AFGHAN NEWS RECAP #238
*UN concerned by dire condition of AFG children. 16M in need of winter aid. EU adds 3M euros to humanitarian fund.
*On anniversary of female university & NGO work bans, calls for lifting restrictions. OCHA: Female condition deteriorating.
*Russian envoy Kabulov visits Kabul. Moscow for "developing ties" with IE.
*Acting FM Mutaqi in Tehran conference & bilateral talks. Critical of "world double standards".
*IE dismisses PAK claims Afghan territory used in terrorism. Adds need evidence.
*IE reviews revised China MCC copper mine bid.
*5 nephrite mining contracts signed.
*PAK mid year exports rise to +$230M.
*UN reports violence against AFG children. IE denies.
*Ex MP Rahmani accused of corruption. One company folds in Germany.
AFGHAN NEWS RECAP #237
*IRC: Afghanistan facing risk of humanitarian crises. *UNSC extends 1988 AFG sanctions regime monitoring mandate.
*US: discussing US detainee release with IE. *PAK asks IE to pursue attack perpetrators. TB say not related to AFG.
*Kabul: PAK putting pressure with refugees.
*Iran asks UN aid to return AFG refugees.
*AFG sign power import contract.
*Italy diplomat in talks in Kabul.
*UNAMA urges Taliban to protect women from violence.
*AI welcomes release of Neda Parwani. 3 others still detained.
*US envoy in talks in Saudi urges action. *PAK CoAS in US talks incl AFG.
*Khalilzad: Islamabad & Kabul should negotiate to avoid crisis.
*IE Dep. Political head Mowlawi A. Kabir returns to work.
*IE Red Crescent head in Switzerland.
AFGHAN NEWS RECAP #236
*US Treasury sanctions 2 IE higher ranks. TB criticize decision.
*US envoy in PAK discusses CT, refugees & AFG issues.
*Biden to Congress: US ready to respond to 'Possible Threats' from AFG.
*IE Chief of Army Staff Fitrat: war not the solution; opposition should raise problems through dialogue.
*DepFM Stanikzai: Ban on girls' schooling cause of distance with public & IC.
*UNODC: poppy cultivation in AFG down by 95%.
*De facto gov: corruption near zero.
*UN rapporteur at accountability conference on AFG war crimes: impunity experienced for decades.
*US envoy Amiri calls for release of female HR detainees.
*EU: gender “apartheid” exists in AFG
*Qatar to host girls’ education rights gathering this week.
*India gov confirms AFG embassy & consulates operational.
*PAK COAS: illegal foreign citizens have seriously affected the security/economy returning migrants is beneficial.
*Ex PAK PM Khan: "1.5M Afghan immigrants are not a heavy burden for a nation of 250M people."
*IE to distribute 200k land plots to returnees.
*PAK: 482K Afghans repatriated thus far.
*Iran: +13k Afghans repatriated this week.
*Mofa criticizes US UNSC veto on Gaza.
*UK provides £5.5m for HALO AFG demining work.
AFGHAN NEWS RECAP #235
*UN humanitarian coordinator: climate change unfolding in AFG.
*World Bank to start 45 incomplete AFG projects. IE welcomes report.
*China: AFG should not be excluded from IC. Expecting AFG to build open/inclusive political structure, adopt moderate/prudent policies, CT, integrate into world community.
*EU: PAK deportation of refugees a “clear injustice”. *US diplomats discuss refugee concerns in PAK. *Tajik Prez. stresses the need for resumption of CASA-1000 project.
*IE to fund professional cancer/cardiac health facility. *DAB: to standardize AFG banking services. *2 Qatari flights bring aid to Herat.
*Malala: Islam does not condone denying girls/women their rights to education/work.
*AFG opposition in Vienna: agreed roadmap & future framework. TB: meeting not in interest of people.
*Australia warns against AFG travel.
*UK publication: AFG a top tourist destination.
AFGHAN NEWS RECAP #234
*UN Sp Coordinator briefs UNSC on AFG assessment.
*Germany allocates 60M Euros for WFP AFG programs.
*NEPA criticizes AFG absence at COP28.
*Media: Afghan embassy in India reopens with de facto ties to Kabul.
*International delegation of Islamic scholars start meetings in Kabul.
*Karzai: international community should not seek forced removal of current govt.
*Newly trained IE commando units graduate MoD.
*UN rapporteur: women & girls access to jobs & educations worsened over 2 years.
*Iran: Afghans lacking residency to be deported.
*NRC :concerned about Afghan refugee expulsion from PAK.
*50 tons of Qatar aid arrives in Herat.
*Bank withdrawal limit up to $1000 per week.
AFGHAN NEWS BULLETIN RECAP
NEWS RECAP #232
*Caretaker FM to oversee IE Dep. Political portfolio in Kabul.
*Taliban envoy: UN seat being used as pressure on IE. Recognition can help address issues. More embassies to open in Kabul soon.
*Uzbek Prez: Afghanistan critical to regional stability. Conference calls to alleviate AFG humanitarian crisis.
