KABUL, 19 October 2021, (TON): The Islamic Emirate has said “the second deputy of the prime minister, Abdul Salam Hanafi, would lead the delegation set to attend the Moscow meeting this week.”

A spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Inamullah Samangani, said that the Islamic Emirate would take advantage of the Moscow conference and attempt to engage in legitimate relations with the world countries as soon as possible.

He said “a high-level delegation of the Islamic Emirate government of Afghanistan, led by Abdul Salam Hanafi, deputy of prime minister, will participate in the Moscow conference.”

“(They) will hold talks on various issues related to Afghanistan with the representatives of different countries. Of course, we should wait for further details, as the format of the conference is yet to be decided.”

Moscow will host a conference on the Afghan situation this Wednesday in Moscow. Former diplomat Aziz Miraj said, “The Taliban’s invitation by Moscow, and the organization of a summit there ... will have a very big influence on the situation at the international level, and it may even drag Afghanistan out of isolation because Russia is a powerful country in the world and is one of the opponent countries of NATO and West.”

A source close to Abdullah Abdullah, former chairman of the high council for national reconciliation, said that former president, Hamid Karzai and Abdullah were also invited to the conference.

KABUL, 19 October 2021, (TON): Former Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) has signed a contract at a $9 million higher rate with a foreign company to provide security for four airports.

The contract includes security arrangements for airports in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Kandahar provinces.

Pajhwok has also obtained the registration document of the General Aviation Airport Coalition (GAAC) company which was founded in the UAE on October 28, 2020 only six days before the contract was signed with it.

Documents received by Pajhwok show the contract was previously signed with a well-known British company against $12 million a year, but the newly founded GAAC company was paid around $15 million a year for the same service, which shows a 24 percent increase in the rate.

Pajhwok has access to documents which show that GAAC was registered in Afghanistan only six days after it was formed in Dubai in 2020. After it was registered, ACAA awarded a security contract of four airports to the company on a rate $9 million higher compared to the previous rate.

The contract is for three years for a total cost of $47.69 million and the fixed budget for each year is $15.6 million.

ISLAMABAD, 19 October 2021, (TON): Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi received a telephone call from his Iranian counterpart Dr Hossein Amir Abdollahian and exchanged views on the regional security situation, particularly Afghanistan.

The Foreign Office said in a statement “Foreign Minister Dr Abdollahian invited Qureshi to participate in the second ministerial meeting of the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, to be held in Tehran next week.”

During the conversation, the Iranian FM stressed that Iran fully supported Pakistan’s initiative for a regional approach on Afghanistan.

The statement added “FM Qureshi thanked his Iranian counterpart for the invitation and expressed the hope that the meeting would impart further impetus to the regional approach on the situation in Afghanistan.”

Qureshi emphasised that close coordination was essential to help Afghanistan on the path to peace, stability and development.

The foreign minister underlined that sustained international engagement is essential in view of the evolving economic situation in Afghanistan.

ISLAMABAD, 19 October 2021, (TON): Pakistan strongly condemned the continuing extrajudicial killings in staged encounters and fake cordon-and-search operations, as well as arbitrary detentions and crimes against humanity by Indian occupation forces in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said that the deteriorating security and human rights situation in the occupied territory is a "matter of grave concern for the international community".

He said "we also strongly condemn India's ongoing propaganda to malign the indigenous and just struggle of the people of IIOJK for their right to self-determination, by raising the bogey of ‘terrorism’.”

The spokesperson said that Pakistan has also been alerting the world community about India’s track record of orchestrating false-flag operations to undermine the Kashmir freedom movement.

Equally condemnable, he said, is the RSS-BJP combine's ploy to demonise Kashmiri Muslims, by stirring up communal tensions.

He said "Pakistan calls on India to halt its state-sponsored terrorism, refrain from propaganda against Kashmiris, lift its suffocating military siege and let the people of IIOJK exercise their right to self-determination as promised in various UN Security Council resolutions.”

The Muslim-majority region has been on the edge since the killing of three Hindus and a Sikh last week which triggered a crackdown by Indian authorities.

NAYPYITAW, 19 October 2021, (TON): Myanmar’s shadow government said that it welcomed a decision by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not to allow the country’s military chief to attend a summit of the regional grouping later this month.

In a statement, the National Unity Government (NUG) called the move an “unprecedented and positive step” and urged the bloc to ensure that not only junta members, but also “any individuals and organisations” associated with the regime, are barred from the summit.

The NUG said in its statement “ASEAN must ensure the Myanmar representative can objectively represent the interests of Myanmar and its people.”

