Victims of Foreign Forces’ Strikes in Afghanistan Demand Justice

Families demanded justice from international institutions, especially human rights institutions.

Families of those killed in airstrikes by foreign troops in Afghanistan said that during the previous 20 years many civilians have been killed and injured.

Families demanded justice from international institutions, especially human rights institutions.

One of the villages that was a target of night operations, airstrikes, and missile assaults by foreign troops for the past twenty years is Qala-e-Ander, which is located on the Kabul-Kandahar highway in Maidan Wardak province.

According to local residents, nearly 300 people died in this village during various operations of foreign forces.

“Foreign forces attacked our house, my brothers were martyred, our house was destroyed, my mother was injured, my uncle’s house was destroyed. They attacked and bombarded the village, our fellow villagers were martyred and injured,” said Nik Mohammad, who lost two of his brothers in the operation of foreign forces in 2015.

“Eight people were martyred and one was injured, it is known to everyone. See their pictures. They did not deserve to die,” said Gul Bibi, a victim’s mother.

The targeting of civilians by foreign troops, according to some family members of the victims, is a crime for which justice should be served by international courts and human rights organizations.

“They should come and give us our rights. They should see our orphans and martyrs. They should be held accountable. They should see our houses,” said Nazar Mohammad, a resident of Maidan Wardak.

“They came with a lot of horror. Lots of atrocities happened in the last twenty years. We ask the international court to pay our compensation and hand them over to the law,” said Malik Shahzad, another resident of Maidan Wardak.

Victims of Foreign Forces’ Strikes in Afghanistan Demand Justice
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Afghan Refugees in Pakistan Criticize Delay in Their Immigration Cases

Maryam Sadat, a citizen of Afghanistan, committed suicide on Wednesday in Islamabad.

Afghan immigrants in Pakistan criticized the delay of their immigration cases.

Immigrants from Afghanistan said that the Pakistani military has mistreated them for the past two years and that their future is uncertain.

This situation has caused some immigrants to commit suicide.

Maryam Sadat, a citizen of Afghanistan, committed suicide on Wednesday in Islamabad.

“Three of our young people have lost their lives in the last two months due to the lack of attention of the immigrant-receiving countries and their false promises,” said Mir Ahmad Rauf, the head of the Council of Afghan Immigrants in Pakistan.

“Afghan immigrants are struggling with mental health issues. If the international community does not pay attention to their cases, a great humanitarian disaster will occur in Pakistan,” said Zahir Bahand, a journalist.

Some Afghan immigrants once again complained about the mistreatment of Pakistani police.

“The immigrants are facing many problems due to not having Immigration cards, and the military detains them,” said Malik Awal Khan Miakhail, the head of migrants in the South Zone Council.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) said that the Afghan embassy in Islamabad is in talks with Pakistani authorities to solve the problems of Afghan migrants.

According to Abdul Rahman Rashid, deputy minister of Refugees and Repatriation, citizens of the country are arrested in Pakistan due to lack of legal documents.

“We have attachés there, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representatives are there, and we communicate through the consulates. The Afghans who were detained there were released by the attachés of the Ministry of Refugees and the Foreign Ministry,” Rashid told TOLOnews.

Based on the data of the MoRR, nearly 3 million citizens of the country are currently migrants in Pakistan.

Afghan Refugees in Pakistan Criticize Delay in Their Immigration Cases
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Contract Signed for 7 Mines Worth More Than $6.5 Billion: Ministry

The contract for seven mines worth more than $6.5 billion was signed on Thursday in the presence of the deputy PM for economic affairs.

The acting Minister of Petroleum and Mines Shahabuddin Delawar speaking to the press at a contract-signing ceremony for the extraction and processing of 7 major mines said that there is complete transparency in the mining contracts, and that illegal mining and smuggling have been prevented.

The contract for seven mines worth more than $6.5 billion was signed on Thursday in the presence of the deputy PM for economic affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and other officials of the Islamic Emirate.

The acting minister of Petroleum and Mines also said that gold mines in Takhar province, with an area of 12km square kilometers will be handed over to the China-Afghanistan Company with Zarawar Afghanistan Private Company, and $310 million will be invested in it.