*Post Russia parliamentary Afghan opposition meeting, Moscow envoy meets caretaker FM in Kabul.
*PAK MoI: +300K Afghan "illegals" returned. All to be forced out by end of year.
*WFP needs $27M to feed 1M returnees.
*IE appoints Ambassador to China.
*MoFA: AFG embassy in India still open.
*ICG: AFG faces climate change disasters. No decision yet on AFG participation in COP28 in UAE./
AFGHAN NEWS RECAP #233
*Taliban mobilize aid & services for returnees from Pakistan & Iran.
*PAK announces policy shift toward AFG while IE leaders criticize refugee expulsion mode.
*Polio vaccination starts in 21 provinces.
*Kabul electricity supply reduced as dam water levels down.
*IE spox: AFG committed to water rights treaty with Iran.
*Iran envoy & India MFA discuss Chabahar & AFG trade/transit.
*43 oil tankers carrying sub standard oil from Iran halted at border.
*China businesses visit Kandahar.
*Herat Security Dialogue conf. starts in Dushanbe.
Critical data, critical issue for a country in semi isolation. Also for the wellbeing of 40M+ population that is highly vulnerable in a risk prone environment.
Seen by some as a technical issue needing all-hands-on-deck!
Others also see it as a CBM needing stakeholder attention.
Regardless, on the eve of @COP28_UAE #COP28, both the IC & the de facto government need to get off their high horses & realize what’s at stake with hurtful policies/restrictions by focusing on targeted resource allocation, climate disaster mitigation & management priorities.
MoFA in #Kabul announces that their delegation will not attend the Doha2 UN gathering of special envoys chaired by @antonioguterres tomorrow. This is significant but not entirely surprising given the diplomatic/political/geopolitical posturing/measures at play in the past few… https://t.co/szlceufwXW
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) February 17, 2024
True that Afghanistan is highly vulnerable with climate change as a growing threat to millions already facing hardship & collective punishment.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) February 11, 2024
For +45 years, Afghans have faced numerous man-made “crises” in the form of coups, military interventions, proxy wars & civil strife… https://t.co/AVJAKdJg31
An important diplomatic move by China. Now, the next questions are: will it be treated as bilaterally de jure & which other country will follow suit? https://t.co/ZN7p0eXGmV
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) January 30, 2024
A notable diplomatic initiative by the caretaker IE govt as behind-the-scenes UN/diplomatic consultations on a revised roadmap to address broader AFG issues and priorities are on-going - including the appointment of a special envoy with a new mandate.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) January 29, 2024
While IE authorities have… pic.twitter.com/NIX0a0obV1
#Iran-#Pakistan tensions enter a risky retaliatory tit-for-tat stage, raising new questions that go beyond bilateral concerns:
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) January 18, 2024
1. Strategic rationale/ political motivation for strike & retaliation?
2. Will intensity be lowered or heighten over time?
3. Which countries can/would… https://t.co/azEeFgcLfE
تحلیل در مورد پیروزی دونالد ترمپ در رای دهی مقدماتی اخیر در ایالت آیووا و آیندهی کمپاین انتخاباتی امریکا.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) January 16, 2024
روایت امروز - @VOADari https://t.co/fyvNlTP39H
Whether at @DohaForum @onlineCHS or any other discussion platform on any AFG related issue, it is time to include more credible voices from within the country as well.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) December 11, 2023
How that selection is made can also be controversial & politically motivated. To avoid those hurdles, there… https://t.co/y4rF18baqd
An important UNSC Resolution adopted (despite 2 abstentions), meant to pave the way for a more effective engagement via a more realistic roadmap for Afghanistan - a battered country over the last 45yrs, at peace but in partial isolation.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) December 29, 2023
The AFG people need better prospects &… https://t.co/4AuYIrr6ge
در این بحث: در گزارش جدید ارزیابی مستقل هماهنگ کننده خاص ملل متحد آمده است که از طریق یک نقشه راه جدید و تعامل چند جانبه که شامل حاکمیت فعلی میشود، باید به مشکلات رسیدگی صورت گیرد تا بن بست بشکند و ادغام مجدد افغانستان در جامعه ملل تصمین گردد. https://t.co/qy8TlYP07A
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) November 17, 2023
Critical data, critical issue for a country in semi isolation. Also for the wellbeing of 40M+ population that is highly vulnerable in a risk prone environment.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) November 28, 2023
Seen by some as a technical issue needing all-hands-on-deck!
