ISLAMABAD: The Taliban and the US have formed joint working groups to finalize details of a draft agreement, including the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and a guarantee that Afghanistan will not be used as a base for terror attacks against the US and its allies, a senior Taliban official told Arab News on Saturday.
Peace negotiations between the US and the Taliban in Qatar last month ended with signs of progress toward the withdrawal of thousands of foreign troops from Afghanistan and an end to more than 17 years of war.
Russia hosted peace talks in Moscow between the Taliban and opposition Afghan politicians.
Suhail Shaheen, the spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, told Arab News that the working groups would meet in a week or two to prepare reports for the next round of talks in Doha, to be held later this month. The outgoing head of the Taliban political office, Sher Abbas Stanikzai, said the next meeting was scheduled for Feb. 25.
“We have been demanding complete withdrawal of all foreign forces, which was an important issue for us,” he told Arab News. “The second issue was related to American concerns that Afghan soil should not be used for terrorism against them in the future.
“Both sides agreed to form joint working groups. So we are satisfied about the outcome of the talks in the sense as we will be working on the two issues – troops withdrawal and to counter the terrorism threat in the future – and the committees will draft the agreement and explore ways for implementation of the agreements.”
The Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until late 2001 but were ousted by US-backed Afghan forces for harboring Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The group has since been fighting to drive out foreign forces and defeat what it considers a foreign-backed government in Kabul.
But the fighting has spread to most Afghan regions, with thousands of people killed every year.
Shaheen was asked why the Taliban was not yielding to calls for a cease-fire, and replied that other matters needed to be resolved first.
“We are now discussing withdrawal of foreign troops. We have not yet reached any understanding on this issue. Other issues will be discussed after we reached agreement on the withdrawal of the foreign troops. When we decide the external aspect of the problem, then we will focus on other issues.”
The Taliban last week rejected a suggestion from US President Donald Trump of a US focus on counter-terrorism after the troop drawdown.
“We have clearly stated in our meetings that all troops, which means all categories and under any name, stationed in Afghanistan, will leave,” Shaheen said.
The Taliban spokesman also clarified remarks by senior Taliban negotiator Abdul Salam Hanafi that the US had agreed to call back half of its 14,000 troops by the end of April, saying there was no agreed time frame.
He said Hanafi had been referring to US media reports which suggested that half of the troops would be gone by May.
“There is no agreed timetable for the withdrawal of the American forces. It depends on the US side whether it withdraws or not ... we are working on options to agree on a timetable. We will work on it in the near future and we will determine a timetable.”
Shaheen also said the Taliban did not intend to abolish Afghan security forces, like the national army or police, but would reform them so they could defend and protect the nation.
When asked about the remarks by the Taliban chief negotiator to abolish the constitution, Shaheen said: “Our opinion is that the constitution was drafted and approved under the shadow of the American B-52 bomber planes. So we want a constitution drafted in an environment of freedom. All Afghan ulema and scholars should debate and finalize a draft and the constitution should be Islamic as we are 100 percent Muslim in Afghanistan, so we will keep in mind its Islamic and Afghan values which reflect the values of our society.
“We do not say that we do not accept the constitution. Our opinion is that the constitution is a necessity for the society and we accept its importance and it should be [drafted] in an environment of freedom.”
He said all participants in Moscow had unanimously called for the withdrawal of foreign forces and agreed the system in Afghanistan should be Islamic.
“The conference was important in the sense that the participants collectively made these two demands so I consider it an important development. This is also important, that all Afghans agreed on important issues only in two days.”
Taliban, US form joint working groups on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
Taliban, US form joint working groups on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
- Peace negotiations between the US and the Taliban in Qatar last month ended with signs of progress toward the withdrawal of thousands of foreign troops from Afghanistan and an end to more than 17 years of war
- Russia hosted peace talks in Moscow between the Taliban and opposition Afghan politicians
Pakistan’s Punjab offers health, education, religious tourism incentives to Saudi investors
- Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz meets Prince Mansour, former governor of Hafr Al-Batin province
- Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have sought closer business and economic ties in recent months
ISLAMABAD: The chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province has offered Saudi investors incentives as part of a “special package” to explore opportunities in religious tourism, health, education and infrastructure, state-run media reported this week.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met Prince Mansour bin Mohammed Al Saud, former governor of Saudi Arabia’s Hafr Al-Batin province, on Monday to discuss promoting bilateral relations and mutual cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Punjab, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.
