Pakistan Delegation to Visit Afghanistan This Week

Within the last two weeks, the Islamic Emirate and Pakistan forces have engaged in fighting twice in the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing.

A delegation from Pakistan comprised of religious scholars and tribal elders is visiting Afghanistan this week, local officials in the Chaman area in Pakistan confirmed to TOLOnews.

The visit is expected to discuss recent tensions raised between the Islamic Emirate and Pakistani forces along the Durand Line, according to some members of the delegation.

“We are going to Afghanistan. Those in Afghanistan are our brothers. The same are the governor and other leaders. We talk to them because the (Spin Boldak-Chaman) crossing is closed often due to clashes,” said Sardar Barat, a member of the delegation.

“Those who are wounded or martyred on this side or another side, we are talking about this matter with them (the Islamic Emirate),” said Haji Abdul Shakur, a member of the delegation.

Earlier, Pakistan media reported that the delegation would consist of four members, but some members of the delegation told TOLOnews that the team includes 20 people.

Within the last two weeks, the Islamic Emirate and Pakistan forces have engaged in fighting twice in the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing.

Analysts said that religious scholars can play a critical role in resolving tensions between the two sides.

“The situation was complicated. The officials of the two sides should held talks. Therefore, it was agreed to send a delegation comprised of religious scholars and tribal elders. The goal is to normalize the situation on the two sides,” said Tahir Khan, a Pakistani journalist.

“A permanent solution should be found for the problem so that the people of Afghanistan would not witness border problems with Pakistan in the future,” said Ajmal Sayis, a political analyst.

Officials from Kabul and Islamabad have not commented on the visit of the delegation so far.

Earlier, Pakistan sent a delegation comprised of religious scholars to mediate negotiations between the Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and improve relations between the two countries.

Pakistan Delegation to Visit Afghanistan This Week
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Pakistan Delegation to Visit Afghanistan This Week

Within the last two weeks, the Islamic Emirate and Pakistan forces have engaged in fighting twice in the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing.

A delegation from Pakistan comprised of religious scholars and tribal elders is visiting Afghanistan this week, local officials in the Chaman area in Pakistan confirmed to TOLOnews.

The visit is expected to discuss recent tensions raised between the Islamic Emirate and Pakistani forces along the Durand Line, according to some members of the delegation.

“We are going to Afghanistan. Those in Afghanistan are our brothers. The same are the governor and other leaders. We talk to them because the (Spin Boldak-Chaman) crossing is closed often due to clashes,” said Sardar Barat, a member of the delegation.

“Those who are wounded or martyred on this side or another side, we are talking about this matter with them (the Islamic Emirate),” said Haji Abdul Shakur, a member of the delegation.

Earlier, Pakistan media reported that the delegation would consist of four members, but some members of the delegation told TOLOnews that the team includes 20 people.

Within the last two weeks, the Islamic Emirate and Pakistan forces have engaged in fighting twice in the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing.

Analysts said that religious scholars can play a critical role in resolving tensions between the two sides.

“The situation was complicated. The officials of the two sides should held talks. Therefore, it was agreed to send a delegation comprised of religious scholars and tribal elders. The goal is to normalize the situation on the two sides,” said Tahir Khan, a Pakistani journalist.

“A permanent solution should be found for the problem so that the people of Afghanistan would not witness border problems with Pakistan in the future,” said Ajmal Sayis, a political analyst.

Officials from Kabul and Islamabad have not commented on the visit of the delegation so far.

Earlier, Pakistan sent a delegation comprised of religious scholars to mediate negotiations between the Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and improve relations between the two countries.

Pakistan Delegation to Visit Afghanistan This Week
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Polio Vaccination Campaign Begins in 26 Provinces

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said that seven million children will be vaccinated in this campaign.

The polio vaccination campaign kicked off in 26 provinces of the country, including the capital city, Kabul, on Monday.

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said that seven million children will be vaccinated in this campaign.