According to Delawar, the second block mine of Mes Aynak in Logar, with an area of 240 square kilometers, has been handed over to Turia, a private company—the company is expected to invest $411 million.

Delawar added that the first section of the Ghoryan iron mine in Herat province has been handed over to Watan Darakhshan Company, in which $2.8 billion will be invested.

The second block of the Goryan iron mine in Herat has been handed over to Sahil Middle East Mining and Logistics Company, Dara-e-Noor, an Afghan company, and Epcol, a Turkish company, in which $874 million will be invested.

The third block of the Ghoryan iron mine has been handed over to Shamsh, an Afghan company, with  GBM and AD Resources, British companies, in which $573 million will be invested.

The fourth block of the Ghoryan iron mine has been handed over to Bakhtar Steel Company, with Ehya Sepahan and Parsian Iranian companies—the companies will invest $1.17 billion.

Also, a lead mining contract in Tulak district of Ghor province has been handed over to ‘Afghan Invest’ company and Epcol a Turkish company. $537 million will be invested in the mine.

Contract Signed for 7 Mines Worth More Than $6.5 Billion: Ministry
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Biden Lauds Service of ‘Generations of Brave Women and Men’ in Afghanistan

The statement the US is the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

US President Joe Biden, on August 21, the second anniversary of the end of the US troop pullout from Afghanistan, said that the United States ended nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan.

In a statement from President Biden on the “Second Anniversary of Ending the Afghanistan War,” released by the White House, Biden stated that US will also continue to support the Afghan people.

The statement the US is the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

“Two years ago, the United States ended nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan— the longest war in American history. Today, we pause to remember the selfless service of generations of brave women and men over the course of the conflict—who, time and time again, sacrificed their own safety and security for that of their fellow Americans. That includes the 2,461 US service members who made the ultimate sacrifice, and 20,744 of their brother-and-sisters-in-arms who were wounded in action. We have demonstrated that we do not need a permanent troop presence on the ground in harm’s way to take action against terrorists and those who wish to do us harm,” the statement reads.

“The good thing was that before they left Afghanistan, the government did not fall, the process for recognition was in place, and the economic situation was favorable, which contributed to Afghanistan’s development. However, they left without taking any responsibility, which is a great shame for them. They shouldn’t have done this,” said Moin Gul Samkanai, a political analyst.

US House of Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul once more criticized the withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan.

“A true leader when they make mistakes, they own it and they take responsibility and they show accountability … what these family members want is transparency and accountability, and yet this administration keeps trying to sweep it under the rug, and they don’t want to talk about it,” McCaul told FOX News.

Meanwhile, the acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Shahabuddin Delavar, said that August 31 is a historical day and the Afghans have achieved victory with great sacrifice.

“Thank God, we achieved this freedom through the sacrifice of the nation,” Delawar said.

The Doha Agreement was signed between the Islamic Emirate and the US on 29 February 2020 in Doha, Qatar, which included the planned withdrawal of US and foreign forces.

Biden Lauds Service of ‘Generations of Brave Women and Men’ in Afghanistan
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Second Anniversary Marked of Last American Soldier Leaving Afghanistan

Finally, the twenty-year foreign military presence in Afghanistan came to an end on August 31, 2021, with the departure of the final American soldier.

On August 31, 2021, the last American soldier, Major General Chris Donahue, left Afghanistan.

22 years ago today, American soldiers and their allies invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorist organizations. On August 31, 2021, the final American forces member withdrew from Afghanistan following 20 years of occupation.

On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked in the United States. The attack, according to American officials left nearly 3,000 people dead, and more than 2,500 others wounded.

In response, then US president George W. Bush ordered action.

“On my order, the United States military has begun strikes against al-Qaeda training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan,” said George. W. Bush, the former US president.

“The worst human crimes took place in Afghanistan, as you mentioned, we witnessed the aimless bombings at celebrations, villages, and people’s houses,” said Sayed Hashim Javad Balkhabi, a political analyst.

After the Taliban refused to turn over the leaders of Al-Qaeda to American forces on October 7, 2001, the American military launched an attack on the current Afghan government with the support of British soldiers.