Others also see it as a CBM needing stakeholder… https://t.co/ldQQZXRJ0l
The @UN SC is reviewing the assessment report from @antonioguterres, prepared by Sp. Coordinator Amb. F. Sinirlioglu. Other Afghan, donor & regional initiatives are also underway to address outstanding issues. Here's my latest opinion/analysis of these steps:…
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) November 14, 2023
در مورد گزارش و ارزیابی هماهنگ کننده خاص سر منشی ملل متحد که فعلا با شورای امنیت مطرح شده است بحث صورت گرفت. https://t.co/OJ7nZDvp7y
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) November 12, 2023
A timely & important meeting of the GFA at the UN, co-chaired by @CanadaUN, @QatarAtUN and @UKUN_NewYork ahead of a UNSC discussion soon.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) December 2, 2023
SC Sinirlioğlu + team spent +7mos talking to various stakeholders inside & outside AFG, collecting a broad range of views & recommendations.… https://t.co/zwWyqZM5yp
Need more thoughtful adults in the room, with more wisdom, humanity, experience & less narrow interest-driven agendas in a world that has recently become more complex, more polarized & more violent.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) November 9, 2023
Meanwhile, paradigms have shifted, trust has diminished, values are less… https://t.co/lYnvNTD97W
Understanding (with unaltered facts & evidence of course) what happened to Afghanistan is crucial to understanding the fluctuating/forced trajectory experienced by a nation over several decades… since 1978 (some say 1973).
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) February 14, 2024
What we read in this👇🏻account though, is but a blimp… https://t.co/LFZb9Uq2UR
آمریکا از چین خواسته تا درباره رابطهاش با طالبان شفاف سازی کند. دیروز، شی جینپینگ، رئیس جمهوری چین، استوارنامه بلال کریمی، سفیر طالبان را پذیرفت. وزارت خارجه چین گفته افغانستان نباید از جامعه بینالمللی کنار گذاشته شود. گفتگو با عمر صمد، دیپلمات پیشین افغانستان pic.twitter.com/L9cUP7JKVr
— BBC NEWS فارسی (@bbcpersian) January 31, 2024
Discussing the latest unresolved steps & consultations between stakeholders prior to the UN-sponsored AFG talks to take place in Doha on Feb. 18.@ArianaNews_ https://t.co/NqLdGFekZI
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) February 9, 2024
I am not an economist but deflation beyond a certain point can be more harmful if not sustained by productivity and income generation.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) January 19, 2024
Deflation points to low growth, low demand & less money in circulation. Despite efforts, Afghanistan’s economy is still very much at risk of… https://t.co/8XlRj4KsDx
پس از حمله موشکی و پهپادی ایران به پاکستان این کشور گفته سفیر ایران فعلا اجازه بازگشت به اسلامآباد را نخواهد داشت. پاکستان اعلام کرده که حق خود را برای پاسخ دادن به این اقدام غیرقانونی محفوظ میدارد و عواقب آن کاملا بر عهده تهران است.
— BBC NEWS فارسی (@bbcpersian) January 17, 2024
گفتگو با عمر صمد، تحلیلگر روابط بینالملل: pic.twitter.com/ttC5Uo0xBM
Yes, so much happened during this fateful period. As the bloody Vietnam war was coming to an end, you are pointing to a period of heightened bipolarism, intense U.S.-USSR rivalry, a paradigm shift via ping-pong diplomacy with China, Pakistan going nuclear, Iran wanting to play… https://t.co/QZDPoPTrpc
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) December 1, 2023
Rich analysis & incisive argumentation from a scholarly PAK perspective.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) November 28, 2023
As an ex AFG diplomat, once involved in neighborly & regional relations (still following), I am just going to point to 3 key observations:
1. Lots to share between the 2 countries, but many differences too… https://t.co/NsPRlwmv3u
327K and counting daily... is indeed a staggering movement of people/families within days/weeks.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) November 15, 2023
If you add to that the timing/onset of winter, the logistical/resettlement nightmare, the meager national resources, the other poverty/food insecurity factors, the economic/financial… https://t.co/tqTE9bA13Q
To what extent remains to be seen.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) November 10, 2023
Will/can diplomatically-inspired pressure/readjustments normalize ties?
How’s this going to impact alternate local/regional strategies, stakeholder hedging & rebalancing?
For those conspiracy theory “analysts” who failed again to grasp… https://t.co/SMHqSjn01F
Mindful of sovereignty rights, AFG national interest & a complex historic/post war/social context, it may prove useful for concerned neighbors & stakeholders to clearly express their position in a non-intrusive yet constructive format.
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) December 5, 2023
As an important neighbor, China has taken… https://t.co/Ea7kofkKYl
در این برنامه موضوع بهبود روابط حاکمیت طالبان با ایران را در ابعاد دوجانبه، منطقوی و فرا منطقوی به بحث میگیریم
Discussing today's UNSC closed-door session on Afghanistan and the new UNSG Special Coordinator's independent assessment report. Expecting a new UNSC resolution within days. https://t.co/S8eRCIuhkK
— Omar Samad (@OmSamad) December 11, 2023
وزارت خارجه ایران در بیانیهای از رویکرد سازمان ملل، به افغانستان انتقاد کرده. در این بیانیه گفته شده که جامعه جهانی، موضوعات ریشهدار مانند مهاجرت، مواد مخدر و امنیت منطقه را کنار گذاشته و به جای آن روی نگرش های جنسیت زده تمرکز کرده. گفتگو با عمر صمد، دیپلمات پیشین افغانستان pic.twitter.com/KI8XsfDwHb
— BBC NEWS فارسی (@bbcpersian) January 10, 2024