According to MoPH statistics, two positive polio cases have been registered this year.

It will be the last phase of the polio vaccination campaign in the country for this year.

“The campaign will continue for four days and at least seven million children will be vaccinated in 26 provinces of the country,” said Sharafat Zaman Amerkhail, a spokesman for the MoPH.

Kabul residents welcomed the campaign and said they were ready to cooperate.

“We are happy with the polio vaccination campaign and we are ready to implement it for our children,” said Parwiz, a Kabul resident.

“We are happy from the Ministry of Public Health that it vaccinates our children and prevents them from being paralyzed,” said Abdul Majeed, a resident of Kabul.

Polio vaccination campaign workers asked Kabul residents to cooperate with them in the process. They said that children should be vaccinated every three months to be protected against poliovirus.

“It is a dangerous disease. It is a viral disease that paralyzes the body. It majorly affects children under the age of five,” said Asma, a vaccinator.

“I call on families that when we go to their houses, they should bring their children for the vaccination and they should cooperate with us,” said Zarmina, a vaccinator.

Figures by the Ministry of Public Health show that four positive cases of polio were recorded in the country last year. In 2020, it was 56 positive cases in Afghanistan.

Polio Vaccination Campaign Begins in 26 Provinces
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Karzai Meets Exiled Politicians in Germany, Turkey

But the Islamic Emirate said that Karzai does not represent the Islamic Emirate in his meetings with the politicians.

Former President Hamid Karzai held meetings with a number of former Afghan officials and politicians in Germany and Turkey.

Shahzada Massoud, a close aide to Karzai, said the former president during his meetings discussed the start of intra-Afghan negotiations and ways to unify the people.

“He is currently in Turkey and has met a lot of Afghans. These meetings will continue tomorrow as well,” Massoud said. “The biggest goal of the meetings is to achieve enduring peace and stability in Afghanistan.”

“Mr. Karzai has come to Istanbul. We had a meeting with him. Almost all Afghans have gathered for welcoming him,” said Abdul Shakur Dadras, a close aide to Karzai.

But the Islamic Emirate said that Karzai does not represent the Islamic Emirate in his meetings with the politicians.

“It is mainly referred back to himself. He is not there to represent the Islamic Emirate and he is neither an official. Also, we have no objections to these meetings because Afghans need to meet each other,” an Islamic Emirate spokesman said.

Karzai also visited the UAE ahead of his trip to Germany and Turkey.

“It is aimed at meeting his former colleagues and friends. Everyone, including Hamid Karzai, knows that no role is seen for the former figures in a near future in Afghanistan,” said Torek Farhadi, a political analyst.

On December 3, Karzai traveled to the UAE, where he met with Thomas West, the US special envoy for Afghanistan.

Karzai Meets Exiled Politicians in Germany, Turkey
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At least 12 killed in accident in Afghanistan’s Salang Tunnel

Al Jazeera

At least 12 people were killed in an accident in the Salang Tunnel, which connects Afghanistan’s capital Kabul to its north, the authorities have said.

Thirty-seven people were injured on Saturday after a fuel tanker caught fire, said Molvi Hamiddullah Misbah, a spokesperson for the Public Works Ministry.

While the fire had been extinguished, Misbah said on Sunday that the death toll was likely to rise. The cause of the accident remained unclear.

“When we went inside the tunnel in the morning, we saw bodies that were not recognisable, as they were severely burnt. Women, men and children were among them,” Ajab Gul, an eyewitness, told the Afghan Tolo news agency.

The landmark tunnel is located about 90km (56 miles) north of Kabul and is a key link between the country’s north and south.

Military helicopters along with medics and first aid teams were sent to the scene, the Defence Ministry posted on social media.

Abdullah Afghan Mal, a senior health official in Parwan province, said many of the dead included women and children whose bodies were badly burnt. “Among the dead it was very hard to identify who was a male and who was a female,” he told the AFP news agency.