The two nations enjoy cordial ties, with Riyadh frequently assisting cash-strapped Pakistan by supplying oil on deferred payment terms and financial support to stabilize its economy.
“During the discussions, the chief minister invited Saudi investors to explore opportunities in infrastructure, health, education and religious tourism in Punjab,” APP reported. “She assured Saudi investors of her government’s full cooperation and the provision of incentives under a special package.”
Sharif praised Saudi Arabia’s longstanding cooperation with Pakistan, saying Riyadh was like an older brother.
“The hearts of the people of both countries beat together,” she is quoted as saying.
“The Punjab government has ensured foolproof security and established a system based on merit to improve the business environment in the province.”
APP said Prince Mansour assured Pakistan of Saudi Arabia’s support.
“The relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is crucial for the stability and prosperity of the entire region,” he said. “Saudi Arabia will always stand by Pakistan.”
The Kingdom is home to over 2 million Pakistani expatriates and is the source of most overseas workers’ remittances for Pakistan.
The two countries have forged strong business and economic relations in recent months. In October 2024, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed several memorandums of understanding valued at $2.8 billion. In December, Sharif’s office confirmed that seven of 34 MoUs had been converted into agreements worth $560 million.
Indonesia joins BRICS, vows to strengthen Global South cooperation
- BRICS now accounts for about 48% of world’s population, over 37% of global economy
- Jakarta wants to attract more foreign investment, find alternatives to West-led order, expert says
JAKARTA: Indonesia announced on Tuesday its acceptance into the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, vowing to strengthen cooperation with countries of the Global South.
Initially comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the group expanded last year with the accession of Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the UAE.
Morphing into the most powerful geopolitical forum outside of the Western world, BRICS now accounts for about 48 percent of the world’s population and more than 37 percent of the global economy.
Rolliansyah Soemirat, spokesperson for Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Indonesia is committed to contributing to the agendas discussed by BRICS, which include economic resilience, tech cooperation and public health.
“BRICS is an important platform for Indonesia to strengthen South-South cooperation and to ensure that the voices and aspirations of Global South countries will be represented in the global decision-making process,” Soemirat said.
Indonesia’s accession had been approved by BRICS leaders in August 2023, but the world’s fourth-most populous country opted to formally join the bloc after the formation of the newly elected government following last year’s elections. Its accession was welcomed by the government of Brazil, which holds the group’s rotating presidency in 2025.
“As the largest economy and most populous nation in Southeast Asia, Indonesia shares with other BRICS members the support for the reform of the global governance institutions and contributes significantly to the deepening of Global South cooperation,” Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Brazil holds the BRICS presidency this year under the theme “Enhancing Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance” and will host the annual leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro in July.
Indonesia’s interest in joining BRICS is likely a part of the government’s drive to attract more foreign investment, said Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma, researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.
“The move is to do with seeking opportunities to expand sources of investment from a group of countries that do not force Indonesia to choose sides or leave traditional partnerships with the West,” Kharisma told Arab News.
“However, this outcome is not guaranteed,” he said. “The investment patterns of BRICS countries have not shown a clear tendency to prioritize or politically favor fellow members. There is no assurance that Indonesia’s investments will increase significantly.”
Joining BRICS may also be a way for Indonesia to showcase the look of a “new global order,” Kharisma added.
“Symbolically, it is a signal from a country like Indonesia, which has benefitted from the West-led order all this time but wants to integrate even more (into) the global order, that it is seeking ‘alternatives’ should the West-led orders become … less friendly to developing countries.”
Ukraine says conducting combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region
- Russia’s army said over the weekend that Kyiv was mounting a “counter-attack” in the region
- Ukraine’s forces have held onto a swathe of territory since a shock incursion last August
KYIV: Ukraine said Tuesday its forces struck a Russian military “command post” in Russia’s Kursk region during “combat operations,” while backtracking on a claim it had launched a fresh offensive in the border area.
Russia’s army said over the weekend that Kyiv was mounting a “counter-attack” in the region, where Ukraine’s forces have held onto a swathe of territory since a shock incursion last August.
In an English-language statement, Kyiv’s army said it had launched a “high precision” strike near the village of Belaya — south-east of Kyiv-controlled territory — without saying if it had used Western long-range weapons.
An original version of the statement, published by the Ukrainian General Staff on its Telegram account, said Ukraine had launched “new offensive operations” in the Kursk region.
The post was then edited and the reference to a “new offensive” removed.
“This strike is an integral part of the combat operations of units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which conduct combat operations” in the Kursk region, the updated statement said.
