Chief Executive Abdullah Slams Afghan President’s ‘Wish List’ Peace Plan

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Abdullah (left) and Ghani (right)

Abdullah (left) and Ghani (right)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 5, 2019

Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has criticized a new peace plan put forward by President Ashraf Ghani as an unrealistic “wish list.”

In September, U.S. President Donald Trump stopped months-long negotiations with the Taliban amid ongoing militant violence.

Ghani’s team last month released a seven-point proposal aimed at building on the U.S.-Taliban talks and bringing an end to Afghanistan’s 18-year-old war.

“To be honest, nobody has taken that so-called seven-point plan as a plan…it’s rather a wish list,” said Abdullah, who is Ghani’s adversary in a September 28 presidential election that has yet to decide a winner.

“Nobody is taking it seriously — neither the people of Afghanistan, nor anybody,” Abdullah said on November 5 in an interview in Kabul with French news agency AFP.

Observers have questioned whether certain proposals in the plan — including a call for a month-long Taliban cease-fire before talks resume — are feasible.

The Taliban has so far refused to talk to the Afghan government, which it says is a U.S. puppet.

Abdullah said it is crucial for any future negotiations to include the Afghan government, whether led by him or by Ghani.

Any negotiating team “has to be inclusive; government has to be a part of that,” Abdullah said.

Abdullah and Ghani squared off in a first-round vote on September 28 and election officials have repeatedly delayed announcing initial results, citing various technical problems.

Ghani and Abdullah fought an acrimonious race in the 2014 presidential poll, sparking widespread allegations of fraud and prompting Washington to broker an awkward power-sharing agreement between the two rivals under a unity government.

With reporting by AFP

Copyright (c) 2019. 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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Afghan Border Fencing to Be Completed by 2020, Pakistan Says

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afg_and_pakistanAyaz Gul
VOA News
November 5, 2019

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan said Tuesday it will have fenced off its traditionally porous border with Afghanistan by the end of next year, leading to an improved security situation in the region.

The military-led massive construction program, launched in mid-2017, is installing a pair of nearly 3-meter-high chicken wire fences, with a 2-meter gap between each one, and topped with barbed wire, along the nearly 2,600-kilometer border. Additionally, hundreds of new outposts and forts have been built or are under construction.

“We have achieved a lot of progress. I believe we will be able to complete the Pak-Afghan border fencing by the end of 2020,” Khusro Bakhtyar, the Pakistani minister for planning and development, said during a Tuesday night news conference in Islamabad.

The fence runs through rugged terrain and snow-capped mountains as high as 12,000 feet. The border security plan, officials estimate, will cost about $500 million.

Bakhtyar said that after securing the western Afghan border, the government will begin establishing a robust fence along the nearly 900-kilometer porous border with Iran in the southwest.

“We will not have 100% control over Pakistan’s security situation as long as our borders remain porous,” he stressed.

Pakistan officials insist the border fencing program will help prevent terrorist infiltration and the movements of smugglers in either direction, addressing mutual security concerns.

Afghan criticism

Authorities in Afghanistan have been critical of Islamabad’s unilateral border management project because Kabul disputes the former British-era demarcation it refers to as the Durand Line. Pakistan dismisses the objections and maintains the boundary with Afghanistan is an internationally recognized border between the two countries.

The tensions have triggered border skirmishes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces.

Kabul alleges leaders and fighters of the Afghan Taliban use Pakistani soil for planning and sustaining attacks inside Afghanistan. For its part, Islamabad says fugitive militants, after having fled Pakistan counterterrorism operations, have taken refuge in Afghan border areas and plot cross-border attacks from there.

Feature: Fashion show, a new culture growing in Afghanistan

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modelXinhua: “I have been working as a model over the past four years and my dream is to become a popular model to attend major overseas fashion shows in future,” whispered Yalda Haidari. Wearing a traditional dress and cat walked in front of some 200 spectators with majority of them men, the courageous Haidari, 25, admitted that modeling in Afghanistan is a risky profession but have to dare to overcome the challenges. Click here to read more (external link).

US: Islamabad ‘Did Not Restrict’ Taliban Activities in Pakistan

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pakistanAriana: The U.S. State Department said in a recent report that Islamabad pledged support for political reconciliation between the Afghan government and Taliban, but did not restrict the Taliban or the Haqqani network from operating in Pakistan and threatening U.S. and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. The annual terror report, released on Friday last week, said Pakistan has also failed to significantly limit terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad from “Raising money, recruiting, and training in Pakistan.” Click here to read more (external link).

China Agrees to Host Meeting on Afghan Peace: Sediqqi

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china_afghanistanTolo News: President Ashraf Ghani in a phone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday agreed to a meeting which will be held in Beijing and will include a Taliban delegation to discuss Afghanistan’s peace agreement, presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said. The meeting, to be held in the “near future,” will be the first time that China hosts delegations from both the Kabul government and the Taliban to exchange views on the peace process. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan Taliban Flag Flying in Pakistan Protest

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taliban_flag_protest

Ariana:  Supporters of the Afghan Taliban group are seen among the anti-government protesters in Pakistan asking for the resignation of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Footage from the protest shows a group of protesters holding the Taliban flag among thousands of Islamist marchers. The presence of pro-Taliban men in a civil protest, however, has sparked reactions in Afghanistan; the Taliban militant group has been fighting the Afghan government for over 18 years, rejecting all government calls for a civil way to compete for power. “What they should be doing through a civilized platform, they (the Taliban) are doing by the power of weapons and bloodshed in Afghanistan,” said Fazl Karim Aimaq, a member of the Internal Security Committee in Afghan Parliament. Click here to read more (external link).

Pakistan Closes Consular Office in Kabul

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afg_and_pakistanVOA News
November 4, 2019

Pakistan has closed its consular office in Afghanistan’s capital, citing unspecified security reasons.

Pakistan said the Kabul office will be closed until further notice.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Afghanistan’s charge d’affaires has been summoned to “convey serious concerns over the safety and security” about its diplomats in Kabul.

Pakistan said in a statement that its embassy staff members had been “obstructed on the road and the embassy vehicles were also hit by motorcycles while going towards the embassy.”

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have long been tense.

Kabul allege that leaders and fighters of the Afghan Taliban use sanctuaries on Pakistani soil to direct insurgent attacks against local and international forces, a charge Pakistan denies.

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Afghan Taekwondo Team in China for International Championships

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karatelogoTolo News: Afghanistan’s National Taekwondo Team left Kabul on Sunday for China to participate in the 2019 Belt and Road China Open International Taekwondo Championships, which start on November 7. The Nov. 7-9 event will be held in Xi’an city of Shaanxi province in central China and will host more than 70 participating countries. Click here to read more (external link).

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