Reg: No 352 Volume No. 3211 Tuesday January 19, 2016 Jaddi 29, 1394 www.outlookafghanistan.net Price: 15/-Afs

Quote of the Day

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Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future,

concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Buddha

4 Nations Call on Taliban to Join Peace Talks

Delayed Elections Set for Oct. 15: Official

Abdullah Addresses CoM Meeting, Touches on Peace Talks

KABU - Representatives from four countries gathered in Ka-bul on Monday called on the Taliban to resume peace talks with the Afghan government.Senior officials from Afghani-stan, Pakistan, China and the United States met for most of the day at the Presidential Pal-ace amid tight security, a week after a first round of discussions in the Pakistani capital, Islama-bad.In a joint statement released by the Afghan Foreign Minis-try, they said the talks “made progress on a roadmap toward initiating peace talks with Tali-ban groups. It said they hope to

Afghanistan must be Vigilant in Negotiations

Australian PM Praises Effort of Troops in

Afghanistan

AGO Threatens to Name Kabul Bank Defaulters

UN Chief Urges World to Keep COP21 Spirit to Combat Climate Change

Ghani Vows to Take

Action Against Culprits of

Jalabad Attack

Photo taken on Jan. 18, 2016 shows the scene of a four-nation meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan. The second round of the four-nation talks with the participation of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and

the United States opened here on Monday. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah)

Wolesi Jirga Approves Budget for Fiscal Year

1395

KABUL - As Afghanistan continues its efforts to reconcile with insurgent groups, senate chairman Fazel Hadi Muslimyar on Monday said that peace and reconciliation are key elements to establish sustainable security in the country, but not at the cost of civilians’ lives.Speaking at the funeral ceremony of victims of Sunday’s deadly suicide attack in Jalalabad that claimed the lives of 13 people, Muslimyar reit-erated that government must not negotiate with those who are involved in the killing of innocent Afghans. ...(More on P4)...(3)

CANBERRA - Australia’s prime minister, Mal-colm Turnbull, has praised the efforts of his specialist personnel in Af-ghanistan, prom-ising a further 20 highly-trained troops to help with the training and rebuilding effort.Malcolm Turnbull, on his way to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C, wrapped up his whirlwind visit of Afghanistan overnight, where he met with and thanked the 250 Australian Defence Force personnel stationed in the war-torn country.The prime minister also received confidential briefings about a NATO-led mission called Reso-lute Support, which is expected to restore order and offer world-class training ...(More on P4)...(5)

KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani on Monday vowed to bring the culprits behind Sun-day’s attack to justice after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a gathering of tribal elders in Jalalabad.According to news reports, at least 14 people were killed at a prominent politician’s home in Jalalabad.Ghani said that when terror-ists lose the ability to fight face-to-face with our security forces, then they target public places and kill innocent peo-ple.He said that the government will fight those who shed the blood of innocent people. (ANI)

KABUL - The budget for fiscal year 1395 (2016) which was rejected in December finally on Monday passed Wolesi Jirga or the Lower House of Parliament with majority of votes.It was rejected for imbalance of funds allocation. Lawmak-ers had said that all provinces were not considered equally.But during today’s session, majority of lawmakers ac-cepted the budget and used their votes in its favour.146 MPs were available dur-ing the session. Only eight red cards were raised to op-pose the budge but the rest of the MPs raised green cards to approve it.The approval was announced by Abdul Rawouf Ibrahimi, speaker of the house, after the voting. 444, 606 billion Af-ghanis ...(More on P4)...(7)

ABU DHABI - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged the international community to sustain the spirit and momentum of the UN Climate Confer-ence (COP21) in Paris last year to combat global warming.The UN secretary general made the appeal at the opening of the 9th annual World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.Paris COP21 agreement in 2015 was a triumph as almost 200 nations agreed on an ambitious goal of limiting the global warming by two degrees Celsius or even by 1.5 degrees, Ban said.He demanded that in the future any dollar spent on new infrastructure project ...(More on P4)...(2)