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers have reported a powerful new Ukrainian offensive, but Kyiv had not commented on those reports, only saying in regular daily briefings that fighting in the region was ongoing.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had on Monday also alluded to fighting in the Kursk region in his evening address, stating that Kyiv was “maintaining a buffer zone on Russian territory” and “actively destroying Russian military potential there.”
It is not clear if Ukraine had advanced much in the region, but the assault would come nearly three years into Moscow’s invasion and two weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House.
Trump has vowed to begin talks to end the Ukraine war and Kyiv’s hold in Kursk could influence any negotiations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Ukraine’s “position in Kursk” would “factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year.”
Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the western border region in August 2024, before Russia repelled some attacks, including with the help of North Korean soldiers sent by Pyongyang.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, French far-right leader known for fiery rhetoric against immigration, dies at 96
- A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence
- Le Pen routinely countered that he was simply a patriot protecting the identity of “eternal France”
PARIS: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, died Tuesday. He was 96.
A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence. His statements — including Holocaust denial, racist denunciations of Muslims and immigrants and his 1987 proposal to forcibly isolate people with AIDS in special facilities — shocked his critics and strained his political alliances.
Le Pen routinely countered that he was simply a patriot protecting the identity of “eternal France.”
Le Pen, who once reached the second round of the 2002 presidential election, was eventually estranged from his daughter, Marine Le Pen, who renamed his National Front party, kicked him out and transformed it into one of France’s most powerful political forces while distancing herself from her father’s extremist image.
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally as the party is now known, confirmed Le Pen’s death in a post on social media platform X. Bardella’s unusually warm tribute highlighted Le Pen’s polemical past, including his ties to the Algerian war, describing him as a “tribune of the people” who “always served France” and expressing condolences to his family, including Marine.
The post appeared to blur the distance the rebranded party had sought to establish between its firebrand founder and its more polished, modern direction under Marine Le Pen.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, expressed “his condolences to (Le Pen's) family and friends,” in an uncharacteristically short statement issued by the presidential palace.
“A historic figure of the far right, he played a role in the public life of our country for almost 70 years, which is now a matter for history to judge,” the statement read.
Marine Le Pen, thousands of kilometers (miles) away in the French territory of Mayotte, was inspecting the aftermath of destructive Cyclone Chido at the time of her father’s death.
Despite his exclusion from the party in 2015, Le Pen’s divisive legacy endures, marking decades of French political history and shaping the trajectory of the far right.
His death came at a crucial time for his daughter. She now faces a potential prison term and a ban on running for political office if convicted in an embezzling trial.
As Le Pen’s health deteriorated in recent years, he was hospitalized several times, including after he suffered a stroke.
Le Pen is survived by his wife and three daughters, Marie-Caroline, Yann and Marine.
Philippines welcomes clemency for 220 Filipinos in UAE
- Recently pardoned Filipinos join another 143 given clemency on occassion of Eid Al-Adha
- Philippine government is coordinating with UAE authorities for their immediate repatriation
MANILA: The Philippines has welcomed the UAE’s decision to extend clemency to 220 Filipinos as a move strengthening bilateral relations and the government’s labor migration efforts.
Serving prison terms for various offenses, the Philippine nationals were pardoned as part of last month’s National Day celebrations — a move officially announced by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday night as “proof of the strong ties between our two countries.”
The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai were coordinating with UAE authorities to ensure the immediate repatriation of the released.
“We are deeply appreciative of the continued generosity and understanding shown by the government and people of the UAE towards Filipinos. The pardon granted reaffirms the strong and growing relationship between our two nations, built on mutual respect, cooperation, and shared values,” they said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The Philippine government regularly works to assist Filipino nationals facing legal issues, including providing legal aid, negotiating with local authorities, and securing repatriations or clemency where possible.
The 220 recently pardoned join another 143 pardoned in the UAE on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.
The Middle East chapter of Migrante, a global alliance of overseas Filipino workers, also welcomed the development saying that it was “pleased with the decision” and that it “increases the ties” between the two countries.
“It goes without saying that every country relies on one another. Countries in the Middle East, such as the UAE, need the labor force of migrant workers from countries with a lack of jobs, like the Philippines,” Migrante Middle East told Arab News.
“This development further promotes the Labor Export Program of (Marcos’s) government.”
Nearly 1 million overseas Filipino workers live in the Gulf state — most in Dubai. They are a key source of remittances to the Philippines and contribute as well to their host country’s development.
