(MENAFN- Pajhwok Afghan News)

KABUL (Pajhwok): Last week, a conference on Afghanistan was held in Geneva. Britain and China sent positive messages to the Afghan caretaker government, but the death toll in the country was higher than the previous week, with 12 people killed and 18 others injured.

Important news from the past week

• Afghan officials at the Geneva conference agreed on some issues in meetings with a number of countries and organizations.
• A meeting will be held in China at the end of March with representatives of Afghanistan’s neighbors and the Afghan government.
• Britain has said it will increase its engagement and humanitarian aid with Afghanistan’s caretaker government.
• West should recognize Taliban now form Afghan government: former UK defense chief
• Zamir Kabulov emphasizes the importance of ensuring human rights in Afghanistan and the inclusion of all ethnic groups in government.
• China says new Afghan gov’t wants relations with world based on mutual respect
• Likely $3.5 billion of Afghan capital paid to families of 9/11 victims: Biden
• Biden’s order is drawing strong reactions from some current and former Afghan officials, the general public, and Human Rights Watch.
• At least 30 people were killed and injured in Afghanistan last week.

Victims:

At least 12 people were killed and 18 others injured in Afghanistan last week.

Reports say a thief was killed and another was injured in Qarabagh district, capital Kabul, while protesters in Kabul’s Mirbacha Kot district claimed security forces killed one person and injured another. One person was killed in a targeted attack in the Pul-i-Sukhtar neighborhood of Kabul.

A woman and her two daughters were killed in Kabul’s 7th Police District, and in the 6th Police District, gunmen killed the head of a garment factory.

Reports say the head of Sharia faculty at Ghazni University was found dead after being kidnapped last week, a drug addict was killed in Nimroz and a tribal elder was killed in Garziwan district in Faryab. A child was killed and another injured in a bomb blast in Sangin district of Helmand province.

Two children were injured in the explosion of a mine in the Chora district of Uruzgan province and one person was killed and 14 others injured in an explosion in the city of Qala-i-Naw, the capital of the province of Badghis.

Reports show that a Security Force Ranger pick-up truck was hit by a bomb in Panjshir province last week. Some residents claimed that four people were killed in the blast, but provincial officials denied this claim and other sources also did not confirm the claim.

According to reports, only one person was killed across the country last week.

This comes as hundreds of people are believed to have been killed or injured every week in the country’s past conflicts.

International conferences

Last week, a meeting was held in Geneva at the initiative of a non-governmental organization Geneva Call, which was also attended by a delegation from the interim government of Afghanistan.

The Afghan government said the delegation met with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and the Global Fund, as well as British and Swiss officials.

A statement from Geneva Call indicates that the two parties have agreed to work to facilitate humanitarian services, assistance and protection of personnel, maintain and develop health facilities, clear landmines and protect the environment and cultural heritages and providing educational facilities to Afghans.

“This conference and declaration represent a step towards enhanced protection of civilians in Afghanistan, recognizing that the needs are dire and that increased support and collaboration are required to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people,” the statement said.

Third meeting of neighboring countries of Afghanistan

According to reports, a meeting of countries neighboring Afghanistan, including representatives of the new Afghan government, is expected to take place in China at the end of March this year.

Deputy Foreign Minister Inamullah Samangani said earlier that the caretaker government supports regional meetings on Afghanistan and considers them in the interest of the country.

The first meeting of foreign ministers from the six neighboring countries of Afghanistan, including Iran, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, was held on September 8, under the chairmanship of the Pakistan.

A second such meeting was held in Tehran on October 27, to which Russia was also invited.

Interaction of Britain, China and Russia with the caretaker government

British Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Hugo Shortersays pledged to increase humanitarian aid and promote the banking sector in Afghanistan.

It comes as former British Army chief David Richards said last week: “It is time to accept that we have lost the war and that we should work with the new Afghan leadership to protect the Afghans. The West should accept the fact that the Taliban are now the government of Afghanistan.

Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said Russia stands ready to help the Taliban respect human rights and form an inclusive government representing all ethnic groups.

While China assured countries in the region that the Taliban wanted relations with the international community based on mutual respect.

President Joe Biden has decided to freeze about $7 billion in assets held in US financial institutions by the Afghan central bank following the Taliban takeover, as he pledged to spend 3, $5 billion for humanitarian aid and to preserve the rest for the families of the victims of the September crisis. 11 terrorist attacks.

In an executive order signed on Friday, Biden ordered that “all property and interests in property” of the Afghan central bank in the United States be blocked and transferred to an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, cutting off access. from the Taliban to the American financial system.

However, Biden’s order drew a strong backlash from current and former government officials in Afghanistan, calling it an injustice to the people of the war-torn country.

Continuation of humanitarian aid

The UN special representative for Afghanistan has said that the European Union will provide five million euros for the improvement of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. Turkey sent 750 tonnes of aid to Afghanistan last week and 730 tonnes of wheat from China are on their way to the country.

Pakistan also provided 31 tons of food and non-food items and the central bank confirmed it had received another tranche of $32 million for humanitarian purposes.

UNHCR said Afghanistan urgently needs $589 million to support internally displaced people.

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