U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad
Pakistan told Washington that no single country could bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiation table since Islamabad has lost its influence on the Taliban, an official said on Friday.
On Oct. 9, a veteran U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad, Wasington's newly appointed representative for finding a peaceful and political solution to the 17-year-long war in Afghanistan, has visited Islamabad where he met Pakistani officials, including Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
During his meetings, Khalilzad sought Pakistan's help to bring Afghan Taliban to the negotiation table.
"Pakistan fully supports the policy of negotiations with Taliban, it is a shared responsibility to bring the Taliban to the negotiation table and no single country can be expected to undertake this task unilaterally," Mohammad Faisal, spokesman of the Foreign Ministry told reporters on Thursday.
The spokesman explained that the role of the U.S., the Afghan government and other regional players is equally important and that is why ambassador Khalilzad is visiting other countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to elicit their support.
Earlier, Khalilzad arrived in Kabul and hold meetings with Afghan officials including President Ashraf Ghani before visiting Islamabad.
"I think U.S. and Afghan intelligence agency, NDS, both had played their role in the broken down 2015 peace process and later they missed another opportunity in 2016, that's why now Taliban don't trust their sincerity," retired Brig. Said Nazir told Anadolu Agency.
However, Nazir believed that Islamabad still enjoys some influence on the Taliban, advancing that the U.S. could undertake confidence-building initiatives such as releasing Taliban prisoners and removing the names of their leadership from the UN black list.
In July, Afghan officials said U.S. and Taliban leaders met in Qatar to discuss ways to lay the groundwork for peace talks.
"After the July meeting, there was another meeting between U.S. and Taliban leaders scheduled in September. However, according to my sources it was postponed to give some time to Khalilzad for preparations and now it is expected to be held in the coming weeks," Tahir Khan, an Islamabad-based Afghan affairs analyst said.
A total of 8,050 civilian casualties were reported in Afghanistan in the first nine months of this year, a report by the UN said on Tuesday.“The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 8,050 civilian casualties (2,798 dead and 5,252 injured) in the first nine months of this year,” the report said.Suicide and non-suicide improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by anti-government elements are marked as the leading causes of civilian casualties.The second leading cause of civilian casualties is aerial operations and explosive remnants of war, it said.Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, renewed his call for utmost efforts to protect civilians from harm.“As there can be no military solution to the fighting in Afghanistan, the United Nations renews its call for an immediate and peaceful settlement to the conflict to end the suffering of the Afghan people," he said.For the first time, eastern Nangarhar province surpassed Kabul as the province with most civilian casualties in the first nine months of 2018, more than double the number recorded during the same period in 2017.Separately, authorities in Nangarhar claimed up to 75 Taliban rebels, including their commanders, have surrendered.Hayatullah Hayat, the provincial governor, told reporters on Tuesday these former rebels from the restive Bati Kot district would now help in bringing peace to this part of the province marred by pro-Daesh terrorism.Turkish agency provides jobs to Afghans returning homeTurkey condemns terror attack in AfghanistanCandidate, 9 more slain at campaign rally in Afghanistan
UN in Afghanistan documents 8,050 civilian casualties
Turkey on Tuesday condemned a “heinous terrorist attack”, which killed a candidate for this month’s Afghan parliamentary elections and eight of his supporters at a public rally in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.“We learned with sorrow that the terrorist attack that took place at an election rally today in Lashkargah, in the province of Helmand of Afghanistan, resulted in many loss of lives and injuries,” Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.The ministry also wished Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives, speedy recovery to the wounded, and conveyed condolences to "the friendly Government and the brotherly people of Afghanistan".Earlier, Umar Zwak, a spokesman for the Helmand province’s governor, told Anadolu Agency the suicide attack took place in the provincial capital, Lashkargah, where Wolesi Jirga (lower house) candidate Saleh Mohammad Achakzai was holding the rally. In addition to the nine casualties, more than 10 people were wounded, he added.Candidate, 9 more slain at campaign rally in AfghanistanThis was the first attempt of Achakzai, a young entrepreneur, to run for parliament from this restive province of the country, the spokesman said.There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Taliban had warned Afghans against taking part in the polls.In a statement, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, saying Afghans would not allow the terrorists to undermine the democratic process.Last week, 13 people were killed and more than 20 wounded in a similar attack in the Nangarhar province.The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed concern about the level of violence in the campaigning for the Oct. 20 parliamentary polls, including intimidation and attacks on candidates, their agents, and supporters.Nationwide campaigning for the polls is underway, with candidates holding political rallies amid grim security concerns.
