Reg: No 352 Volume No. 3395 Saturday September 24, 2016 Mezan 03, 1395 www.outlookafghanistan.net Price: 15/-Afs

Quote of the Day

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www.thedailyafghanistan.com

Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire,

emotion, and knowledge. Plato

Japan Taps New Envoys for

Afghanistan, Ethiopia, 4 Other

Countries

Afghanistan to Build First-Ever Gas-Fired

Power Plant

US, UNAMA, UK Wel-come Land Mark Govt-HIA

It is Hoped Hekmatyar to Arrive in Kabul Soon: Ghani

CEO Accepts Corruption Undermining Investment

Gov’t, HIA Ink Peace Agreement

3-Way Meeting on Promoting Security in

Afghanistan

Corruption in Afghanistan Has Become ‘Unbeatable

Force’ Since 2001 US InvasionAtmar Urges Lifting of Sanctions on HIA

Leadership

Afghans Hope for Lasting Peace after

Govt-HIA Deal

US Accuses Afghanistan’s Neighbors of Backing Taliban

KABUL - National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar on Thursday asked the international community to remove sanctions on the Gulbadin Hekmatyar-led Hezb-i-Islami Afghan (HIA). Atmar made the demand during a peace deal sign-ing ceremony between government and HIA repre-sentatives in Kabul.The landmark peace deal was finally signed after two years of negotiations between the representa-tives of the government and delegation of HIA.On behalf of the government, High Peace Council (HPC) Chairman Pir Syed Ahmad Gilani and Atmar signed the agreement.The pact is expected to be soon signed by President Ashraf Ghani and Hekmatyar soon.Atmar said the first stage of the long-awaited peace deal had ended and the ...(More on P4)...(4)

KABUL - Afghans are optimistic about the peace agreement between the government and the Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) and hope the deal would lead to sustainable peace in the country.The agreement was signed successfully between the government and the Gulbadin Hekmatyar-led HIA in capital Kabul on Thursday.Qudratullah, a resident of Aino Mina area of the capital of southern Kandahar province, told Pajh-wok Afghan News that people were happy after the peace agreement between the two sides was signed after a long wait.He said people were tired of war and destructions and they became happy with every step taken to-wards peace in the country.Izzatullah, another resident of Kandahar City, said hopes about lasting peace increased after the gov-ernment and the HIA signed peace agreement.The successful talks between the government and the HIA would encourage other armed opponents to come forward and join the peace process, he be-lieved.A resident of Mirwais Mina area of Kandahar City, Abdul Malik, held similar views but asked the HIA to adopt policing that served the national interests and shun negative policies.The HIA position would become strong if it chose a positive policy, he said, asking other militant groups to follow in HIA footsteps and accept the reconcili-ation process.Ghulam Sarwar, a resident of the capital of western Herat province, said people were fed up with the war and violence in the country and they needed durable peace. He hoped ...(More on P4)...(7)

KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday said the peace agreement with the Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) was not against any-one but was in the national interest and hoped Hekmat-yar would return to Kabul soon.The president was speaking to the HIA peace negotia-tions delegation and a num-ber of members of the group at the Presidential Palace, a statement from the palace said.The government and the HIA signed the landmark peace agreement in Kabul, with the US, EU and other countries welcoming the accord.The meeting at the Presiden-

KABUL - John McCain, Chairman of the U.S Sen-ate Committee on Armed Services has said that the support by Afghanistan’s neighbors to the Taliban has increased the scale of violence in the country.He expressed concerns over a recent survey on violence in Afghanistan, criticizing the President Barack Obama’s admin-istration for reducing the number of U.S troops in

KABUL - The much awaited peace agreement between Af-ghan government and the Hek-matyar-led Islamic party the Hizb-e-Islami was inked here on Thursday to boost peace process and national reconcili-ation in the insurgency-ridden country.The agreement was signed by Mohammad Amin Karim, head of Hizb-e-Islami delega-tion and Pir Sayed Ahmad Gi-lani, chief of the government-backed peace body the High Peace Council, at a ceremony attended by ranking officials and supporters of Hizb-e-Isla-mi in Kabul.The deal is “the first step to-

tial Palace was also attended by second CEO Mohammad Khan.HIA chief negotiator Eng. Mo-hammad Amin Karim said to-day the people of Afghanistan and the world witnessed the peace agreement signing which opened the door for hope of reaching peace with other in-

Afghanistan which he be-lieves has contributed to the surge in violence.But, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has reiter-ated that the U.S will not allow Afghanistan to be changed into a terror hide-out and safe haven again.“A process which has been underway for some years to try to build the Afghan security forces to appoint where they can main-tain the security of their

KABUL - CEO Abdullah Abdul-lah on Thursday said that the lack of coordination and the existence of corruption in the country have undermined the process of invest-ment, adding that Afghanistan loses many economic opportuni-ties as a result of the problems.He called on the Afghan govern-ment institutions to work together to attract investments in the coun-try.The National Unity Government (NUG) under President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah had pledged to outline comprehensive strate-gies for the attraction of domestic and international investment in Afghanistan amid the economic

