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and as a party to the CEDAW, ICCPR, ICESCR.”

Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, in reaction to Guterres’ assessment, said: “There are various countries with various types of government in the world.

Afghanistan also has a government of its own and no one should put these illegitimate conditions on the Afghans. If they do so, we can still live without being recognized by them,” he said.

The assessment called for pursuing intra-Afghan dialogue to achieve more inclusive governance, saying that there is a need to take steps towards an Afghan national dialogue that would establish inclusive governance and ensure sustainable peace and social, cultural and economic development after 45 years of armed conflict.

The UN Secretary-General said that an inclusive governance and intra-Afghan dialogue would permit movement toward the end state of full normalization and integration of Afghanistan within the international system.

Guterres made the assessment in response to resolution 2679 (2023), adopted by the Security Council on March 16, 2023.

Guterres Stresses Roadmap for Intl Reintegration of Afghanistan
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Potzel Says Afghans Should Have Choices, Recognizes Improved Security

November 17, 2023
TOLOnews
TV Network
17 Nov 2023

The governor of Panjshir meanwhile, expressed concerns over the reduction of humanitarian assistance in Panjshir.

The deputy special envoy for Afghanistan, Markus Potzel, in a meeting with the Panjshir governor Mohammad Agha Hakim said that the “people of Afghanistan should be given the choice and opportunity to decide how they want to live.”

“And [I am] pretty sure they don’t want the war aspect,” he said.

Potzel also underlined that there have been some positive improvements including in the security situation and reduction of corruption and that they will try to paint a balanced picture of the situation but stressed that “withdrawing some of the repressive decrees will also help us to help you.”

The governor of Panjshir meanwhile, expressed concerns over the reduction of humanitarian assistance in Panjshir.

“It is almost a forgotten province. We expected that the international organizations and human rights and humanitarian organizations would pay more attention to Panjshir but there has not been very much attention to it [Panjshir],” he said.

This comes as earlier the UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, voiced concerns over violations of human rights in Panjshir, saying that “noting dfA MoD has opened an investigation into reports of extra-judicial killings in Panjshir, I remind Taliban that they bear responsibility for the actions of their forces.”

Potzel Says Afghans Should Have Choices, Recognizes Improved Security
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‘Robust Measures’ Keep US Aid From Benefiting Islamic Emirate: Miller

November 17, 2023
Fatema Adeeb
Tolo News
17 Nov 2023

But the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied the interim government’s interference in international assistance’ delivery.

The spokesman for the US department of State, Mathew Miller, told a press conference in a response to a question about SIGAR John Sopko’s testimony to the US Congress regarding the “Taliban’s” getting US aid, said that the US government has robust oversight measures in place to monitor the implementation of US-funded humanitarian assistance around the world, which “we provide to help save the most vulnerable of lives.”

He made the remarks days after the Special Inspector General (SIGAR), John Sopko, said that the “Taliban demands payoffs to permit the implementation of aid projects” and that they also are pressuring the UN and NGOs to hire their “Taliban members, their relatives, and allies to help provide US assistance.”

But Miller said that the US works with “trusted international” partners who have extensive experience working in challenging environments like Afghanistan, where there is no US presence.

“In cases where the Taliban makes demands of our partners beyond routine operational costs, our partners pause or adjust their operations accordingly,” he said.

But the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied the interim government’s interference in international assistance’ delivery.

“We just investigate the complaints. There has been no interference in NGOs. We have heard about this report, and we deny it. It is not true,” he said.

Economist Sayed Masoud said that such remarks of the US officials indicate political messages for the interim Afghan government.

“In fact, this is a distraction from the US direction towards the regime in Afghanistan,” he said.

To a large degree, Sopko said, “our research confirms that those who control the guns control the aid.”

‘Robust Measures’ Keep US Aid From Benefiting Islamic Emirate: Miller
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Taliban minister raises return of deported Afghans’ assets in Pakistan visit

November 17, 2023

By

Reuters
November 17, 2023

ISLAMABAD, Nov 17 (Reuters) – The Taliban’s acting commerce minister said he had asked Pakistan to help return the assets of expelled Afghans and discussed ways to overcome Afghanistan’s stalled banking sector transactions during a four-day visit to Islamabad this week.

