UN calls for meaningful role of women in Afghan peace process

In this photograph taken on September 21, 2017, Afghan women watch a football match at the Afghanistan Football Federation stadium in Kabul. (AFP/File)
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Updated 13 March 2021
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UN calls for meaningful role of women in Afghan peace process

  • UN Security Council condemned the alarming number of attacks deliberately targeting civilians in Afghanistan
  • It said sustainable peace can be achieved only through an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process aiming at a permanent ceasefire

United Nations, United States: The UN Security Council called Friday for the "full, equal and meaningful participation of women" in Afghanistan's peace process, without mentioning recent US efforts to end the conflict there.

"The members of the Security Council recognized that a sustainable peace can be achieved only through a comprehensive and inclusive Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process that aims at a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire," the council said in a statement.

The council "condemned in the strongest terms the alarming number of attacks deliberately targeting civilians in Afghanistan."

Without naming any particular group, the council said its members "also expressed their deep concerns about the threat posed by terrorism to Afghanistan and the region."

"The members of the Security Council strongly encouraged parties to the negotiations to pursue confidence-building measures, including reductions in violence, and to continue to engage in good faith," it said.

Washington recently submitted a draft peace agreement to the authorities in Kabul and to the Taliban, including the creation of a "new inclusive government," according to a letter from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that was revealed by Afghan media.

In that plan, the United States proposed holding an inter-Afghan meeting in Turkey and organizing, under the aegis of the United Nations, an international ministerial gathering that would bring together the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Iran to forge "a unitary approach" on the future of Afghanistan.
 


Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt

Updated 01 January 2026
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Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt

  • Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years

DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.

Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.

Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.

“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, ‌days after the ‌party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.

Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.

The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.

The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024. 

Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.

Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”

He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.