KABUL - The government and the Ghazan-far Group on Thursday signed an agreement to create a framework for development and construction of a landmark gas-fired power plant near the capital of northern Balkh prov-ince.The agreement was signed in Kabul between representatives of the Water and Energy Ministry and the group, a leading private Af-ghan conglomerate, in the presence of Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah.Abdullah hailed the $175 million project as good news for Afghanistan and it would help the country towards achieving self-suf-ficiency in power sector.He said if resources available in Afghanistan for power generation were properly utilized, Afghanistan would not only become self-reliant but would also export power to re-gional countries.IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in a statement ...(More on P4)...(8)

KABUL - US, UK and the United Nation Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNA-MA) have encouraged and welcomed peace agreement between Afghan government and Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan, led by Gulbadin Hikmatyar, statements from the diplomatic missions said on Thursday.“We welcome today’s accord negotiated and concluded by the Government of Afghani-stan and Hizb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) as a step in bringing the conflict in Afghanistan to a peaceful end,” said a statement from the US embassy. ...(More on P4)...(5)

ernment to join the peace pro-cess and solve their problems through negotiation and peace-ful means.However, Amin Karim noted that the Hizb-e-Islami would continue its struggle until the expulsion of all foreign forces from Afghanistan.Speaking on the occasion, Af-ghan Presidential Advisor on National Security Mohammad Hanif Atmar called for the early implementation of the peace agreement.He said the peace deal with Hizb-e-Islami is based on the country’s constitution and the Hizb-e-Islami has committed to ...(More on P4)...(1)

regional issues of mutual interest.“Reaffirming their shared interests in advanc-ing peace and security in the region, as well as countering terrorism, all sides welcomed the discussions focused on political, economic, and de-velopment goals in Afghani-stan, including the regional dimension.”The meeting provided a forum for the US and India to explore ways of coordinating and aligning their assistance with the pri-orities of the Afghan govern-ment.According to the state-ment, the participants agreed that the dialogue helped advance shared values and goals, and decided to con-tinue their consultations on a regular basis. (Pajhwok)

The watchdog reported that the High Office of Oversight (HOO), which was set up in July 2008 to combat corrupt practices within the Afghan government, has failed to counter corruption by high-ranking Afghan officials. The HOO was supposed to collect asset registration forms and verify the assets of government officials. More often than not, the agency did not collect or verify ac-curate information about the assets of top Afghan officials, including those of former ...(More on P4)...(3)

TOKYO - The government of Japan on Friday said it had appointed six new ambas-sadors to assume positions next week in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Benin, Zambia, Pa-lau and Iceland.Mitsuji Suzuka, counselor of the Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan will become Ja-pan’s new envoy there, and former resident representa-tive of the Japan Interna-tional Cooperation Agency (JICA) Kiyofumi Konishi will become Japan’s ambassador to Benin.Toshiyuki Yamada, hav-ing retired from the Minis-try of Internal Affairs and Communications here, will be assigned to Palau, while Shinichi Saida, minister at the Japanese embassy in Ger-many, will assume the top envoy’s post in Ethiopia.Hidenobu Sobashima, pre-viously serving at the for-eign minister’s secretariat, has been appointed as am-bassador to Zambia, while Yasuhiko Kitagawa, who worked as a senior vice pres-ident at Mitsubishi Corpora-tion until March this year, will serve as Japan’s ambas-sador to Iceland. (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON - Afghan, Indian and American diplo-mats have agreed to continue consultations on ways of sta-bilising the war-torn country, a spokesman for the State De-partment said.Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai, Indian Am-bassador to Afghanistan Manpreet Vohra and US Spe-cial Representative Richard Olson met to exchange views on the situation in Afghani-stan.The meeting took place on September 21in New York on the margins of the 71st United Nations General As-sembly, the spokesman said in a brief statement.It added the participants discussed the prevailing situation in Afghanistan and

KABUL - The international community and the Afghan government has failed to combat corruption because of a lack of political will, Mo-hammad Shafiq Hamdam, head of the Afghan Anti-Cor-ruption Network, told Radio Sputnik.Earlier this week the US gov-ernment’s Special Inspec-tor General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) published a report which highlights the persistence of corruption in Afghanistan following the US invasion in 2001.

wards achieving durable peace and security across the country,” Amin Karim said

after signing the agreement.Expressing his support to intra-Afghan dialogue, Amin

Karim also called on other armed groups fighting against the Afghan gov-

surgent groups.Karim said they were ready for every kind of sacrifice in support of the system, the country’s defence and service to the people.He said the peace agree-ment’s implementation would ...(More on P4)...(2)

country and Afghanistan doesn’t become again a place from which terror-ists arrive in the United States that is our program, that is what we have been trying to accomplish,” said Carter.On Thursday, Carter and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Jo-seph Dunford appeared before a U.S Senate Com-mittee on Armed Services to ...(More on P4)...(9)

downturn in the country.However the NUG has been blasted for not un-dertaking the necessary steps to facilitate the in-vestment process and to rebuild the trust of the business community.He said that government officials should avoid ...(More on P4)...(6)