The 2.6-km (1.6-mile) long Soviet-built tunnel is an engineering feat that links Kabul and Afghanistan’s north, connecting the Indian subcontinent to Central Asia through the treacherous Salang pass, one of the highest mountain highways in the world at about 3,650 metres (12,000 feet).

The pass is often shut for days because of accidents, heavy snowfall and avalanches during the winter months.

In 2010, avalanches killed more than 150 people in the Salang pass.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
At least 12 killed in accident in Afghanistan’s Salang Tunnel
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UN Highlights Afghanistan’s Situation in Quarterly Report

The UN has transferred $1.63 billion in cash between December 1 2021 and November 2022, the report says.

The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres released his latest quarterly report on Afghanistan in which he highlights economic, humanitarian and political situation as well as the condition of human and women’ rights in the country.

The report says there is some progress regarding connectivity, trade and transit, including the signature on of a contract for air traffic control with an UAE company for several international airports.

The UN Secretary General lists the economic progress as follows:
-     “The announcement on 10 September of a quadripartite agreement to pilot a railway and road trade corridor connecting Afghanistan to China via Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
-     “The announcement on 27 September of imports of gasoline, diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and wheat from the Russian Federation at advantageous prices.
-     “On 4 October the extension until March 2023 by the Islamic Republic of Iran of the gasoline transit permit. 31.
-     “The de facto authorities regularly engaged with China on the inclusion of Afghanistan in the belt and road initiative and with Turkmenistan on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.
-     “On 10 October, the de facto authorities reported that agreements had been reached with Turkmenistan on several issues, including a schedule for land acquisition and pipeline construction, and gas distribution to industrial parks and residents in Herat.
-     “On 2 November, in a joint statement, China and Pakistan conveyed consensus on the need to continue their humanitarian and economic assistance for the Afghan people and enhance development cooperation in Afghanistan, including through its inclusion in the China – Pakistan Economic Corridor.
-     “On 25 October, the de facto authorities also inaugurated the Mazar-e Sharif International Airport, reconstructed with financial and technical assistance from Uzbekistan.”

But the report calls the reduction in development aid, international financial transactions challenges, the impact on the banking sector and skilled workforce shortages as the most factors adversely affecting the economy since August 2021.

“Exports to India and Pakistan are higher than in the previous year, while essential commodity prices have stabilized, and in some cases declined – possibly owing in part to imports from the Russian Federation,” the report reads.

According to the report, most Afghans remain impoverished with little prospect of meaningful improvement as over 90 per cent of the population is estimated to be food insecure.

The UN has transferred $1.63 billion in cash between December 1 2021 and November 2022, the report says.

“The funds were distributed directly to 19 different United Nations agencies, funds or programmes, the World Bank and 30 international non-governmental organizations through the Afghanistan International Bank,” the report said. “The cash delivery continued to contribute to stabilizing the Afghan currency and serve as an economic stimulus without directly supporting the de facto administration.”

About political situation in Afghanistan, the report says the “political opposition, comprising exiled former Republic officials and political figures, continued to meet and issue statements.”

“Amid those developments, the de facto authorities increased engagement with political figures based in Afghanistan and continued efforts to attract the re turn of exiled Afghans through the Commission for Return and Communication with Former Afghan Officials and Political Figures,” the report said. “Senior de facto officials met Republic -era personalities, including, in October, former parliamentarians, some of whom were returnees, along with former politicians and their cadres.”

Regarding the conditions of human rights, the report said that the “de facto authorities continued to curtail Afghans’ rights to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly.”

Guterres said that in August and September, the UNAMA and UN-Women convened 15 in-country and online consultations in 12 provinces with 207 Afghan women leaders with diverse personal and professional backgrounds.

“They unanimously emphasized the reopening of secondary girls’ schools as the most immediate priority, followed by safety and security (flagged by 71 per cent of participants), and asked the international community to focus on reinstating the full spectrum of rights for women and girls, beyond education,” he added.