Hamid Karzai was chosen as the interim president of Afghanistan on December 5, 2001, following the signing of the Bonn Agreement.

The number of foreign troops in Afghanistan increased and decreased over the past two decades.

Barack Obama ordered an increase in the number of US military personnel in Afghanistan in December 2009, and despite there already being 70,000 troops stationed there, an additional 35,000 US troops were sent.

Along with American troops, 50,000 troops from other countries also entered Afghanistan.

In 2011, US special forces shot and killed Osama Ben Laden in an operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

“The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children,” said Barak Obama, then US President.

In 2014 NATO officially ended its mission in Afghanistan and handed over security responsibility to the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF).

Between 2015 and 2018, Taliban attacks intensified again in Afghanistan.

Former US President Donald Trump appointed Afghan-born US veteran diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad to continue the peace negotiations with the Islamic Emirate’s Qatar-based political office.

After more than 10 rounds of negotiations, Khalilzad reached a peace deal on February 29th, 2020, in Doha, based on which all foreign forces were to leave Afghanistan by May 2021.

On April 14, 2021, US President Joe Biden set September 11, 2021, as the date for the departure of American soldiers from Afghanistan.

After the provinces began to collapse one after another, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the former president of Afghanistan, ultimately fled the nation on August 15, 2021, and the Islamic Emirate’s soldiers, who had already seized control of most of the provinces, entered Kabul.

Finally, the twenty-year foreign military presence in Afghanistan came to an end on August 31, 2021, with the departure of the final American soldier.

Second Anniversary Marked of Last American Soldier Leaving Afghanistan
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Two Years After Afghanistan Exit, Biden Resists Calls for More Taliban Contact

Reporting from Washington

The New York Times

When the last American soldier flew out of Afghanistan on Aug. 30, 2021, leaving the country to Taliban rule, the world braced for a human rights nightmare.

In that sense, the Taliban have met expectations. The country’s extremist rulers, who seized power from an American-backed government of 20 years, have carried out revenge killings, torture and abductions, according to international observers. They have also imposed the world’s most radical gender policies, denying education and employment to millions of Afghan women and girls — even shutting down beauty parlors.

On Aug. 14, a group of United Nations officials issued a report saying the Taliban had engaged in “a continuous, systematic and shocking rescinding of a multitude of human rights, including the rights to education, work, and freedoms of expression, assembly and association.”

Some analysts and U.S. officials had clung to the hope that the Taliban had moderated since they last controlled the country in the 1990s, or that they would at least make concessions to Western demands on human rights to win diplomatic recognition or economic aid as the country suffers a deepening humanitarian crisis.

It was not to be.

“The concept of a ‘reformed’ Taliban has been exposed as mistaken,” the U.N. experts wrote.

As a result, Biden administration officials have ruled out the possibility that they would agree to Taliban demands for international recognition, sanctions relief and access to billions of dollars of assets frozen in the United States.

At the same time, aspects of Taliban rule have modestly surprised some U.S. officials. Fears of civil war have not materialized, and the Taliban have cracked down on corruption and banned opium poppy cultivation, although it remains to be seen how strictly the ban will be enforced.

And on President Biden’s top priority for the country — preventing a return of terrorist groups that might threaten the United States — the Taliban leaders appear to be meeting Washington’s approval. That is crucial, given that the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 because the Taliban harbored leaders of Al Qaeda who plotted the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

“I said Al Qaeda would not be there,” Mr. Biden said on June 30, in response to a reporter’s question about the American withdrawal. “I said we’d get help from the Taliban. What’s happening now?”

The question was rhetorical; Mr. Biden’s clear implication was that he had been vindicated by his decision to withdraw American troops.

That has not been enough to persuade Mr. Biden to restore any U.S. support to the country. But some humanitarian groups and Afghanistan experts are calling on the Biden administration to soften its position and, at a minimum, provide the Taliban with direct economic assistance to alleviate the country’s desperate poverty and hunger.

“The world needs to think hard about what it’s trying to achieve in Afghanistan these days, and most of the stuff we want to do requires working with the Taliban,” said Graeme Smith, an analyst at the Crisis Group who has worked in Afghanistan since 2005 and recently spent months in the country assessing conditions under Taliban rule.

