ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani envoy to the UN told the Security Council that prospects for peace and reconciliation have improved in Afghanistan as a result of recent developments, an official statement issued by the Ministry of Information said on Wednesday.
“A three-day cease-fire between Afghan security forces and the Taliban on Eid Al-Fitr resulted in an unprecedented pause in a war that has raged for almost 17 years,” Maleeha Lodhi said while speaking during the Security Council’s quarterly debate on Afghanistan, adding that even if the cease-fire lasted a few days it marked a “moment of hope and opportunity.”
She said: “The comprehensive observance of the cease-fire by the Taliban also demonstrated that its leadership has control of the movement and is cohesive enough to negotiate a political settlement.”
“The opportunity that was opened up by these developments must now be seized and translated into serious and sustained efforts to promote a political settlement and durable peace in Afghanistan,” Lodhi said.
She reminded the 15-member council that over the years Pakistan has consistently advocated a negotiated settlement as the only viable solution to the decades of conflict and suffering in Afghanistan.
“Almost 17 years of war, waged by the world’s most powerful military forces, have not yielded a military solution,” the Pakistani envoy said, adding that only a negotiated political solution could deliver peace and security.
Lodhi said that the path to peace in Afghanistan was arduous but achievable. As a first step, all parties concerned must commit themselves to a negotiated solution to the conflict.
“This offers the best chance to end the suffering of the Afghan people and restore peace to Afghanistan and stability to the region,” she said.
In her statement, Lodhi said that it was vital to pay attention to the threat posed to Afghanistan, its neighbors and the global community by the presence of Daesh and a conglomerate of terrorists, which includes Al-Qaeda and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
“They need to be defeated urgently and decisively,” she said. “We must not allow these groups to drive Afghanistan into another vortex of violence and instability, which would compound the threat to the region’s security.”
Dignified transfer for Kentucky soldier who was the 7th US service member to die in Iran war
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ELIZABETHTOWN, USA: Vice President JD Vance joined the grieving family of a Kentucky man who was the seventh US service member to die in combat during the Iran war as his remains were brought back to the US Monday evening. The dignified transfer, a solemn event that honors US service members killed in action, took place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky. He died Sunday after being wounded during a March 1 attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, a Pentagon statement said. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saluted alongside high ranking military officials as the transfer case draped with the American flag was carried from the military aircraft and into an awaiting vehicle. Mike Bell, retired pastor of Glendale Christian Church, said he’d known Pennington since he was a toddler and got a call from Pennington’s father when the soldier was hurt. “I talked to Tim Saturday morning, and he was doing a little better, and they were talking about maybe moving him to Germany,” Bell said. Tim Pennington called again that evening, Bell said, to ask for prayers as his son’s condition was worsening, and then later told him the soldier had succumbed to his injuries. “He was just a quiet person,” said Bell, noting that Pennington attended the church’s after-school program. “I mean, he never attracted attention because he was just steady doing what he needed to do to do it.” State and local officials grieve Pennington was assigned to the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade of the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command based at Fort Carson, Colorado. The unit’s mission focused on “missile warning, GPS, and long-haul satellite communications,” according to their website. “This just breaks my heart,” Keith Taul, judge-executive of Hardin County, where Pennington was from, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. “I have known the family for at least 30 years. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering they are experiencing.” Glendale is an unincorporated town of about 300 residents south of the Hardin County seat of Elizabethtown. In a statement posted on social media, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Pennington “a hero who sacrificed everything serving our country.” Six other soldiers killed The other six service members killed since the conflict began on Feb. 28 were Army reservists killed in Kuwait when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a civilian port. President Donald Trump on Saturday joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base at the dignified transfer for those six US soldiers. The dignified transfer is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief. During his first term, Trump said bearing witness to the transfer was “the toughest thing I have to do” as president. ‘An American hero’ Pennington graduated in 2017 from Central Hardin High School, where he was enrolled in the automotive technology pathway, district spokesman John Wright told the AP. Former automotive tech instructor Tom Pitt, who taught Pennington in 2017 at Hardin County Early College and Career Center, called him “an American hero.” “A lot of times as a teacher, you have students who are smart, you have students who are charismatic, who are likable, dare I say, enchanting,” said Pitt, who called Pennington Nate. “Rarely do you have students who are all of those. And Ben Pennington was all of those. He was basically the quintessential all-American.” Photos on his and family members’ Facebook pages show that Pennington achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in August 2017. His Eagle project was the demolition of some old baseball dugouts in Glendale, said Darin Life, former committee chairman for Troop 221. “If you look up Eagle Scout, his picture’s probably there,” said Life, who knew Pennington throughout his scouting career. “He loved his country. I would have expected nothing less of him than to lose his life protecting his country.” Awards and decorations A month after his Eagle ceremony, Pennington posted a photo of himself taking the oath of enlistment. He entered the service as a unit supply specialist and was assigned to the Space and Missile Command on June 10, 2025, the Army said in a release. Among his awards and decorations were the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. “The US Army Space and Missile Defense Command is deeply saddened by the loss of Sgt. Pennington,” said Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, USASMDC commanding general. “He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved.” Col. Michael F. Dyer, 1st Space Brigade commander, described Pennington as “a dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and sense of duty.” Pennington will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, the Pentagon said.