Acting minister Nooruddin Azizi’s arrival in the Pakistani capital marked the first public visit by a senior Taliban official since Pakistan announced its policy to deport thousands of undocumented Afghans and other foreign citizens after Nov. 1.

It comes just a week after Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister said its expulsion plan was a response to the unwillingness of the Taliban-led administration to act against militants using Afghanistan to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

The Taliban have said the security issues are a domestic matter for Islamabad and called on Pakistan to stop deportations.

Azizi said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday night that the negotiations had mainly focused on trade issues and had been “friendly”. He said Pakistan officials had raised counter-terrorism issues and he had reiterated the Taliban’s policy that Afghan soil would not be used against other nations.

“This is not a matter of 10 people or 100 people, this is a matter of 1.7 million people,” Azizi said.

Afghan citizens returning to Afghanistan have said there are restrictions on the transfer of cash and property from Pakistan, where many had built businesses and homes for decades. Over 350,000 Afghans have returned, many in temporary shelters near the border.

“Winter is coming, and .. the migrants are having many problems, their medicine and health issues, their food … we have many problems ahead and this is a very big challenge for the Islamic Emirate,” Azizi said, referring to the Taliban’s name for its government.

BANKING TALKS

Azizi took part in a meeting on Wednesday between Pakistan and Uzbekistan, who agreed to boost trade, including “enhancing and expanding the banking system.”

Afghanistan’s banking sector has been severely hampered since the Taliban took over in 2021 as foreign banks limited transactions due to concerns over breaching anti-money laundering regulations and international sanctions against some Taliban leaders.

Azizi said that officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan’s commerce ministries had agreed to work on draft proposals within a month on how they could reinstate banking transactions for traders.

He hoped that Pakistani banks that already have branches in Afghanistan could re-start transactions between the two countries.

He added that he would prefer Afghan banks use its previous banking channels like SWIFT, but they were considering using China’s currency to settle international payments between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“We have to find another solution, we are in need…(China) is a huge economic power of the world at the moment, their currency has good stability … we are thinking about it, we haven’t taken decision about it,” he said.

Pakistan’s commerce minister and a spokesman for the commerce ministry did not respond to request for comment.

Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad; Additional reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul, Editing by William Maclean

Taliban minister raises return of deported Afghans’ assets in Pakistan visit
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Amnesty Intl Demands Pakistan Stop Refugee Deportations

November 16, 2023
Fatema Adeeb
Tolo News
16 Nov 2023

Amnesty International in a statement said that this action of Pakistan started while Afghanistan is in a humanitarian crisis.

Amnesty International once again demanded a stop to the deportations and detentions of Afghan refugees by Pakistan.

Amnesty International in a statement said that this action of Pakistan started while Afghanistan is in a humanitarian crisis.

According to the statement, Amnesty International said that Pakistan must respect the rights of Afghan refugees.

In response to the deportation of Afghan refugees, Amnesty International asks Pakistan to stop the process of deporting and detaining Afghan refugees.

“For decades, tens of thousands of Afghan refugees have made Pakistan their home. However, this recent decision will force Afghans back to danger in Afghanistan. Notably, the deportation pose a significant threat to the human rights of Afghan women and girls, including their rights to education, work, and freedom of movement. For most Afghan women and girls, their only chance of gaining formal education is through staying in Pakistan,” Amnesty International statement said.

“The statement of the United Nations office also mentions that the Pakistani police, by misbehaving, extorting refugees, and harassing elderly people, homeless women and children, can have a very negative effect on the mood and mental state of Afghan refugees,” said Alireza Karimi, a Refugee’s Rights activist.

Political analysts do not think that this action of Pakistan is appropriate in the current situation.

“Since the establishment of Pakistan in 1947, it has been fomenting the same issues and trying to torture the people of Afghanistan, and as you can see, it has looked at four thousand containers of traders there. Because the depth of Pakistan’s strategy is to destroy Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Matin Mohammadkhil.

Meanwhile, a few days ago, the consulate of the Islamic Emirate in Karachi, Pakistan, said that since the month of October, nearly 400,000 Afghan refugees have returned to the country from Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings, and this process is still ongoing.

Amnesty Intl Demands Pakistan Stop Refugee Deportations
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Pakistan’s Envoy: ‘We Will Recognize Taliban Regime Simultaneously’

November 16, 2023
Naweed Samadi,
Tolo News
16 Nov 2023

Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan further stated that the level of corruption and drug cultivation have decreased in Afghanistan.

Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, said that Pakistan will not unilaterally take steps to recognize the current Afghan government.

Speaking at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, Durrani said that they will act simultaneously with other countries to recognize the government of Afghanistan.

“We will recognize the Taliban regime simultaneously. We will not recognize the Taliban regime unilaterally,” Durrani added.

Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan further stated that the level of corruption and drug cultivation have decreased in Afghanistan.

“The positive thing in Afghanistan is that there is less corruption, which is internationally recognized. They have raised their revenues which is internationally recognized. The security in the country … is internationally recognized. And then, drug or opium cultivation are at its all-time low,” Asif Durrani noted.

According to Durrani, the ban on women in Afghanistan by the Islamic Emirate is a cultural issue.

“The four-year policy has been made which contains everything. God willing, in the near future, security will reach 100% and drug cultivation will be reduced to zero,” Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman of interior ministry told TOLOnews.

Meanwhile, some political analysts shared different views regarding the relations between Kabul with its neighbors and the region.

“The recent remarks of Pakistan’s representative for Afghanistan, represent Pakistan’s retreat in the policies it uses towards Afghanistan,” said Abdul Rauf Tawana, another political analyst.

Pakistan’s Envoy: ‘We Will Recognize Taliban Regime Simultaneously’
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‘In tents again’: Life comes full circle for Afghans expelled from Pakistan

November 16, 2023
By Khudai Noor Nasar
Al Jazeera
Published On 16 Nov 2023
Many Afghans fled to Pakistan after the Soviet invasion in the late 1970s – only to be forcefully returned to a homeland in crisis.

Torkham, Afghanistan – Gul Khan Kaka was in his early 20s when he had to abandon his home and flee to neighbouring Pakistan after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, a war that lasted a decade.

Four decades later, Kaka, now 62, is a refugee again – this time as an undocumented Afghan driven out of Pakistan as part of a government crackdown on “illegal” foreigners.

“We left our homes, embarking on a journey on horses and donkeys towards Pakistan, desperate to save our lives,” he told Al Jazeera at a camp established by the Taliban authorities near Torkham, the main border crossing between the South Asian nations.

“Forty years ago, we lived in tents and now we find ourselves in tents again. That’s the entire of my life story.”

Tens of thousands of nearly 1.7 million undocumented Afghans in Pakistan – some for decades, with homes and livelihoods – have been crossing into Pakistan since November 1, the deadline announced by the Pakistani government for the refugees to leave.

Once on the other side, they turn into refugees within their own homeland, impoverished by decades of wars and conflict and now facing a severe food and jobs crisis – a country where 15 of its 40 million people do not know where their next meal will come from.

The Taliban administration has set up two main camps, in Torkham and Spin Boldak, along the Pakistan border to facilitate the daily transfer of the refugees to their respective hometowns and villages across Afghanistan.

The United Nations estimates that more than 330,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since November 1. This week, Pakistan opened three more border crossings in southwestern Balochistan province to expedite its expulsion campaign.

Police harassment, extortion alleged

At the camp at Torkham, Kaka along with thousands of others wait for their turn to be transferred to their respective areas. Some families had been waiting for nearly two weeks. Officials say they are in the process of documenting all the refugees and arranging vehicles to transport them onwards.

As they wait, they share accounts of the alleged harassment and persecution by the Pakistani police during the expulsion.

Kaka, who lived in Lahore for many years, said he faced significant challenges after the ultimatum for all “illegal” migrants was announced.

“I had just undergone two surgeries and still felt unwell, so I had gone to see a doctor when the police arrested me,” he said.

“After the arrest, they confiscated everything I had on me and later decided to deport me. My family had no knowledge of my whereabouts. Upon arrival here in the camp, I called them and they informed me they were also on their way.”

Liaqat Ullah, another refugee, told Al Jazeera the police confiscated thousands of rupees and gold during a raid on his home in Faisalabad in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

“The police demanded some documents while searching for money and other valuables. They took away 9 grams of gold and 375,000 rupees [$1,300], claiming it was Pakistan’s wealth now and not Afghanistan’s,” he alleged.

“The female members of my family and children were in shock until we crossed Torkham.”

Several refugees shared similar stories of police “harassment, bullying and torture”. Habibullah said the police in Faisalabad subjected him to torture and mistreatment.