Mr. Smith recently wrote an essay in the publication Foreign Affairs urging Western governments and institutions “to establish more functional relationships with the Taliban.” That could include assistance with the country’s electricity grid, banking system and water management, Mr. Smith said.

The need is especially acute, Mr. Smith added, given that international humanitarian aid — which the United States and other countries currently send directly to aid groups, circumventing the Taliban government — has been dwindling.

Such cooperation is unlikely in the near term, Mr. Smith said, given what he called the “toxic politics” of Afghanistan. Republicans have attacked Mr. Biden for what they called a poorly managed and undignified exit from the country, a dynamic that may be making the president more risk averse.

“If Biden is re-elected, that will buy him a little bit of operating space for some practical solutions,” Mr. Smith said.

Taliban officials say U.S. policies are exacerbating suffering in Afghanistan, because longstanding American sanctions against Taliban leaders discourage foreign investment and trade in the country.

They insist that the United States has no right to hold $7 billion in assets deposited by their predecessors at the Federal Reserve in New York. (Mr. Biden last year ordered half that money into a trust for the humanitarian needs of Afghanistan’s people.)

The Biden administration has some contacts with Taliban representatives. Over the past two years, Thomas West, the State Department’s special representative for Afghanistan, has traveled to Doha, Qatar, for several meetings with Taliban officials, most recently on July 30 and 31.

An official State Department description of that session criticized the Taliban and “the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly for women, girls and vulnerable communities,” and said U.S. officials “expressed grave concern regarding detentions, media crackdowns and limits on religious practice.”

But the summary also offered some positive words about declining opium poppy production, promising economic indicators and counterterrorism efforts, and it hinted that further cooperation might be possible. At a meeting with Afghan government finance and banking officials, the description said, Mr. West and his colleagues “voiced openness to a technical dialogue regarding economic stabilization issues soon.”

On Wednesday, the White House released a statement from Mr. Biden marking the second anniversary of the war’s end. “We have demonstrated that we do not need a permanent troop presence on the ground in harm’s way to take action against terrorists and those who wish to do us harm,” Mr. Biden said. He added that the U.S. is the world’s largest donor of humanitarian assistance for the country.

When it comes to cooperation against terrorism, however, some officials and analysts remain deeply mistrustful, fearing that the Taliban are merely containing Al Qaeda in the short term to avoid provoking the United States. The Taliban are also battling a local branch of the Islamic State terrorist group. But some say that means little, given that the Islamic State openly challenges Taliban rule, making such operations clearly in the Taliban’s self-interest.

“Seeking to engage the Taliban on terrorism while ignoring what they do to women is a mistake,” Lisa Curtis, a National Security Council official in the Trump White House, said at a panel hosted by the Middle East Institute in July.

The Biden administration draws clear limits on such contacts, however. “Any kind of recognition of the Taliban is completely off the table,” a deputy State Department spokesman, Vedant Patel, told reporters in April. And officials say American diplomats will not return to Kabul, the capital, any time soon.

Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as President Donald J. Trump’s envoy to the Taliban and negotiated the troop withdrawal plan that Mr. Biden inherited, argued for a change in U.S. policy. “We have wished the problem to go away,” he said.

Mr. Khalilzad is among those who say that, relative to the worst expectations, the Taliban have shown some restraint.

“Many thought things would be a lot worse than they are — that there would be a lot more terrorism, a lot more refugees, and that there would be bloodshed” on a much wider scale, he said.

But granting the Taliban any credit remains highly controversial. Last month, a senior Conservative Party member of Britain’s parliament, Tobias Ellwood, traveled to Afghanistan and posted a video declaring it “a country transformed” — in many ways for the better. “Security has vastly improved, corruption is down, and the opium trade has all but disappeared,” he asserted, adding that the economy was growing.

Mr. Ellwood called for Britain to reopen its embassy in Kabul, which was shuttered in August 2021, and for his government to engage with the Taliban rather than “shout from afar.”