UN Highlights Afghanistan’s Situation in Quarterly Report
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UN postpones decision on ambassadors from Myanmar, Taliban, Libya

Al Jazeera

The United Nations General Assembly has approved postponing its decision on whether Myanmar’s military government and Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders can send ambassadors to the UN in New York, with the assembly also deferring its decision on rival claims to Libya’s UN seat.

The 193-member General Assembly approved by consensus a recommendation by its Credentials Committee to delay the vote on the matters on Friday.

The postponement means the current envoys of Myanmar, Afghanistan and Libya remain in place.

“The committee decided to postpone its consideration of the credentials pertaining to the representatives of Myanmar, Afghanistan and of Libya,” said Guyana’s UN ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who chairs the credentials committee.

The vote could now be postponed to a future date in the ongoing 77th session of the General Assembly, which expires in September 2023.

UN acceptance of ambassadors from Myanmar’s military government, the Taliban in Kabul, and Libya’s eastern-backed government would act as the first step towards their official recognition on the global stage.

Myanmar’s military rulers have been attempting to fill the country’s UN seat since the country’s democratically elected leader Aung Suu Kyi was removed from power and later imprisoned following a military coup last year.

The General Assembly’s decision will keep Kyaw Moe Tun, a diplomat of Aung San Suu Kyi’s former government, in his seat.

Chris Gunness, director for the Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP), called the decision on Friday an “important move which has great diplomatic and symbolic significance, at a time when the illegal coup leaders are attempting to gain international recognition”.

Afghanistan’s seat will continue to be held by officials under the nation’s former government of President Ashraf Ghani, who was removed by the Taliban in 2021 after United States and NATO forces withdrew from the country.

The Taliban had pledged to uphold the rights of girls and women when it seized power, however, authorities in Kabul have instead banned secondary education for girls and put restrictions on work and dress codes for women.

The Taliban have also recently overseen Afghanistan’s first public execution since their return to power.

Libya’s UN ambassador, Taher El Sonni, is also expected to stay on in his current capacity as envoy for the western Tripoli-based Libyan government. The oil-rich country has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, which ended with the killing of the country’s longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya was again engulfed in a political crisis in 2021 after it neglected to hold a long-anticipated election, splitting the country into two rival factions – in the country’s east and west. A transitional Tripoli government later rejected calls to resign and the country’s eastern-based leadership ultimately appointed a rival prime minister who had intended to take over the UN seat.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
UN postpones decision on ambassadors from Myanmar, Taliban, Libya
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Former US ambassadors push for help for Afghan allies in spending bill

Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent
CNN

CNN — 

A group of retired ambassadors, all of whom served as chief of mission at the US Embassy in Afghanistan, have written a letter to congressional leaders pushing them to include the Afghan Adjustment Act in the omnibus spending bill.

The legislation “keeps our deep and binding commitments we made to our wartime allies. This is a moral imperative but also ensures we will find future allies in conflicts to come,” former ambassadors Ryan Crocker, Ronald E. Neumann, William Wood, Earl Anthony Wayne, James Cunningham, P. Michael McKinley, Hugo Llorens and Ross Wilson write in the letter being sent Wednesday evening.

The letter, organized by AfghanEvac’s Shawn vanDiver and former ambassador Phil Kosnett, stands as a message from respected leaders and experts on Afghanistan that including the bill in the omnibus spending package is essential to meeting the United States’ obligations.

The push comes after top congressional negotiators announced Tuesday evening that an agreement had been reached for a framework that should allow lawmakers to complete a sweeping full-year government funding package. With an outline agreed upon, staff will spend the next several days drafting the legislation and dolling out millions of dollars to agencies.

The letter argues that without the Afghan Adjustment Act, the asylum and immigration court systems will be “overwhelmed with thousands of new requests as parole begins to expire for those Afghans who were brought here during the August 2021 evacuation.”

