KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 24 people were killed and injured in seven attacks in Afghanistan last week amid people’s complaints about economic issues while Germany’s announced 600 million euro in assistance for Afghans.
Major Events last week:
Some countries interested to recognize Afghan government: Officials
Afghan government nominated representatives to Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates: Reuters
Germany pledges 600 million euros in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Afghan officials and people: The United States should unfreeze Afghanistan assets.
Turkmenistan talks with Afghan officials on implementation of TAPI and other projects.
Women’s education and employment should not be stopped: Women
Last week, 24 people suffered casualties, of which 46 percent happened in Nangarhar.
Attacks and civilian casualties:
According to reports, 18 people were killed and six others were injured in various incidents last week.
Among the victims, three women and a child were killed in an ISIS attack on Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in capital Kabul. However, some media outlets said that 49 people were killed and wounded in the attack.
A bomb blast in Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province, killed two civilians.
Elsewhere, two civilians were injured in a clash between two commanders in Bamyan province.
Last week, two women and two men were mysteriously killed in a house in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province.
A civil society activist and his brother were killed and another was wounded in firing by unidentified gunmen in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province. A cleric was killed and two others were founded hanging from a tree. In Jalalabad two civilians were killed and three others injured in a bomb blast on a ranger pickup in a third incident.
Last week, 46 percent of all casualties happened in Jalalabad city while 18 people were killed and 22 wounded the previous week. Seventy percent of the previous week casualties happened in Nangarhar province.
Hezb-i-IslamiAfghanistan (HIA) leader, GulbuddinHekmatyar expressed his sorrow over the deadly attacks in Nangarhar on Friday, saying a delegation should be sent to the province for investigation.
No group has claimed responsibility for the casualties.
At least four people were killed and eight others were injured in separate incidents across the country the previous week. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Recognition of new Afghan government and its interaction with the world
ZabihullahMujahid, deputy information and culture minister, said last week that some countries around the world were highly interested in recognizing the new Afghan government.
He did not elaborate, but said Afghan officials held talks in the last 20 days with representatives of US, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and some European countries.
This comes as Reuters reported that the Afghan government has introduced representatives to its embassies in Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, but the Afghan government has not yet commented on the regard.
Afghan officials traveled to various countries, including Russia and then to Iran, where international conferences were organized about Afghanistan the previous week. There were no such trips or meetings last week, but representatives from Central Asia and some other countries, including Iran and Russia, are scheduled to meet in India next Wednesday to discuss Afghanistan related issues.
G20 countries’ conferences and aid
Afghanistan is currently facing serious economic problems. As the US has frozen nearly $10 billion assets of Afghanistan, problems in banking services have increased and many Afghans have lost their jobs.
However, the international community has pledged humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
Germany on Friday said it will provide 600 million euros in aid to Afghanistan. Germany said that the money will be used to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghans through international organizations.
The head of the European Commission has announced at the annual meeting of the G20 that the European Union will provide 1.2 billion euros in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan to avert an economic and social crisis in the country.
It is unclear if the Germany’s 600 million euro is part of the EU assistance.
The Afghan government has called on G20 member states to honor their pledges about Afghanistan.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also promised to provide shelter, clothing and other supplies to the poor in Afghanistan as winter approaches, while Afghan officials have called on the UN to help unfreeze Afghanistan assets.
Afghan, Turkmen officials talk TAPI and other projects
During a meeting with his Afghan counterpart, the Turkmen Foreign Minister discussed the implementation of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.
Public opinion
A number of women in Kabul complained about poverty and the country’s bad economic situation and called on the US to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets. They demanded that girls in all provinces should be given the right to education.
Currently, girls continue to attend secondary and high school level education in some provinces, but in many provinces, secondary and high schools have been closed since the fall of the previous government.
A small group of women activists protested in Bamyan province and called for the reopening of state universities as well as the reopening of secondary schools and high schools for girls. They asked the government not to stop women from working in government organs.
Since the caretaker government came into existence, female employees of some government agencies have been called back to their jobs, but others still stay at homes. There are some organs which are totally shut, but officials say that they are working to reopen them.
Mds/ma
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