A notorious Taliban leader and co-founder of the Taliban insurgent group Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was released on the special request of US representative Zalmay Khalilzad, a top Pakistani official said.
Mr Khalilzad, who held several meetings this month with all the stakeholders to resolve the long Afghan conflict. A major breakthrough of his visit came when the Taliban agreed to hold further talks with America.
"The release of Mullah Baradar was made on the request of Zalmay Khalilzad, who is more serious [about] resolving the Afghan conflict at [the] earliest, he needs concrete results as Washington desperately seeking result oriented negotiations", a senior Pakistani intelligence official told The National on the condition of anonymity.
“The improving realisation between Islamabad and Washington is to keep all the options open for achieving peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan wants peace no matter what possible channels are subscribed and ultimately it’s in the interest of Pakistan”, the official added.
"We are not going to get into the details of private diplomatic communications. Special Representative Khalilzad continues to have ongoing conversations with all interested parties", a State Department official told The National on condition of anonymity.
After Khalilzad met with Taliban at their political office on October 12, both decided to make a request to Pakistan for the release of Mullah Baradar. A week later on October 19, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan held meeting with Qatar's foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and both decided to release the Taliban co-founder.
On Sunday, the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul formally said Baradar has been released.
Mr Khan, who has been a vocal supporter of peace talks with the Taliban, sees the negotiations as the only viable solution for ending the war in Afghanistan. Mr Khan had stated in the past several times that war is not the solution in Afghanistan.
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A Taliban official in Doha said, “Baradar’s release would help enhance the American peace process in and it’s a positive sign”.
Mullah Baradar remained one of the most contactable among the senior Taliban leadership and had good knowledge of Afghanistan with a great understanding of the US affairs in the country. He also remained open to negotiations with the government in Kabul.
At the time of arrest in 2010 Baradar was seeking peace talks with Washington without Islamabad's consent, a former Pakistani intelligence official claimed. "He was arrested because he neglected Islamabad in the deal during that time", a former senior Pakistani intelligence official, who was in a key position at the time of his arrest told The National on condition of anonymity.
The US, along with other Western countries, say that Islamabad has major clout over Taliban leadership and its splinter groups like Haqqani Network. In January, President Trump in a new year Tweet attacked Islamabad's "lies and deceit" over covert support for the Taliban.
"Baradar's release was clearly intended to kick-start efforts to launch a peace process with the Taliban", Michael Kugelman, a senior associate for South and South-East Asia at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, told The National. "[He's] a prominent Taliban figure that can make things happen and convince the organisation to stop fighting, but the importance of this move shouldn't be overstated. It's unclear how much influence Baradar still has within the Taliban organisation given that he's been in prison for nearly a decade and the Taliban has undergone numerous leadership changes since then."
But Mr Kugelman said the release was a “notable gesture, but not necessarily a move that will drive the insurgents to the peace table”.
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
The specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 with 48V mild hybrid system
Power: 544hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 750Nm at 1,800-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale: late November
Director: Nag Ashwin
Starring: Prabhas, Saswata Chatterjee, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Shobhana
Rating: ★★★★
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
