Reg: No 352 Volume No. 3919 Sunday July 01, 2018 Saratan 10, 1397 www.outlookafghanistan.net Price: 20/-Afs

Quote of the Day

This isn’t good or bad. It’s just the way of things. Nothing stays the same.

Gordon Atkinson

www.thedailyafghanistan.comEmail: thedailyafghanistan@yahoo.com

Phone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019Add: In front of Habibia High School,

District 3, Kabul, Afghansitan

Change

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KABUL - “The truce is over. Our security forces are allowed to resume their operations and the reason is that the peace plan was offered from a point of strength not weakness,” Ghani told reporters here.The president said the ceasefire was an experiment in a situa-tion which was under control as the fighting went on and se-curity forces responded to attacks and stayed ready for every situation.Ghani said the ceasefire, which lasted 18 days after it was extended once and overlapped with the Taliban’s unilateral three-day truce for Eid, had been “98 percent successful.”After the government announced unilateral ceasefire before Eidul Fitr, the Taliban responded by declaring a three-day lull in the fighting --- unprecedented in the nearly 17-year conflict.The truces triggered jubilant scenes across the war-weary country, with Taliban fighters and security forces spontane-

ously celebrating the Eid holiday, hugging each other and taking selfies.Ghani said the ceasefire had shown that the majority of the insurgents wanted peace and it was the “Taliban’s turn to give a positive response.” “I am ready to extend the ceasefire anytime when the Taliban are ready,” he said at a press con-ference.But on Tuesday, the Taliban vowed to continue their bloody fight against the government and their foreign backers, un-concerned about civilian casualties.Talking to reporters, President Ghani said corruption, viola-tions of law and crimes had been hereditary from the past one decade and reiterated commitments to break monopoly over the peace and reconciliation process.Earlier some Wolesi Jirga members said the government should have shared information with them regarding the peace process while others mocked ...(More on P4)...(1)

KABUL - The US State Department has urged the government of Afghanistan to stop the unlawful recruitment and use of children by security forces.In a report on trafficking in persons, the State De-partment called for demobilising children from state and non-state groups with victim protection and reintegration support.The Ghani administration was asked to step up investigations and prosecutions, including of law enforcement and members of the military sus-pected of being complicit in trafficking. Perpetrators of bachabazi be convicted and ap-propriately sentenced, the report said, stressing an end to the penalisation of victims for offenses committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking.The State Department also recommended a halt to prosecutions for moral crimes and the placement of child-trafficking victims in juvenile detention centers.Formally adoption and dissemination of stand-ard operating procedures for victim identification and referral to rehabilitation services and train of-ficials on their use was also recommended.Amendments to Chapter 5 of the penal code were proposed to toughen penalties for bachabazi. The number of Interior Ministry staff in each region be increased and their ...(More on P4)...(4)

KABUL - On International Day of Parliamentarism, Afghans voiced their unhappiness about MPs and said they were not working for the people. Asked for their opinion about the country’s lawmakers on In-ternational Day of Parliamenta-rism, Afghans from around the country on Saturday accused members of the Wolesi Jirga (the Lower House of Parliament) of being inefficient and of putting their own interests first. Those who talked to TOLOnews said many Afghan lawmakers put their own interests first and had forgotten about their main duties for which they were elect-ed. “The representatives in the Na-tional Assembly only think about their own interests and have for-gotten the national interests,” Wali Rahman Shahzada, a Kabul resident, said. “During the elections, MPs ap-peared among the people and said they belong to the people. But when they won the elec-tions, they forget the people and their promises,” Abdul Rahman Stanekzai, another Kabul resi-dent, said. These remarks come after tem-pers flared in Wednesday’s ses-sion which led to a scuffle in par-liament. The incident happened when Badakhshan MP Abdul LatifPe-dram criticized government over its zone-based election plan for Ghazni province. Parliament speaker Abdul Rau-fIbrahimi said on Saturday a number of MPs violated house rules and one committed a crime which has resulted in people los-ing confidence in parliament. “Those who commit such acts indicates their own bad culture,” said Ibrahimi. Other legislators meanwhile criti-cized their fellow MPs’ actions and said such behavior damages parliament’s reputation. “Members of the house should not damage the reputation of par-liament anymore,” said Ghulam Farooq Majrooh, an MP. “Those who act in contradic-tion with the law and principles, should ...(More on P4)...(3)

