Taliban Delegation Arrives In Qatar, Paving The Way For Start Of Afghan Talks

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RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
September 5, 2020

A Taliban delegation has arrived in Qatar, paving the way for the start of the long-delayed intra-Afghan talks that are expected to take place in the Gulf state.

“All members of our negotiating team have arrived in Doha. The talks will begin once some small technical issues are resolved,” Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the militant group, told the AFP news agency on September 5.

In Kabul, Faraidoon Khawzoon, a spokesman for the High Council for National Reconciliation, said the government was ready to start direct negotiations.

“The process of releasing the prisoners is over and there is no excuse for delaying the talks, but the Taliban are still not ready to take part in the talks,” Khawzoon tweeted on September 5, without further elaboration.

The talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are a crucial part of a peace deal the United States signed with the Taliban in February.

Until the deal with the United States, the Taliban refused to directly negotiate with the Afghan government.

The talks were initially due to begin in March, but disagreements over ongoing violence and the prisoner swap have seen the start repeatedly pushed back.

The United States has ramped up pressure on Afghans on both sides of the conflict to open up negotiations over what a postwar Afghanistan might look like, how the rights of women and minorities would be protected, and how the tens of thousands of Taliban fighters and progovernment militias are disarmed and reintegrated.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Abdullah says “lasting ceasefire” first issue to be discussed in intra-Afghan talks

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Ariana: The Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah says that a lasting ceasefire will be the first issue that the Afghan delegation would negotiate with the Taliban once the intra-Afghan talks are started. In an interview with Al Arabiya, Abdullah said: “ The first issue to be discussed will be the issue of ceasefire a sort of long term ceasefire or lasting ceasefire which creates the environmentally better environment for the continuation of negotiations.” Click here to read more (external link).

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No Aid Delivered by Govt in Kapisa: Residents

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Tolo News: Flood-hit residents in Nijrab district of Kapisa province on Friday blamed the government for not providing any aid to those affected due to recent flooding in the province. The residents said they have lost all their belongings. Roads and infrastructures were also badly damaged in Nejrab, according to residents. “They took our phone numbers and ID cards, but nothing was given to our families,” said Qamar Gul, a Nijrab resident. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan Company Introduces Locally Made Vehicles

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VOA News
September 3, 2020

A Kabul-based company this week unveiled a fleet of locally made solar- and battery-powered passenger vehicles, as well as hybrid and conventional gas-powered cars and trucks, designed to give Afghans an alternative to imports.

At a ceremony Wednesday in the Afghan capital, Amin Noor Industrial Companies introduced 11 vehicle models ranging in price between $1,200 and $2,500 (USD). They include several electric vehicles, charged by solar energy.

A spokesperson from the company said that the goal is to open a new market for the cars in Afghanistan, which heavily relies on imported and mostly secondhand Japanese and Canadian models.

Afghan Economy Minister Mustafa Mastoor, who attended the ceremony, said a less expensive, more environmentally friendly vehicle was a welcome addition to the Afghan market.

Amin Noor company manager Ahmad Zia Ahmadyar said it took three years to produce 80% of the vehicle parts. The company still imports parts for the engines, tires and glass for windows but hopes to produce those itself in the next five to 10 years.

The company has not established a production goal, but the spokesman said the plan is to manufacture vehicles according to orders. Company officials are discussing the sale of up to 30 vehicles to the Afghan presidential palace, but the hope is to expand to other Afghan government ministries before making them available to the general public.

Afghan President Visits Flood-Hit Parwan Province, Pledges Urgent Aid Package

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RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
September 3, 2020

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has pledged an urgent aid and recovery package to the residents of Parwan Province, which has been hit by heavy flooding in recent days.

During a visit to Parwan’s capital, Charikar, on September 3, Ghani said that his government “will make a sizeable investment” into various projects to help rebuild roads, clean canals, and provide financial help to those affected by the floods.

“We’ve received a proposal from the province to allocate 90 million Afghanis (about $1.2 million) to clean the canals [destroyed by the floods], and we’re providing this money immediately,” Ghani told a gathering in Charikar.

Heavy rainfall that caused floods and mudslides killed some 200 people in Afghanistan’s northern and eastern regions, the disaster management agency said.

Parwan was the area most heavily affected by flooding that displaced thousands of large rocks, causing deaths and injuries, destroying entire homes, and burying people under the rubble.

Parwan officials say 157 people were killed and 130 wounded in the province. Five people remain unaccounted for.

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

COVID-19 Latest: 45 of 523 Cases Test Positive in Afghanistan

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Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Thursday reported 45 new cases of the coronavirus out of 523 samples tested over the last 24 hours. The number of total cases is now 38,288, the total reported deaths is 1,410, and the total recoveries is 29,390.  Click here to read more (external link).

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Kabul to transfer seven Taliban prisoners to Qatar: Report

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Ariana: Afghanistan will transfer seven ‘hardcore’ prisoners to Qatar, officials from the Afghan government and members of the Taliban told Reuters on Thursday.  According to one official, the prisoners would be released soon although government did not want to free them on the grounds that they had killed foreign soldiers, Reuters reported.  The officials told Reuters that “they will be shifted to Doha”. Click here to read more (external link).

Nuristani Sentenced to 6 Months of Home Confinement in US

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Tolo News: Former Afghan politician Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani was sentenced to three years of probation and six months of home confinement after he “pleaded guilty to theft of public money, admitting he received over $100,000 in government benefits,” said Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in a statement on Wednesday.  Click here to read more (external link).