Two Years After Afghanistan Exit, Biden Resists Calls for More Taliban Contact
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Two years after U.S. withdrawal, Afghan refugees wait for asylum

By

The Washington Post

For more than a week that August, the family hid in houses in Kabul, waiting for their chance to leave. On Aug. 25, 10 of them made it onto a flight out of the country, unsure of their destination. After a brief stopover in Qatar, they were told on their flight that they were going to the United States. They landed at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Aug. 29, 2021.

The day after they left Kabul, Mohibullah’s wife and four children were planning to board a plane. Farid’s mother and five of his siblings were supposed to come, too. But a suicide bombing at the airport killed about 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members. The rest of the family never made their flights out.

“No one made that decision to emigrate,” Mohibullah said. “It was something [that] happened overnight. No one was thinking tomorrow he will be separated with his family and then he cannot see, or she cannot see her children or her parents.”

Now, two years later, the family remains thousands of miles apart. Mohibullah and Farid, along with their relatives who were with them, were granted two years of humanitarian parole to stay and work in the United States. In May this year, the Biden administration announced an application process for refugees to extend their parole two more years.

But the temporary nature of humanitarian parole means that the Nooris live in uncertainty about their future. Mohibullah and Farid applied for asylum more than a year ago but haven’t received an answer. And while they wait to hear if they’re approved, they say they can’t leave the United States to visit their family, who have since made it out of Afghanistan to another country.

U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services told The Washington Post they are working to expedite the 19,000 asylum applications from Afghan nationals who arrived as part of Operation Allies Welcome. USCIS said it is working diligently to complete the final adjudication within the time frame required by Congress — 150 days — although it says it may not be possible to meet that deadline.

In 2022, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Afghan Adjustment Act as a way to provide expanded visa access to Afghan refugees. It was blocked by Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Grassley cited concerns about the vetting process. Although the bill was reintroduced in July, it remains stalled.

“For the Afghans, there’s a lot of behind the scenes politics that prevent it from moving forward,” said Ali Karim, founder of the nonprofit Global Shout, which has been assisting some of the refugees with resettlement. “One time, they’d actually attached the Afghan Adjustment Act to a bill for Ukrainian spending. And it was removed from that bill after it had gotten forward almost to the approval stage. And then the Ukrainian spending bill went forward, but the Afghan Adjustment Act fell to the wayside.”

While they wait for some certainty about the future, Mohibullah and Farid have frequent video calls with their family members. Farid is engaged to a fiancé who is stuck overseas, waiting to be together so they can get married. Mohibullah’s children often ask when they will be reunited. They draw pictures for him and sing him songs. His youngest daughter was only about a month old when he left.

“Always they are asking why, when my father will come, when we will go to USA,” said Arifa Noori, Mohibullah’s wife.

“Whenever God is willing,” said Mohibullah.

Whitney Shefte is a Peabody, Emmy, Murrow and Pictures of the Year International (POYi) award-winning senior video journalist at The Washington Post, where she has worked since 2006.
Two years after U.S. withdrawal, Afghan refugees wait for asylum
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US Ambassador: Ban on Girls Education ‘Most Unconscionable Act of Taliban’

Van Schaack added that in all their engagements with the Islamic Emirate, they are pushing to have some of these restrictions relaxed.

Beth Van Schaack, the US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, said that the bans on girls’ education is one of the most unconscionable acts of the current Afghan government.

Van Schaack added that in all their engagements with the Islamic Emirate, they are pushing to have some of these restrictions relaxed.

“When it comes to girls’ education, indeed this is one of the most unconscionable acts of the Taliban, to deny young girls the ability to plan their own life paths, to operate in public, to have – to contribute to the growth and vibrancy of that particular society. And so in all of our engagements there we are constantly pushing to have some of those restrictions be relaxed,” Van Schaack noted.

The US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice further stated that the International Criminal Court does have an open investigation and has indicated that it is prioritizing crimes committed by the Taliban.

“The International Criminal Court does have an open investigation and has indicated that it is prioritizing crimes committed by the Taliban and other non-state actors and that the prosecutor has appointed a senior special advisor on gender persecution who has put forth a very comprehensive policy on how the Office of the Prosecutor should prosecute gender persecution before the International Criminal Court. Now, no charges have been forthcoming, but we do anticipate that they will be, and so that’s an area to watch,” Van Schaack added.

