World Bank: Peace Deal With Taliban to Help Improve Struggling Afghan Economy
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
July 21, 2019
ISLAMABAD – The World Bank estimated Sunday that Afghanistan’s economy grew by less than two percent (1.8 %) in 2018 primarily due to ongoing war, drought and political uncertainty, likely leading to further increases in poverty.
In its latest assessment of the Afghan economy, the Bank noted that sustained and substantial improvement in the security situation are key to better economic conditions required to reduce poverty from high current levels.
“Any political settlement with the Taliban could bring major economic benefits through improving confidence and encouraging the return of Afghan capital and skilled workers from overseas,” the assessment noted.
The report comes as the United States has been holding negotiations with Taliban insurgents to try to bring an end to the 18-year-old Afghan war. The two adversaries are said to have come closer to signing a peace deal that could also jumpstart intra-Afghan negotiations for permanent cessation of four decades of hostilities in the country.
“Whatever happens, rapid growth will only be possible with improved security under a government that remains committed to private sector development, respects the rights of investors, and maintains the gains Afghanistan has achieved over the past two decades towards establishing strong and impartial government institutions” said Henry Kerali, the World Bank Afghanistan country director.
Sunday’s report, however, hailed progress in government policies and a strong economic management, saying it has improved prospects for 2019, with growth expected to accelerate to 2.5 percent with the easing of drought conditions.
“Government revenues reached a new high of nearly 190 billion afghanis in 2018, up seven percent from 2017 while budget execution rates also reached record levels,” it noted.
It urged the government to do more to improve the business environment, ensure a smooth election process and prevent corruption and management of scarce fiscal resources over the difficult months to come.
Afghan election officials are preparing to hold the repeatedly-delayed presidential vote on September 28. Presidential hopefuls alleged incumbent President Ashraf Ghani, who is also seeking re-election, is using state machinery and resources to undermine his rivals.
Presidential spokespeople, however, reject the charges.
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Air Strikes By Security Forces In Western Afghanistan Kill 10 Civilians
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 20, 2019
Officials in Afghanistan say women and children were among 10 civilians killed in separate air strikes by security forces late on July 19.
In one incident, Abdol Aziz Beg, head of a provincial council in the western Badghis Province, said that insurgents had surrounded an army base in the area and security forces’ helicopters were trying to reach the facility.
But Beg said gunmen were shooting from positions in villages nearby, making security forces’ return difficult and endangering villagers if Afghan forces fired back.
Three children and two women were among the 10 victims of earlier air strikes that killed 10 and injured two others, Beg said.
Taliban fighters, who reportedly remain in control of around half of the country, were circulating images of dead children on Twitter that they said were killed by the air strikes in Badghis.
Based on reporting by AP
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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Eight killed in bomb blast outside Kabul University
Press TV
July 19, 2019
At least eight people have been killed and 33 others injured in a bomb blast near a gate to the campus of Kabul University in the Afghan capital.
The explosion, caused by a sticky bomb, took place on Friday, according to officials.
Sticky bombs are a common threat in Kabul, where militants often stick explosives to the bottom of vehicles.
Kabul police spokesman Faramarz Firdaws said a second bomb was defused near the explosion site.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
The incident took place just hours after Taliban militants killed at least 12 and injured over 80 when they set off two car bombs outside the police headquarters in the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan on Thursday.
Iran condemns blasts
Later on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned the terrorist attacks on the police headquarters in Kandahar and the Kabul University.
Seyyed Abbas Mousavi also expressed sympathy with Afghanistan’s government and people, especially the families of the victims.
He expressed confidence that the Afghan government and people “and all the ethnic, political, and religious groups in the country… will continue on the path to restore peace and security in Afghanistan.”
The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001. While the invasion ended the Taliban’s rule in the country, it has failed to eliminate the militant group. Some 18 years on, Washington is seeking truce with the militants as they have boosted their campaign of violence across the country.
The Daesh terrorist group has also emerged in the Asian country more recently.
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Swedish Aid Group Reopens Afghan Health Centers After Taliban Threats
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
July 19, 2019
Afghanistan’s Health Ministry says a Swedish aid group has reopened dozens of health centers it operates in the country.
The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), which has been operating in the country for decades, said on July 17 that it had closed 42 health centers in the central province of Maidan Wardak following threats by the Taliban.
“Luckily, all the 42 health facilities that were closed in Maidan Wardak Province have resumed their normal activities today,” Dr. Wahidullah Mayar, a Health Ministry spokesman, tweeted on July 19.
Khalid Fahim, a program director for SCA, told RFE/RL on July 19 that the Taliban had contacted the aid group and told them they could reopen the clinics.
The Taliban controls large swaths of Maidan Wardak, which is located west of the capital, Kabul.
Mohammad Nadir Nadiry, the head of the main hospital in the province, said the SCA closed its clinics because “health workers are frightened.”
The decision followed a threat by the Taliban that came in response to a deadly night raid carried out by Afghan forces on an SCA-run clinic in Maidan Wardak that was treating Taliban fighters.
Human Rights Watch criticized Afghan special operations forces who, the group said, entered the clinic in Dai Mirdad district on the night of July 8-9, detaining staff and family members accompanying patients.
The rights group said Afghan forces “executed” a family caregiver, a lab worker, a guard, and another person caring for a patient.
A clinic run by the SCA in the province was attacked in 2016, allegedly by both international and Afghan forces. Two patients and a caretaker were killed in the incident.