6th Moscow Format Meeting On Afghanistan To Be Held In October
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister announced that the sixth Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan will be held in October this year.
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister announced that the sixth Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan will be held in October this year.
Andrey Rudenko said that the Taliban is also expected to be invited to the meeting. The previous meeting of the Moscow format was held on September 29, 2023, in Kazan.
The exact date of the sixth Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan has not yet been announced.
However, according to RIA Novosti, quoting Andrey Rudenko, the meeting will be held in Moscow in October.
Russian Ambassador to Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov visited the Taliban's Foreign Ministry in September and met with Amir Khan Muttaqi and invited representatives of the group to participate in the upcoming Moscow Format meeting.
In addition to Russia, representatives of India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Taliban were present.
None of these countries recognise the Taliban, but they do have diplomatic relations with the group.
The European Union and UN Women held a meeting in support of Afghan women's rights in New York on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
The meeting discussed "systematic discrimination and human rights violations by the Taliban" in Afghanistan.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the first day of the UN General Assembly session.
Adela Raz, a former Afghan ambassador to Washington, who attended the meeting, told Afghanistan International that the purpose of the meeting was to review the situation of women in Afghanistan and how the international community supports their rights, especially women working in the business and health sectors.
The joint statement of the EU and UN Women's mission stated that the rights of Afghan women have been significantly reduced, with devastating effects on their access to education, employment and public life.
One of the goals of the meeting was to draw the attention of the international community to the crisis of women's rights in Afghanistan.
"As the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, this event provides a platform for meaningful dialogue on the international community's efforts to protect and advance their rights," said a joint statement by the EU and UN Women mission ahead of the meeting.
The European Union and UN Women have emphasised that the views of Afghan women should be taken into account in decision-making forums on Afghanistan.
Both organisations also emphasised continued support for Afghan women and girls.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday stressed at a special session focusing on Afghan women that he will never allow the Taliban's restrictive laws to become the norm.
The UN Secretary-General said that women and girls face a deep crisis of repression and gender discrimination in Afghanistan. Referring to the Law on the Promotion of Virtue, he said that with this new law, the Taliban have formalised the exclusion of women from the public sphere.
The Taliban announced that a number of the group's officials have been transferred in some provinces on the orders of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada.
According to these changes, the Taliban's governor in Ghor has been appointed as the commander of the 205th Corps, and the district governor of this group in Gereshk, Helmand, has been appointed as the governor of Ghor.
A Taliban spokesman said on Wednesday that Ahmad Shah Dindoost, the governor of Ghor, has been appointed as the commander of the Badr Corps and Hayatullah Mubarak, the former district governor of Gereshk, Helmand, has been appointed as the governor of Ghor.
Nisar Ahmad Nusrat, the Taliban's governor in Kunduz, has been introduced as the deputy minister of rural rehabilitation and development, and Mohammad Khan Dawat, the former commander of the 205th Al-Badr Corps, has been introduced as the Taliban's governor in Kunduz.
Bakht-ur-Rahman Sharafat, deputy director of the Taliban's railway department, has been appointed as deputy minister of public health, and Mohammad Ishaq Sahibzada, deputy minister of public health, has been appointed as deputy director of the railway administration.
Abdul Salam Hussaini, the Taliban's former police chief in Helmand's Musa Qala district, has been appointed as the Kapisa police chief.
Noor Aqa Haider, the former head of security at the Taliban's police chief in Badghis, has been appointed as the police chief of Ghor.
Hafizullah Pahlawan, the Taliban's former police chief in Jawzjan, has been appointed as the head of Badghis police headquarters.
Azizullah Mustafa, the Taliban's former education chief in Nangarhar, has been appointed as the deputy governor of Kapisa province.
Mohammad Usman has now started working as the group's human resources chief at the Ministry of Agriculture.
Rahmatul Haq Fazil, the Taliban's former deputy foreign minister, has been elected as a member of the group's central Darul Ifta.
The Taliban did not provide details about the reason for the change in the duties of these officials.
The European Commission announced a contribution of 146 million euros to meet the basic needs and livelihoods of the people of Afghanistan.
The financial package is dedicated to the provision of basic services, including health, education and food security, and focuses on protecting the rights of women and girls.
The European Commission on Wednesday announced that the financial package focuses on the rights of women, girls, children and vulnerable populations, including internally displaced persons and migrants.
This financial support was pledged on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
"The EU stands firmly in support of the people of Afghanistan. "The more the Taliban government restricts the freedoms of women and girls, the greater the need for our presence."
The European Commission's statement said that the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, has also signed three other programmes to support livelihoods and access to health services for the people of Afghanistan.
These include €15 million to the United Nations Development Programme, €16 million to the World Health Organisation and €15 million to the United Nations Population Fund.
Since 2021, the European Union has allocated at least €900 million to meet basic needs and livelihoods in Afghanistan.
In June this year, the commission also announced that it had allocated 150 million euros in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Sources in Parwan confirmed to Afghanistan International that hundreds of people in Shinwari district of the province have been infected with an "unknown disease".
Hospital sources said on Wednesday that two weeks have passed since the outbreak of the mystery illness and two people have died so far due to it.
According to the details given to Afghanistan International by hospital sources, diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, and lethargy are among the symptoms of the disease.
Hekmat Shamim, the spokesman for the Taliban’s governor in Parwan, confirmed the outbreak of the disease and the death of two people.
The Taliban's Ministry of Public Health has not yet commented on the matter.
According to sources, about 500 residents of Dara-e-Kafshan in Shinwari district have been infected with the disease and the health condition of some of them is critical. Some of the patients have been transferred to Kabul's Antani Hospital.
Afghanistan's health system relies mainly on foreign aid, and with the return of the Taliban and the subsequent developments, it has suffered from a lack of financial and human resources.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in May expressed concern over the shortage of professional health workers in Afghanistan, saying the lack of health facilities in remote areas of Afghanistan has put many lives at risk.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that the group wants to participate in the BRICS meeting in Russia to discuss economic issues.
The Taliban has asked Russia to invite the group to the BRICS meeting, but Moscow has not responded to this request so far.
Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported last week that the Taliban had sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov requesting him that they want to attend the BRICS leaders' meeting.
The letter stated that Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's deputy prime minister, is interested in attending the BRICS summit in Kazan.
The letter was sent by the Taliban's Minister of Industry and Trade Nooruddin Azizi. The BRICS summit is scheduled to be held from October 22 to 24 in the Russian city of Kazan.
Zabihullah Mujahid told the Taliban-controlled National Radio and Television on Wednesday, that powerful countries in the economic arena are members of the BRICS, and that is why Taliban representatives want to participate in the upcoming meeting. The move could provide more economic opportunities for Afghanistan, he said.
So far, no country has recognised the Taliban. Despite its diplomatic relations with the Taliban, Russia has not yet responded to the Taliban's request.
The main members of the BRICS group are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group expanded with the membership of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia at the beginning of this year.
Russia has announced that the upcoming meeting will focus on developing cooperation in three key areas: political and security, economic and financial, and cultural.