KABUL (Pajhwok): The Russian Attorney General’s Office last week requested the country’s Supreme Court to remove the name “Taliban” from its blacklist.
Also last week, Tashkent emphasized neighboring countries should cooperate for the development of Afghanistan, and Afghan officials said the world should pave the way for positive political and economic interactions with the Islamic Emirate.
Last week’s major events
Remove “Taliban” from blacklist: Russia top court urged
Various sources ask Pakistan to stop deporting Afghans
Tashkent underlines engagements with Afghanistan
Mujahid: Uzbekistan understands Afghanistan realities
Baradar calls for world’s positive interactions with IEA
Casualties
Six people were killed and four others were injured in separate incidents of violence in Afghanistan last week.
Two people were killed and four others were injured during a clash over a land dispute between two families in Nangarhar province.
Separately, two people were shot dead by a third party during a verbal dispute between two groups in Kunar, and unidentified gunmen killed a young man in the same province.
Takhar Police said a man shot and killed his wife in the Yangi Qala district of the province after an argument.
Note: These figures are based on reports reaching Pajhwok Afghan News. Some incidents may have gone unreported or sources provided incorrect figures.
In the previous week, five people had been killed and a sixth injured in various incidents in Afghanistan.
Hundreds of civilians and members of the warring parties would get killed and injured in every week in the country before the regime change in August 2021.
Russia’s efforts to remove ‘Taliban’ from blacklist
Last week, Russia’s top prosecutor asked the country’s Supreme Court to remove the name ‘Taliban’ from Russia’s blacklist.
According to a report by the Russian TASS news agency, the Russian Supreme Court will hold a closed-door meeting on the matter on the 17th of this month.
This comes after Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said the Islamic Emirate was ready for positive interaction with the world based on mutual respect and an economy-oriented policy.
Pakistan urged to stop forcibly deporting Afghans
Last week, Pakistani media reported that police have launched a crackdown on Afghan refugees in the country after the deadline for them to leave voluntarily expired, rounding up a number of them in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Pakistan had set March 31 the deadline for Afghan refugees to leave the country voluntarily.
UN experts, including Richard Bennett, have urged Pakistan not to proceed with plans to forcibly expel Afghans from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and avoid deporting them to Afghanistan.
In a joint statement issued on Friday, they expressed their concern over the forcible repatriation of Afghans and emphasised that as Afghanistan’s neighbour, Pakistan must continue to host Afghans.
The experts said: “Millions of Afghans in Pakistan are at risk of being pushed back to Afghanistan without regard for their genuine protection concerns – it is in violation of the international human rights law and refugee law and disregarding UNHCR’s non-return advisory.”
Previously, Amnesty International had also called on Pakistan to immediately stop forcibly deporting Afghan refugees.
Similarly, the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has also called on neighboring countries, especially Pakistan, to refrain from forcibly deporting Afghan refugees.
According to reports, currently about three million Afghans are living in Pakistan, of which one million lack legal residence documents.
Afghanistan-Uzbekistan ties
Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev says critics of his policy towards Afghanistan have come to recognise its validity and effectiveness.
He emphasised that Afghanistan’s development was impossible without constructive engagement with neighbouring countries, including Uzbekistan.
In an interview with Euronews, Shavkat Mirziyoyev insisted Uzbekistan’s approach to Afghanistan had always been pragmatic and strategically focused on long-term stability.
“We have never isolated or turned away from our neighbour. We have always believed that Afghanistan’s development is impossible without constructive engagement with neighbouring countries, including Uzbekistan as its closest and most significant partner,” he said.
Zabihullah Mujahid, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan spokesman, also described relations between Kabul and Tashkent as good, saying Uzbekistan had a good understanding of Afghanistan’s realities.
In addition, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in a meeting with the Special Representative of the United Arab Emirates for Afghanistan, Saif Mohammad Al-Kutbi, described the relations between the two countries as positive.
The two sides discussed the development and expansion of bilateral relations, trade and transit.
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