KABUL - Afghanistan will hold parliamentary and dis-trict council elections, origi-nally scheduled for last June, on Oct. 15, an Afghan official said Monday.Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, head of the Independent Elec-tion Commission, said the repeatedly delayed date con-forms with Afghan law.The current parliament was extended beyond its five-year term by President Ashraf Gha-ni after politicians were unable to agree on a date for elections.The delays have been driven by concerns about security for voters, as the Taliban insur-gency has become more fero-cious in the year since U.S. and NATO forces officially con-cluded their combat mission.A bitter presidential election in 2014 went to two rounds be-

KABUL - Speaking at his bi-weekly Council of Minister’s meeting on Monday, CEO Ab-dullah Abdullah said we are keen to [hold] peace talks with the Taliban.”He reiterated that this was a follow up to the Islamabad meeting and will focus on the roadmap for peace.He also raised the issue of elec-tions and electoral reforms. “Some Afghans are concerned that former commissioners convicted of fraud may be leading another election,” he said.“Electoral reforms is a must for the government. It is one

fore Ghani and his rival Abdul-lah Abdullah agreed to a U.S.-brokered power-sharing deal.Abdullah is now chief execu-tive in a unity government that has publicly committed to electoral reform. His deputy spokesman, Javid Faisal, said reforms should be implement-ed before the elections are held.“Any announcement for the parliament and district coun-

of our commitments with the people. We are committed to fulfilling that, he added”He said: “I assure people that electoral reforms is a pre-con-dition for elections. Upcoming elections will be held under new leadership in commis-sions.” He said the Afghan

KABUL - The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) threatened on Monday to disclose the names of Ka-bul Bank defaulters who have failed to repay their loans and refuse to appear in court.Spokesman for the AGO Abdul Basir Azizi said that more than 60 percent of Ka-bul Banks debts have how-ever been recovered.But he said the list of Kabul Bank defaulters is growing every day, as more names are being added to it.He said the AGO has iden-tified around 370 defaulters to date.Azizi said that efforts are underway to arrest those who have refused to repay loans and appear in court.“Individuals who don’t obey court orders or failed

in Islamabad on Feb. 6. The in-surgents are not represented at the talks.Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani opened the meeting at the Presidential Palace in the center of the capital calling on the Taliban to “accept the gov-ernment’s call for peace through dialogue.”“There isn’t a single Afghan family that hasn’t been affected by the daily acts of brutal and deadly terrorism carried out across our cities, towns, and vil-lages,” Rabbani said in the tel-evised speech.“I take this opportunity and call on all ...(More on P4)...(1)

cil elections should come after reform has been introduced to both electoral commissions,” said Faisal, referring to the IEC and the Election Complaints commission, both of which have faced accusations of corruption and partisanship in elections held over the past decade.He noted that the international community, which has bank-rolled ...(More on P4)...(4)

government is committed to lis-tening to its people and working for peace in the country.“We will be discussing the prior-ities of the National Unity Gov-ernment in the council of minis-ters [meeting] today.”On the matter of terrorism, Ab-dullah ...(More on P4)...(6)

to pay their debts on time, based on the laws in Af-ghanistan, will be investi-gated, charged and taken to court,” he said.Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance said that it has in-tensified efforts to recover the bank’s money.Ajmal Hamid Abdul Ra-himzai, spokesman for the ministry, said that the government is striving to recover the remaining amount.He said that the govern-ment will ensure that no one will be allowed to em-bezzle the money.The total debt amounted to $900 million USD when the bank collapsed in 2010, however, the AGO has said that they have recovered more than 60 percent of the money.(Tolonews)

Muslimyar

bring the two sides together for talks “aimed at reduction of violence and establishing lasting peace in Afghanistan and the region.”

The four-nation group “called on all Taliban groups to enter into early talks with the Af-ghan government,” and agreed to meet again