Turkey condemns terror attack in Afghanistan
Khan added the Khalilzad's appointment showed the U.S. now wants to find a political solution to the Afghan war since they failed to defeat the Taliban with force.
A seven-member delegation of the Afghan High Peace Council, headed by Maulvi Attaullah Ludin, visited Pakistan last week and met Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, known as the father of the Afghan Taliban and sought his help in restoring peace in the country.
Ul-Haq assured an Afghan government-sponsored peace council that they will do their part to help end Afghanistan’s conflict.
However, Tahir Khan said he believed the Taliban were not ready to sit down with the Afghan government as first they want to know when the U.S. will withdraw its forces from Afghanistan.
"The Taliban are not ready to involve any third party in negotiations with the U.S. However later they will want a guarantor that could be the UN, China, Russia etc. anyone the Taliban trust," Khan claimed.
Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid refrained to comment on Khalilzad's visit to Kabul, Islamabad and other Gulf countries.
However, in a statement issued on Oct. 7, Mujahid said the issue of Afghanistan has no military solution.
"Foreign invaders should withdraw their forces from our homeland by ending their occupation and ceasing further bloodshed of innocent Afghans by leaving the Afghans to decide about their country and future themselves," Mujahid said in his statement.
Pakistan said on Thursday it opposed the India-Russia S-400 air defense missile system deal, the foreign office said."We are opposed to any arms race in South Asia and have been proposing measures for promoting restraint in both the nuclear and conventional dominos," Mohammad Faisal, Foreign Ministry spokesman, told journalists during his weekly media briefing.He said that countries providing arms to New Delhi should ensure that their assistance should not disturb the balance of power in the region.Senior Pakistani judge removed from high court"We cannot remain oblivious to these developments and are firmly committed to maintaining credible minimum deterrence by taking any measure necessary," Faisal added. India inked a deal of $5 billion to purchase an S-400 air defense missile system when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India on Oct. 5. Both rival countries have been blaming each other since last month, India called off a foreign ministers meeting, which had been scheduled in New York during the UN General Assembly.Shehbaz Sharif’s son-in-law’s properties confiscatedRelations between the two nosedived after India accused Pakistan of harboring links to gunmen who killed 19 soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir in September 2016. Islamabad has rejected the claim.Since their partition in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two over Kashmir.IMF to launch financial assistance talks with Pakistan: Lagarde
Pakistan opposes India-Russia S-400 deal
The president of Pakistan on Thursday has dismissed a senior judge, who had accused country's powerful spy agency of manipulating the judicial proceedings, of the Islamabad High Court, officials said.According to a notification issued by the Justice Ministry, President Arif Alvi has removed Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui from the Islamabad High Court after recommendation by the Supreme Judicial Council."The president of Pakistan has been pleased to remove Mr Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, Judge, Islamabad High Court, Islamabad from his office with immediate effect on recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Counci," read an official notification.Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Council, the body that holds inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misconduct against Supreme or High Court judges, has recommended the president to remove Justice Siddiqui over on his controversial speech on July 21.Shehbaz Sharif’s son-in-law’s properties confiscatedOn July 21, Justice Shaukat Siddiqui, accused Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of being involved in “manipulating the judicial proceedings” in the country. “ISI officials approached my chief justice and told him ‘We will not let Nawaz Sharif and his daughter get out of jail prior to the general elections’,” Siddiqui had claimed in his speech before the Rawalpindi Bar Association.Siddiqui claimed officials of the spy agency asked the chief justice of Islamabad High Court to not include him on the bench hearing Sharif’s appeal.On July 22, Pakistan’s army called on the Supreme Court to initiate an inquiry into allegations leveled by a senior judge against the country’s top spy agency.IMF to launch financial assistance talks with Pakistan: Lagarde“In order to safeguard the sanctity and credibility of the state institutions, the honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan has been requested to initiate the appropriate process of ascertain the veracity of the allegations and take actions accordingly,” said Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, Pakistan military’s spokesman, in a his statement on July 22.On July 6, a Pakistani court had handed a 10-year jail term to three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and imposed an 8-million-pound ($10.58 million) fine in a graft case linked to the illegal purchase of four luxury apartments in London in 1993.His daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband Safdar were sentenced to seven years and one year in jail, respectively.Authorities arrested Sharif and his daughter at Lahore Airport after his return from London. However, later on Sept. 19, the Islamabad High Court suspended the accountability court verdict and ordered the release of Sharif, his daughter and his son-in-law.Turkish, Pakistani air forces hold joint exercise
Senior Pakistani judge removed from high court