The Islamic Emirate so far has not commented on this matter, but it has always said that the ban on female education is not permanent, and they are trying to solve this problem.

It has been over two years that girls above sixth grade have been banned from attending school, the issue which sparked reactions inside and outside the country. Some girls asked the Islamic Emirate to reopen schools for them.

“We ask the Islamic Emirate to reopen schools, universities and educational centers for us, because Afghanistan cannot be completed without women and cannot progress,” said Maryam, a student.

Earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that that the US has been very clear about the education of girls in Afghanistan.

Addressing the press conference, Jean-Pierre said that Washington remains laser-focused on trying to support and assist the Afghan people without bolstering the Islamic Emirate.

US Ambassador: Ban on Girls Education ‘Most Unconscionable Act of Taliban’
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Muttaqi Says Weakening Afghan Interim Govt Harms Everyone

Addressing the same gathering, the country’s Interior Minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, called on the people to support the Islamic Emirate.

The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said that weakening the Afghan government will harm everyone and that the international community has assured the Islamic Emirate that they don’t support the armed resistance against the interim government.

Speaking at a large gathering of religious clerics and influential figures of the country, Muttaqi said that Afghan soil is not a threat to any country and there is a need for the international community have a moderate policy towards the Islamic Emirate.

“There is no opposition all over Afghanistan. The whole world assured us that they don’t support the armed opponents. This opportunity should be used considering the policy of the Islamic Emirate and its moderate policy which doesn’t want Afghanistan to become a battlefield for negative powers,”  he said.

Addressing the same gathering, the country’s Interior Minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, called on the people to support the Islamic Emirate.

“The reconstruction needs patience and major engagement. Bullying has ended and a pure independence has been ensured,” he said.

The participants issued a resolution of 12 principles, in which they also stressed the facilitation of religious and modern education based on Sharia and Afghan culture.

The statement also stresses the need for engagement of the Islamic Emirate with the international community within a Sharia and Islamic framework. They also called for releasing Afghanistan’s assets abroad and lifting sanctions as well as economic cooperation by the international community.

“The Ulema and influential figures wants the Islamic Emirate to take necessary actions for engagement with the world while considering Islamic Sharia, independence, reputation of Afghanistan, national reconciliation and based on the current conditions,” said Sultan Ahmad Adel, head of the Ulema council at 22nd PD in Kabul.

“We are opposing modern education. We need medical, science, physics, chemistry, and biology,” said Deen Mohammad, head of the Kabul Ulema.

The gathering of the religious clerics and influential figures comes as the international community has repeatedly called for national consensus and national dialogue in Afghanistan in a bid to solve the ongoing challenges of the country.

Muttaqi Says Weakening Afghan Interim Govt Harms Everyone
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Japanese Envoy Urges Afghan Interim Govt to Strengthen Internal Legitimacy

Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan, said that the project will begin mid next year.

The Japanese Ambassador in Kabul, Takashi Okada, called on the Afghan “de facto” authorities to strengthen legitimacy within the country to expand international cooperation.

Speaking at a signing ceremony for “Enhancing Agriculture Production through Community-Led Irrigation between the Embassy of Japan and FAO”, Okada said:

“For the expansion of international cooperation, the de facto authorities first needs to strengthen… legitimacy within the country by prioritizing people’s needs. When it happens, its external relations will be improved.”

During the ceremony, a water project worth $9.5 million in eastern Kunar province was kicked off. The project was signed between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and Japan.

Okada said that approximately 12,000 people will benefit from the project.

“With this agreement, the Japanese government will provide approximately $9.5 million to FAO for the rehabilitation and expansion of Tetsu Nakamura’s legacy project,” he said.

Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan, said that the project will begin mid next year.

“The construction will begin next year. In the middle of next year. Involving local Afghan companies and the project will be completed by 2027,” he said.

Japanese ambassador once again reiterated his country’s support to the people of Afghanistan.

Japanese Envoy Urges Afghan Interim Govt to Strengthen Internal Legitimacy
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