Khodjaev reaffirm $500m commitment to build Mazar-Herat railway track

The head of Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Trade Jamshid Khodjaev has said Uzbekistan is committed to invest $500 million on the construction of railway track from Mazari Sharif city to Herat province.

Khodjaev reaffirmed Uzbekistan’s commitment during a meeting President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and said the technical teams of the two countries should start work on a time schedule for the start of the works.

Calling Afghanistan an important partner of Uzbekistan in transport and transit sector, Khodjaev said the relations between the two countries grow as each day passes, noting a 19 per cent increase in trade between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan in 2017 while a 15 increase until May of 2018.

He also added that Uzbekistan is keen to invest on cement extraction and production in Afghanistan and efforts are underway to provide visa facilities to the Afghan traders as well as investment opportunities in Termiz Cargo Center.

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Six district governors replaced in Herat, following presidential order

Six district governors have been replaced in western Herat province, following presidential order, local officials said Tuesday.

According to local officials, the governors of Ghoryan, Chesht, Pashtun Zarghun, Gulran, Keshk Kohna and Adarskan districts have been replaced in a bid to bring reforms in the province.

“The appointments and replacements have been made based on Civil Service Law and presidential decree,” the provincial governor’s spokesman, Jelani Farhad said.

The move, however, has sparked reaction of the provincial council members in the province.

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Taliban’s Red Unit commander, deputy governor among several killed in Herat

Several Taliban group leaders including the deputy shadow governor and the commander of the Red Unit of the group were killed in the airstrikes in western Herat province of Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defense spokesman General Dawlat Waziri said the militants were killed in the airstrikes conducted in Khak-e-Safid district of Herat.

He said at least 38 militants including the deputy shadow district governor of the group Mullah Abdul Samad and the Red Unit commander of the Taliban Mullah Lal Haji Bari Jan Sadiq were killed.

Gen. Waziri further added that a total of fourteen militants were also wounded during the airstrikes and several weapons depots were destroyed.

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Afghans Celebrate Eid Around The Country

Afghans, like millions of Muslims around the world, on Monday started the three day Eid-ul-Adha celebrations.

Early Monday morning, Afghans flocked to the central mosques where they prayed for the security and prosperity of the war-torn country.

Religious scholars in their Eid messages urged the country’s political elite and ordinary people to work together to strengthen efforts for longstanding peace and security.

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani in his Eid speech expressed hope that the country will reach peace in the near future.

He said that a final peace agreement with Hizb-e-Islami, a powerful militant group, will be sealed soon.

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Nadia Anjuman: Poet of Herat

While periodic blog-and-print wars erupt among US poets and critics about the possible death of poetry, in other parts of the world women die for writing poems. In Herat, Afghanistan, Nadia Anjuman was one among a group of women who risked their lives to continue writing under Taliban rule, gathering under the guise of the Golden Needle Sewing School. After the Taliban fell, her first book sold 3000 copies.

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