“The police treated us as if we were not human. They raided our houses, abused both the male and female family members, and expelled us in very adverse conditions,” he told Al Jazeera.

Shahzadgy, a widow in her late 60s who was living with her daughter and son-in-law in Peshawar, said the officials gave her little time to pack and leave.

“They told us to go, instructed the owner of our house to evict Afghans and not give home on rent to them,” she said. “We spent a great time there with the people but the way the government expelled us, we will never forget, never ever.”

Al Jazeera reached out to senior government and police officials in Peshawar city and Punjab province, but they refused to comment on the allegations.

‘Hungry but happy’

Habibullah said many refugees were compelled to sell their possessions at half-price since they were not allowed to take them back to their country.

“We had cows and other animals and belongings, but sold everything at a reduced value,” he said. “They [Pakistani authorities] only allowed us to carry 50,000 rupees [$170] when we were crossing the border and confiscated the excess amount from every family.”

But, Habibullah, now residing in the camp with a dozen family members, said despite being aware of the financial crisis in his homeland, he was happy to be back.

“We know the economic situation in our country is dire and we anticipate facing hunger, but we are and will be happy here,” he told Al Jazeera.

Izzat Khan remembers his days in Pakistan as a refugee, describing them as “marvellous and incredible”.

“We left behind our Pakistani brothers and sisters and we will never forget them in our prayers,” he said with a smile, which soon turned to rage. “But I will not say anything about their [Pakistan] government as they hosted us for years but kicked us out like a football.”

The Taliban authorities have established a religious school at Torkham to teach the children every day for a few hours. The government has also announced some job vacancies for the refugees in the Vice and Virtue Ministry, “but only for those with a degree in religious education,” as posted by Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban’s chief spokesperson, on his X account.

Due to poverty, many Afghan children had worked as labourers for years in Pakistan and never had the opportunity to attend school.

Asadullah, 15, was more fortunate. He was born and raised in Peshawar, where he was studying in a school when the crackdown on refugees began.

“I was getting an education in Urdu and English languages there. Now I don’t know what I will study here,” he told Al Jazeera. “I really miss my school and my classmates. I was studying wholeheartedly but they expelled us.”

Syed Omer, another student from Peshawar, said he had to “abruptly abandon school and everything else” and flee to Afghanistan.

“I urge the Taliban government to build schools for us and I would like to continue my education,” he said.

As the children who had never set foot in Afghanistan speak, their parents stand nearby, pondering over the challenges ahead for them as they rebuild their lives in their homeland.

“I have three children and all of them were born and raised in Pakistan. When I told them we had to go to our country Afghanistan, they were all surprised and asked: ‘Our country is Pakistan, not Afghanistan,” said one of the fathers at Torkham.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
‘In tents again’: Life comes full circle for Afghans expelled from Pakistan
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UN-Mandated Assessment Links Taliban’s Legitimacy to Afghan Women’s Freedom

November 15, 2023

Ayaz Gul

Voice of America

An independent assessment commissioned by the United Nations has linked recognition of the Taliban government to compliance with Afghanistan’s international treaty obligations and commitments, requiring it to immediately remove sweeping curbs on women’s rights to education and employment opportunities.

“Any formal re-integration of Afghanistan into global institutions and systems will require the participation and leadership of Afghan women,” said a VOA-obtained draft copy of the report.

In March, a Security Council resolution asked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to conduct the assessment providing “forward-looking recommendations for an integrated and coherent” international approach to the Taliban-governed crisis-hit country by November 17. He appointed Feridun Sinirlioglu, a former Turkish government official, as the special coordinator to lead the mission.

Sinirlioglu traveled to Afghanistan and engaged with Taliban leaders, Afghan stakeholders residing outside the country, and critical regional and international stakeholders to assess the situation before submitting his report to the U.N. chief.

The document noted that the situation of women and girls — the restrictions on girls’ education in particular — was “the single most common” issue raised in the consultations. It was highlighted by Afghan women, girls, the business community, religious clerics, tribal elders, civil society, health and education professionals, and many representatives of the de facto Taliban authorities, it said.

Taliban ban women from school, work

The Taliban reclaimed power from an American-backed government in August 2021. They have imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law, banning schools for girls beyond the sixth grade and barring women from most public and private sector workplaces, including the United Nations and other aid groups.