“We stand ready to provide recommendations for [a] non-political representative for ASEAN’s evaluation and consideration,” it added in response to the bloc’s announcement that it would invite an alternative representative for Myanmar to the summit.

Asean’s current chair Brunei announced that junta chief Min Aung Hlaing would not be invited to the upcoming summit due to his regime’s failure to implement a five-point consensus reached between the junta and the regional grouping in April.

NAYPYITAW, 19 October 2021, (TON): Myanmar's junta chief announced the release of more than 5,000 people jailed for protesting against a February coup, days after a regional bloc delivered a major snub to the military regime.

There has been chaos in Myanmar since the coup, with more than 1,100 civilians killed in a bloody crackdown on dissent and more than 8,000 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.

More than 7,300 are currently behind bars, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Junta head Min Aung Hlaing said a total of 5,636 prisoners will be freed to mark the Thadingyut festival later in October, without providing details on when they would be freed.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Asean's decision to exclude Senior General Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming summit of the 10-country bloc over his administration's commitment to defusing the bloody crisis.

General Min Aung Hlaing gave no details on who would be included in the list and prison authorities did not respond to media requests for comment.

The Democratic Voice of Burma news website said three of its journalists, all held for around six months, had been freed.

DHAKA, 19 October 2021, (TON): Representatives of High Commission of India in Dhaka and assistant high commissioner of India, Chattogram on Sunday paid their solemn tribute to fallen Indian soldiers who fought under the flag of Commonwealth countries in World War-II at Chittagong War Cemetery.

The cemetery, originally created for hospital deaths, was enlarged to receive burials from a number of isolated sites and contains 751 war graves, which includes 14 sailors, 545 soldiers and 194 airmen.

There are also four non-world war graves in the cemetery.

The cemetery houses graves of soldiers from UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, East Africa, West Africa, Burma (Myanmar), Netherlands, Japan and Undivided India.

A total of 214 graves of personnel from undivided India also include more than 10 graves of personnel who were natives of present day Bangladesh.

These men sacrificed their lives in the fight against the Axis power from 1939 to 1945.

DHAKA, 19 October 2021, (TON): Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed left Dhaka for Seoul on Sunday on a five-day official visit to South Korea.

A statement by the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) “General Shafiuddin will attend the Seoul International Aerospace & Defence Exhibition-2021 at the invitation of the Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army General Nam Yeong Shin.”

The Bangladesh Army chief, who is leading a five-member delegation, will make courtesy calls on the South Korean minister of national defence, the joint chiefs of staff, the chief of army staff, the air force, and other senior military officials.

General Shafiuddin is expected to return on October 23.

NEW DELHI, 18 October 2021, (TON): Engulfed in fear that the Taliban's resounding victory in Afghanistan could reignite the freedom movement in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), India has proposed to host an in-person meeting of the National Security Advisors (NSAs) on Afghanistan issue in New Delhi next month, inviting "key stakeholders" including Russia and archrivals Pakistan and China.

According to Indian media, India has suggested two dates, November 10 and 11, for the meeting in its capital.

The invitation has been extended to Pakistan’s NSA Moeed Yusuf amid increased tensions in IIOJK. The report quoted sources privy to the development as saying that all stakeholders have to be engaged to defuse the impending humanitarian and security crises in Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of Kabul.

India is also due to participate in the Moscow Format meeting on the Afghan situation on October 20.

On any humanitarian assistance India is extending or has extended to Afghanistan, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India's policy towards Afghanistan is "guided by its friendship with the Afghan people."

The development comes at a time when fears were growing in New Delhi that the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan could ignite the freedom movement in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

About 40 people have been killed in shootings and clashes in the two months in the Himalayan region since the Taliban overran Kabul on August 15.

Occupied valley's Sikh and Hindu communities have been targeted in the gun battles in which many soldiers and separatists were also left dead.

KABUL, 18 October 2021, (TON): Turkey can play “an active role in investing, realising some projects, renovating and restoring Afghanistan," with the resources it possesses, according to the country’s acting foreign minister.

In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Amir Khan Muttaqi said that the official recognition of his government and international aid held great importance to the recovery of the country’s economy.

Muttaqi led a Taliban delegation on an official visit to Turkey to discuss bilateral issues and cooperation on the future of Afghanistan.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Muttaqi had a meeting where they discussed issues related to the official recognition of the Taliban and assets belonging to Afghanistan that were blocked by the US.

Muttaqi said that the freezing of reserves by the US after the Taliban's takeover, violated international law and human rights.

He stressed money blocked by the US was sent from other states for the development of Afghanistan.

He asked rhetorically "The real question is, why was this money blocked? What did the citizens of Afghanistan do?”