KABUL - Twenty-two students and six teachers of a private school fell ill in capital Kabul on Saturday morning after inhaling a mysterious odor, police said.Police spokesman Hashmatullah-Stanikzai told Pajhowk Afghan News the incident happened at Dehkada private school in Ah-mad Shah Baba Mena.He said 22 students and their six teachers were evacuated to hospi-tal for medical treatment after be-ing poisoned. The motive behind the incident could not be ascer-tained but police had launched investigation.Abdul Malik, a resident of the area, said his son was also among the affected students. He said about 50 students had apparently been poisoned.Abdul KabirHaqmal, spokesman for the Ministry of Education (MoE), confirmed the incident and said the students, teachers fell ill after inhaling a kind of odor.Haqmal said police and MoE teams had been investigating the incident. (Pajhwok)

Halt to Children’s Recruitment by Security

Forces Stressed

Afghans Slam MPs for Unruly Behavior in Parliament

Private School Students, Teachers Fall Ill from Odor

Ceasefire Over, but Efforts for Peace to Continue: Ghani

President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday announced an end to the government’s ceasefire with the Taliban and ordered

security forces to resume offensives across the country.

KABUL - The initial list released on Saturday includes the names of at least 800 candidates in an 82-page docu-

IEC Announces Initial List of Candidates

Enter Direct Negotiations with Afghan Taliban, US Urged

ment. The Independent Election Commis-sion (IEC) on Satur-day announced the initial list of can-didates for parlia-mentary elections. IEC statistics show that 2,691 have filed nomination papers across Af-ghanistan to run for the parliament.

Of those registered, 404 are female applicants.

According to IEC, so far more than 7.3 million people have registered to vote in the upcoming elections.The commission will reject the nominees whose documents do not comply with the law, head of the IEC AbdulbadiSayyad said at a press conference on Friday.The announcement of the list was scheduled for June 28 but accord-ing to the commission, it was delayed due to the late arrival of nomination papers. The parliamentary and district councils’ elections will be held in October. (Tolo news)

WASHINGTON - The United States has been urged to enter direct negotiations with the Taliban to help promote a negotiated settle-ment of the 17-year war in Afghanistan.A peace deal between the Afghan govern-ment and the Taliban would involve offering some concessions, delegates said at a track-II dialogue that concluded in Islamabad on Friday.The Washington-Taliban parleys would not impact the Afghan government’s peace process, believed speakers at Approaching Peace Talks: Stakeholders, Challenges, and Prospects.The two-day informal international meet-ing featured working and former lawmakers from Afghanistan and Pakistani, diplomats, army officials and foreign intellectuals.A statement issued on the conclusion of the meeting said: “The US should engage in talks

with the Taliban. This will not harm the Afghan government in the current peace process,”The Track-ll dialogue was organised by the Islamabad-based Regional Peace Institute in collaboration with the Royal Danish Defense College.

Intelligence-sharing between Kabul and Is-lamabad, with Washington joining the pro-cess, would be required to help start peace parleys with the militant movement.Several participants noted an improvement in relations between the neighbours and co-operation on intelligence-sharing over the last six months.On day one of the meeting, Afghanistan’s Deputy Ambassador Zardasht Shams said the success of the Eid ceasefire showed peace was not impossible. The Afghan gov-ernment was open to talks with the Taliban on all issues.Pakistan’s ex-national security adviser Nasir Janjua stressed bilateral talks on addressing mutual concerns. He called the Afghanistan, Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidar-ity (APAPPS) a foundation for bilateral en-gagement. (Pajhwok)

” KABUL - Participants of a conference held on Af-ghan peace in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan called on Afghan government and the Taliban to take practical steps for peace and reconciliation.The two-day conference was arranged by the Re-gional Peace Institute in collaboration with the Royal Danish Defence College in which experts from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Denmark took part.Habiba Surabi, deputy head of the High Peace Council (HPC), De. Anwar-ul-Haq Ahadi, head of the Afghan Millat Party, Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhel, head of the National Solidarity Association, Law-maker Hellai Ershad and Civil Society Activist Entezar Khadem represented Afghanistan during the conference.Afghan and Pakistani speakers urged the resolu-tion of existing disputes between the two coun-tries instead of blame game. ...(More on P4)...(2)

Islamabad Conference Discuss Afghan Peace Process