“Without an AAA, tens of thousands of recently arrived Afghans will have to find an existing immigration pathway to remain lawful once their parole expires,” the letter states. “That will mean tens of thousands of new asylum claims.”

The group of retired diplomats added that the task of American diplomacy will be more difficult without the legislative provisions outlined in the bill.

“If the United States does not act to support its allies by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act, in the future our allies will be less likely to support the US missions if they see that our Afghan partners are abandoned,” the letter said.

Congress is on track to pass a week-long extension to avert a shutdown by Friday, but a broader funding deal had been challenging amid a dispute between the two parties over how much money should be spent on non-defense, domestic priorities.

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that an agreement on spending needs to be finished no later than December 22, noting that lawmakers “intend to be on the road going home” on December 23 ahead of the Christmas holiday.

CNN’s Sonnet Swire contributed to this report.

Former US ambassadors push for help for Afghan allies in spending bill
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Afghan journalists tell London court Britain has “betrayed debt of gratitude”

Sam Tobin

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Eight Afghan journalists who worked for the BBC and other British media organisations are challenging the British government’s refusal to relocate them, arguing that they are at high risk of being killed by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers.

The journalists “worked alongside and in support of the British government’s mission” in Afghanistan and put their lives at risk, their lawyers told London’s High Court on Thursday.

Adam Straw said the British government has “betrayed the debt of gratitude” owed to his clients by refusing to relocate them or allow them to enter the country after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021. None of the eight are in Britain, the court heard.

He added in written arguments that the Ministry of Defence’s decision that the journalists were not eligible under the government’s Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) programme was unlawful.

The journalists “were activists against the Taliban and participated in [government] media freedom campaigns, notwithstanding that they worked for independent bodies,” Straw said.

The government’s lawyer David Blundell said in court documents that the BBC had written to the government on behalf of around 170 members of its staff to ask for help in leaving Afghanistan, but did not identify any of the eight journalists.

He added that all the eight journalists’ applications under the ARAP programme were refused because they were not eligible for relocation under the policy.

Blundell also said the government was right to conclude the journalists had not “worked alongside, in partnership with, or closely supporting a government department” because the BBC is independent of the government.

British troops were involved in Afghanistan from the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 that overthrew the Taliban until August 2021, when the hardline Islamist group swept back into the capital, forcing a hurried evacuation which saw more than 120,000 people airlifted from Kabul but many others left behind.

Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Angus MacSwan
Afghan journalists tell London court Britain has “betrayed debt of gratitude”
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Afghan Refugees’ Needs Addressed at Quadrilateral Meeting in Iran

Meanwhile, the deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate said that those who went abroad need to return and build their country.

Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, a spokesman for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, said that at the “Quadrilateral Meeting” officials from Kabul, representatives of Iran, Pakistan, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, discussed the need to avoid bad behavior against Afghan refugees.    

In the past year, various reports have been published about the bad behavior against Afghan refugees in neighboring countries.

“Regarding those Afghan refugees that want to return to the country, in this meeting, the creation of a mechanism for their voluntary return was also discussed,” said Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, a spokesman for the Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation.

“The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has to make a plan for reestablishing immigrants’ employment and livelihoods,” said Tariq Farhadi, a political analyst.

Meanwhile, the deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate said that those who went abroad need to return and build their country.

“The Islamic Emirate asked those who went to other countries to come back to their country and build their country,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

Some analysts believe that if work opportunities are provided for the young they will return to their country.

“Those refugees that return to their country should have work so that they do not have to leave the country again,” said Idris Mohammad Zazai, a political analyst.

“Since the last changes in the country, the young generation leaves the country to Iran and Pakistan,” said Asifa Stanikzai, a refugee rights activist in Iran.

Afghan immigrants in regional countries, especially Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey, are living in difficult conditions.

Afghan Refugees’ Needs Addressed at Quadrilateral Meeting in Iran
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