“The DFA (de facto authorities) have tried to justify these restrictions as being part of the Islamic faith and Afghan traditions. However, similar restrictions do not exist in any other member state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and many Afghans reject the DFA’s characterization of local traditions,” the U.N. report said.

It noted that the restrictive bans are not consistent with the values embodied in the U.N. Charter or international law, nor are they conducive to Afghanistan’s political and economic stability.

TTP intensifies cross-border attacks

The report recommended, citing stakeholder consultations, that an Afghan national dialogue needs to be initiated to establish inclusive governance and ensure sustainable peace and economic development in the country after 45 years of armed conflict. It would permit movement toward the full normalization and integration of Afghanistan within the international system.

The international community should quickly identify a solution to unfreeze Afghanistan’s frozen assets, which are worth billions of dollars, and revisit the various sanctions regimes if the Taliban can demonstrate their ability to maintain the country’s commitments and govern inclusively, the report adds.

While the document hailed the Taliban’s counternarcotics efforts and improved security conditions across the country, it questioned de facto authorities’ counterterrorism resolve and regional security concerns stemming from it.

The assessment said, without naming any country, that several member countries “attest to the persistent presence of terrorist groups and individuals inside Afghanistan, including members of al-Qaida.” It added, citing recent U.N. reports, that some of these groups have relations with elements of the Taliban.

“According to these reports, significant numbers of fighters for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) appear to have free movement and shelter in Afghanistan and are carrying out an intensifying campaign of violence inside Pakistan.”

The report said the Taliban have demonstrated “limited responsiveness” to international engagement on the presence and treatment of such groups.

Pakistani officials say the TTP, a globally designated terrorist group, has intensified cross-border attacks from its Afghan sanctuaries since the Taliban returned to power two years ago, killing nearly 2,300 Pakistanis, including security forces.

The Taliban have not commented immediately on the reported U.N. assessment, though they have previously rejected criticism of their policies, including counterterrorism efforts. They have persistently defended their male-only administration, called the Islamic Emirate, as an inclusive dispensation representing all ethnicities and tribes in Afghanistan.

“It is clear from my consultations that we are universally united in our vision of an Afghanistan that is at peace with its people, its neighbors, and the international community,” said Sinirlioglu. “All stakeholders have a role to play in building a more peaceful, prosperous and predictable future for Afghanistan to the benefit of all Afghans.”

UN-Mandated Assessment Links Taliban’s Legitimacy to Afghan Women’s Freedom
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Trade Agreement Signed Between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan

November 15, 2023
By Bibi Amina Hakimi
TOLOnews’ Reporter
15 Nov 2023

ACCI said that the private sector of Afghanistan is also trying to solve the challenges of businessmen in a permanent way.

A trilateral trade and transit agreement was signed between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan in Islamabad.

The extension of commercial relations, joint investments, and strengthening of the banking system were among the topics covered in the meeting relating to this matter, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC).

“This meeting has emphasized strengthening trilateral economic relations, regional connectivity through trade development, more transit facilities, increasing joint investments, reducing costs, transportation facilities, electrification of customs systems, food safety, issuance of visas, and elimination of trilateral transit issues,” said MoIC spokesman Akhundzada Abdul Salaam Javad.

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) considers the meetings of the delegation of the Islamic Emirate with Pakistani officials as important in the development of trade in the region.

ACCI said that the private sector of Afghanistan is also trying to solve the challenges of businessmen in a permanent way.

“The demand of the high-ranking delegation of the Islamic Emirate is to allow the Afghan containers that have been stopped in Pakistan for a long time to pass, as well as to focus on transit, transportation and problems between Afghanistan and neighboring countries,” ACCI’s deputy head Khairuddin Mayel said.

According to some businesspeople, resolving businesspeople’s challenges plays an important role in business development and increasing exports.

“The economic balance between Afghanistan and Pakistan, especially the economy that depends on each other, should be planned for both countries in a way that will lead to economic growth of both countries,” said Mahbobullah Mohammadi, a businessman.

“We have good relations with Uzbekistan, and connecting South Asia with Central Asia through Afghanistan is in the interest of all countries in the region, especially the extension of the Trans-Afghan railway,” said Azerakhsh Hafizi, an economist.

Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi visited Pakistan on Monday leading a delegation that included members of the nation’s business sector and the Ministries of Finance, Transport, Aviation, and Foreign Affairs.

Trade Agreement Signed Between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan
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