Italy Appoints Female Diplomat As New Ambassador To Afghanistan
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday (October 25) that it has appointed Sabrina Ugolini as its ambassador to Afghanistan.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday (October 25) that it has appointed Sabrina Ugolini as its ambassador to Afghanistan.
The ministry said Ugolini will manage Afghanistan-related affairs on an interim basis from Doha.
Earlier, the affairs of the Italian Embassy in Afghanistan were handled by Natalia Quintavalle, the Italian Chargé d'Affaires in Doha.
Sabrina Ugolini was born in Rome, Italy, in 1968 and began her career in this field in 1994, the statement said.
The new Italian ambassador, Sabrina Ugolini, wrote on the embassy's social media platform X that by assuming this responsibility, she will focus on human rights issues and the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.
This comes even as Italy and no other country have recognised the Taliban so far, and many Western countries manage the affairs of their embassies to Afghanistan from Doha, the capital of Qatar.
A group of retirees blocked the street leading to the Ministry of Finance in Kabul on Saturday, October 26, in protest against the Taliban's non-payment of their salaries since the last three years.
Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada has dissolved the pension system in Afghanistan and slashed the salaries of retirees.
Sources said that during these protests, one of the retirees was arrested by the Taliban members.
The demonstrations are part of widespread discontent among retirees who are suffering from the current difficult situation due to the economic crisis and the neglect of their basic needs.
Over the past three years, retired government employees have staged protests in Kabul and other cities. The retired employees allege that they have not received their pensions since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
Protesters said that the non-payment of their salaries has caused serious problems in their daily lives.
Earlier, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had ordered in April this year that the pension share should not be deducted from the monthly salaries of employees. This decree means the abolition of the pension system in Afghanistan.
Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's special representative for Afghanistan affairs, said that Iran is trying to attract Afghan entrepreneurs and private sector investors to invest in Iran's major projects.
Kazemi Qomi added that Tehran and Kabul can create a north-south and east-west transit corridor with the development of Chabahar.
According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, Qomi, on the sidelines of an international exhibition in Mashhad, said that the Islamic Republic is trying to attract Afghan private sector investors by easing conditions and removing obstacles.
Hassan Kazemi Qomi said that the improvement of Afghanistan's economy has a positive impact on the countries of the region.
Earlier, the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran said about reports of land sales to Afghans and the presence of the Taliban in Chabahar that Iran does not endanger its internal security and borders for the sake of economic interests. Fatemeh Mohajerani had said, "Land is not sold to foreign nationals." Officials of the Islamic Republic refer to undocumented Afghan immigrants in Iran as "foreign nationals and unauthorised nationals”.
The Islamic Republic has a close relationship with the Taliban and at the same time seeks to attract private investors from Afghanistan's private sector. Afghan businessmen and investors have transferred a large part of their capital to Iran after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.
The massive wave of migration from Afghanistan to Iran is another consequence of the Taliban's rule. The Islamic Republic has intensified its policy of deporting Afghan refugees. Following an increase in mistreatment of Afghan migrants in Iran, the Iranian government has been accused of being "anti-immigration".
The Special Representative of the Iranian President has said that the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan are interested in developing economic cooperation with Iran.
Khan Jan Alokozay, deputy head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said in June this year that many Afghan businessmen and investors have transferred companies and a large part of their capital to Iran.
Jawanmard Qasab, the economic advisor to the Iranian President’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Affairs, said that in the first four months of 2024, Afghans invested about $150 million in Iran.
Imangali Tasmagambetov, the secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) announced that the organisation will approve a plan to strengthen Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan.
At the next CSTO meeting, a plan to strengthen Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan is on the agenda, said Tasmagambetov.
According to the RIA Novosti news agency, the meeting of the Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation will be held in the city of Astana.
It is said that the draft plan to strengthen Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan has been studied and agreed upon by the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.
Regional organisations, including the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), have repeatedly expressed concern over the past three years about the risk of extremism spreading from Afghanistan to Central Asia.
Earlier, representatives from more than 40 countries expressed concern over the growing spread of extremism, radical religious teachings and racial discrimination in various countries. At a meeting in Moscow, they warned that the situation could lead to catastrophic consequences.
The Taliban's Minister of Energy and Water Abdul Latif Mansour during a meeting with officials of the Mes Aynak Contracting Company (MCC) asked them to speed up the extraction process of this mine.
Abdul Latif Mansour said that the Mes Aynak mine is an important national project and the hope of the Afghan people.
The Taliban's Ministry of Energy and Water wrote in a statement on Friday that Abdul Latif Mansour met with officials of the company during his visit to China.
According to the ministry, the officials of this Chinese company have raised the issues of water and electricity of the Aynak copper project with Abdul Latif Mansour. According to the ministry, Mansour has assured the company that the water and electricity problems of the project will be resolved.
The Taliban's Minister of Energy and Water travelled to China on Wednesday along with a delegation of the group.
The Aynak copper mine is the second largest copper deposit in the world, and the extraction of this mine is considered a major and strategic project for Afghanistan from an economic and political point of view.
In 2008, the contract for the extraction of Aynak copper was signed with the Chinese company "MCC" for 30 years, but due to security issues and the prolongation of archaeological excavations in this area, the mining work was delayed.
Over the past three years, the Taliban has repeatedly asked the Chinese company to start the mining process.
Ali Maisam Nazary, head of foreign relations of the National Resistance Front (NRF), said that with the US elections round the corner, some Western media outlets have resorted to "whitewashing" the Taliban.
Following the publication of The New York Times report on Sirajuddin Haqqani, Nazary accused some Western media of "normalising" the Taliban.
Nazary wrote in a note on Friday, October 25, in response to The New York Times article about Sirajuddin Haqqani, that Afghanistan has now become a centre for international terrorism. He clarified that gender and ethnic apartheid is rampant in the country "under the rule of an oppressive group”.
"It is shameful to see attempts to downplay the Taliban's crimes or encourage more engagement with them," said the head of the National Resistance Front's foreign relations. “These efforts are doomed to failure,” he added.
Nazary said that the next administration of the United States of America should follow a new path. He called on the US authorities to stop the false propaganda and base their policy on the "brutal reality of the Taliban's rule".
The New York Times wrote on Thursday, October 24, that Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister, is the only dissident voice within the group. The newspaper added that Haqqani, who is dissatisfied with Hibatullah Akhundzada's orders, has diplomatic relations with some European countries, the Persian Gulf, Russia and China.
The New York Times interview with Sirajuddin Haqqani has provoked many reactions. In this interview, the media outlet has showcased how Sirajuddin Haqqani went from being a commander to an important member of the Taliban group.
Meanwhile, Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation, said on Thursday that the US approach to the Taliban's "moderate leaders" such as Siraj Haqqani, Abdul Ghani Baradar and Yaqoob Mujahid should be based on foresight. He advised Washington not to be "influenced by the past and the desire for revenge" in dealing with these Taliban officials.
