KABUL (Pajhwok): Sixty-two people were killed and injured in Afghanistan last week, US termed diplomatic engagement with the acting Afghan government in the interest of all sides while Anas Haqqani, a key Taliban member, claimed covert recognition of their government was underway.
Last week’s economic, political and security incidents
Diplomatic engagement with Afghan acting government was in the interest of all sides: Thomas West
Formal recognition of Islamic Emirate was covertly underway: Anas Haqqani
Terrorism threat from Afghanistan still existed: UN Chief Antonio Guterres
Guterres remarks are provoking and an persuasion of elements that promote instability: Muttaqi
US president Biden’s executive order on Afghanistan reserves sparked reaction and protesters demanded compensation for devastation caused by war
Former President Ashraf Ghani’s return to the country a false claim: Mohib
Last week, 62 people were killed and injured in Afghanistan
Casualties:
At least 20 people were killed and 42 others wounded in Afghanistan last week. The death toll does not included casualties caused by natural disasters.
According to a report, a security personnel opened fire on a rickshaw during a search operation in Kandahar City, capital of Kandahar province, killing a woman and injuring two others. Two people have killed their wives in Yahyakhel district of Paktika province and Zaranj City, the capital of Nimroz province.
Two people were killed and 27 others were injured in a clash between Pakistani and Afghan security forces in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province last week.
A security personnel and eight members of an armed group were killed during a security operation in Panjshir province last week. An “insurgent” was also killed by security forces in Dara-i-Suf Payen district of Samangan province.
Reports say that a former government prosecutor was found dead in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province. Unidentified gunmen killed two people and wounded another in Nawa district of Helmand province. A border police soldier of the former government was also killed by unknown armed men in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar.
Unidentified gunmen killed seven vaccine administrators in Kunduz city and Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province. A man was killed by unknown armed men in Dawlatabad district of Faryab province. A man killed himself and his father and wounded four members of his family when accidentally shooting a gun while cleaning a weapon in Pachiragam district of Nangarhar province.
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The week before last, at least 15 people were killed and four others injured in Afghanistan.
This comes as hundreds of people were suffering casualties in conflicts every week in Afghanistan before regime change on August 15.
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Afghan caretaker government’s recognition
Thomas West, the US special representative to Afghanistan, said the continuation of diplomacy with Afghanistan’s caretaker government was in the interest of all, but said efforts to form an inclusive government in Afghanistan had so far been fruitless.
He made the remarks at a round-table on Afghanistan on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference last week.
Anas Haqqani, an official in the Afghan caretaker government, said that the efforts for recognition of the Islamic Emirate are going on behind the curtains. He said that progress has been made in this regard and presence of embassies of some countries in Kabul is a sign of silent development.
Continuation of humanitarian assistance
The transfer process of 50,000 metric tons of wheat from India to Afghanistan has started. Turkey has provided 1,670 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghans. A package of five tons of humanitarian aid from Malaysia also reached Kabul and the country also promised to offer scholarships to Afghan students.
Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) or Central Bank of Afghanistan says another package of $32 million in humanitarian aid arrived in Kabul last week, with the Norwegian government saying it would provide about $10 million in assistance to Afghanistan.
Last week, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Afghanistan said the European Union (EU) would provide $100 to each teacher of all public schools in Afghanistan for two months.
Unfreezing Afghanistan’s assets and demand for compensation
President Joe Biden has moved to freeze about $7bn in assets held in US financial institutions by the Afghan central bank in the wake of the Taliban takeover, as he vowed to direct $3.5bn to humanitarian aid and preserve the rest for families of victims of the September 11 terror attacks.
In an executive order signed about two weeks ago, Biden directed “all property and interests in property” of the Afghan central bank in the US to be blocked and transferred to an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, effectively cutting off the Taliban’s access to the US financial system.
Biden’s decision drew various reactions on the national and international levels.
Amnesty International has called the US decision on Afghanistan’s central bank assets “irrational and unfair” and said it should be reversed immediately.
Dozens of protests with disabilities in Nangarhar provinces, demanded the release of Afghanistan assets frozen in the US. During a protest rally in front of the UN office in Kabul, a number of women called the US decision on Afghanistan’s frozen assets unfair. The families of two decades of war victims also demanded compensation.
A number of professors of Kabul, Paktika and Paktia universities condemned Joe Biden’s decision on Afghanistan’s assets and demanded the release of the funds. A number of athletes in Kabul have also condemned Biden’s move about Afghanistan’s funds and said Biden has no authority to block Afghans’ money.
Babakarkhel Tribal Council also called on the UN, Islamic countries and other international human rights organizations to assist Afghans in unblocking their frozen assets.
This comes as World Bank has developed a plan under which $600 million of $1 billion frozen assets of Afghanistan will be dedicated for education and needy families in Afghanistan.
Terrorism threat from Afghanistan
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a security conference in Munich that terrorists were trying to find a safe haven in a number of countries, including Afghanistan, and that there was a threat of terrorism spreading from Afghanistan.
Ken McCallum, director general of MI5 or Britain’s domestic intelligence service, said British extremists were trying to travel to Afghanistan to carry out terrorist activities.
However, Afghan acting foreign minister, Mulavi Amir Khan Mottaqi, dismissed the UN secretary-general’s concerns, saying Afghans saw such remarks as provocative and a encouragement to insurgent groups.
He reiterated that the Afghan government would not allow anyone to use Afghan territory against others.
Returning of Ashraf Ghani to Afghanistan
Hamdullah Mohib, former government’s national security adviser, dismissed rumors that former president, Ashraf Ghani would return to Kabul, saying Ghani supports a “central dialogue” that would represent all the people of Afghanistan.
The previous government of Afghanistan was overthrown on August 15 2021 and replaced by the current caretaker government. Many officials, including former President Ashraf Ghani, left Kabul. The former president is currently living in the United Arab Emirates.
The UN has also removed former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar from its list of world leaders and foreign ministers.
According to reports, the name of the president of Afghanistan is now replaced by “President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” and the name of the foreign affairs minister is replaced by “Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan”.
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