Afghans on Wednesday welcomed a three-day ceasefire but demanded it be made permanent, after the government and the Taliban said they would observe a truce that could kickstart peace talks as soon as next week.
The foes on Tuesday announced a temporary stoppage in Afghanistan's war, marking only the third official pause in nearly 19 years. It is slated to start on Friday and run for the duration of the Eid Al Adha Muslim festival.
Ali, a shopkeeper in Kabul who only gave one name, said three days was not enough.
"We want peace forever," he said. "We have the right to live in peace like other countries, we want our country to develop. We are all – old and young – tired of this war."
The Taliban – who over the years have steadfastly dismissed government calls for ceasefires and upped violence even after signing a deal with the US – announced they would down weapons for Eid after President Ashraf Ghani signalled progress in a contentious prisoner exchange.
"To demonstrate the government's commitment to peace, the Islamic Republic will soon complete the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners," Mr Ghani said, referring to the number of insurgent inmates the government originally pledged to free under the auspices of a US-Taliban deal agreed in February.
The swap is a crucial step to talks starting. Mr Ghani said negotiations could begin next week once the exchange was finished.
His spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said that Kabul would observe the ceasefire, but cautioned it did not go far enough.
"The people of Afghanistan demand a lasting ceasefire and the start of direct talks between the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan," Mr Sediqqi said.
Fawzia Koofi, a prominent women's rights campaigner and member of the Afghan government's negotiating team, said on Twitter she was "hoping for a lasting and permanent ceasefire".
Ahmad Jawed Ahmady, a civil engineer, said he hoped for an enduring ceasefire and "peace forever".
Top US officials also hailed developments, including special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who was expected to meet government officials in Kabul on Wednesday.
The Taliban indicated last week they are also prepared to negotiate after Eid.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's spokesman for military operations, said insurgents must "refrain from carrying out any operation against the enemy during the three days and nights of Eid Al Adha so ... our countrymen would spend the Eid with confidence and joy."
The latest truce is only the third of its kind, with other ceasefires in June 2018 and May this year to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Those ceasefires prompted widespread relief across Afghanistan but were short-lived, with the insurgents returning to the fight straight afterwards to resume near-daily attacks.
The US-Taliban deal, signed in Doha on February 29, stated that the militants and Kabul should start direct peace talks on March 10, following the prisoner swap.
But that date passed amid political disarray in Kabul and disagreements over the exchange, with Afghan authorities saying some released Taliban inmates were returning to the battlefield.
Highlighting the toll on civilian and military forces in the months since the deal, Mr Ghani said more than 3,500 Afghan troops had been killed.
He said 775 civilians had also been killed and another 1,609 wounded since the deal.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has blamed the Taliban for the bulk of civilian casualties during the first half of 2020.
Observers say the recent bloodshed highlights the Taliban's determination to push for broad control in Afghanistan, and underscores how little the US can do to stop them.
The US-Taliban deal "was not designed to bring peace to Afghanistan, but to facilitate a face-saving exit of US forces and engagement from Afghanistan", said Nishank Motwani, deputy director at the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit.
"The Taliban fundamentally believe that victory is theirs."
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Mobile phone packages comparison
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Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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