The Latest: FM says Taliban to deter attacks from territory

By The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — The foreign minister in Afghanistan’s new Taliban-run Cabinet says the government remains committed to its promises not to allow militants to use its territory to attack others.

In his first press conference since the Taliban formed an interim government a week ago, Amir Khan Mutaqi on Tuesday would not give a timeframe for how long the government would be in place or whether it would eventually be opened up to other factions, minorities or women.

When asked about the possibility of elections, Mutaqi demanded other countries not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal issues.

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MORE ON AFGHANISTAN:

— after Taliban takeover

— , Taliban now in charge in a Kabul prison

— can study in gender-segregated universities

— that started in Soviet era retools yet again

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

ROME — Italian Premier Mario Draghi says how Europe treats refugees from Afghanistan will test the continent’s integration process.

In remarks Tuesday to an interfaith gathering in Bologna of participants from the Group of 20 made up of representatives of industrial and emerging-market nations, Draghi referred those who recently fled Afghanistan.

“The European Union must not ignore the drama of these persons, nor the historic dimension of these events,” he said.

The European Union for years “has been incapable of building a common approach on the migratory theme, and in particular on the distribution of who arrives and seeks asylum,” the Italian leader said.

Italy, where hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers have arrived via traffickers’ boats launched from Libya, has largely lobbied its EU partners in vain for years to take in many of the migrants.

Some EU countries have indicated they wouldn’t accept Afghans who flee their homeland beyond those they evacuated in the final days of the U.S. military presence in Kabul.

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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s prime minister and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed the latest situation in neighboring Afghanistan in a phone call.

Imran Khan, who received the call Tuesday from Putin, also exchanged views about bilateral cooperation and collaboration in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. That’s a security pact dominated by Russia and China that also includes the ex-Soviet Central Asian countries.

According to a government statement, Khan “underscored the importance of peace and stability in Afghanistan for regional security and prosperity.”

It said Khan emphasized the urgent need for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and the imperative of averting an economic crisis. The statement said Khan also underlined the need for the international community to remain engaged in Afghanistan.

It said Khan stressed that close coordination and consultations between Pakistan and Russia on the evolving situation in Afghanistan were of crucial importance.

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