Kabul - President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has said optional routes are available for Afghanistan if the enemies of the country think to block the trade routes to the country.
Speaking during a gathering in Mazar-e-Sharif city, the provincial capital of Balkh, President Ghani said Afghanistan has become an inseparable part of the Central Asia.
President Ghani further added that the northern Kunduz, Mazar and Herat provinces will be connected via railway network that will eventually connect Iran and China via Afghanistan. He also added that the historic Balkh province will once again become the roundabout of the Central Asia, Afghan news agency Khaama Press reported on Saturday.
This comes as Afghanistan has been heavily dependent on transit route linking the country through Pakistan. The latest political and security upheavals resulted into deteriorating relations between Kabul and Islamabad that led to the closure of the transit routes located along the Durand Line.
The routes were opened last week after almost three weeks of closure as the Pakistani officials claimed that the step was taken to prevent the movement of the terrorists from the other side of the Durand Line.
They had also claimed that a series of deadly attacks in key cities of Pakistan were plotted by the terrorists using the Afghan soil, an allegation the Afghan officials have rejected and vowed to cooperate with Islamabad to jointly work to eliminate the threats posed by the terrorist groups using the soils of the two countries.
SCHOOL CURRICULUM CRITICISED
Ringing in the new school year in Balkh on Saturday, President Ghani said the current curriculum needs changes and that the required improvements will be made in it in the near future, Tolo News reported.
“The current curriculum is not addressing all the needs of teachers and students. Who can learn 16 subjects at the same time? It only puts more pressures on teachers,” he told an event in Mazar-e-Sharif city.
Meanwhile, Ghani inaugurated two public projects where he urged businessmen to invest in education and help in improvement of students and schools. "I will assign a national commission which will include teachers and students’ representatives, experts and private sector to review the curriculum and make it better," he said.
Ghani called on the people to stay united and said those who stand against the Constitution will be counted as enemies of the Afghans. “I am not the kind of person who cannot recognise foes and friends. Anyone who takes arms against Afghanistan, against our believes and against our national unity, is our enemy,” he stated.
Ghani pointed out to Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor’s efforts in improvements of the province and said he commends the governor’s achievements in recent years.
At the same event, Noor said he is worried about an increase in war in the northern parts of the country. "It is a pleasure for me, for Balkh residents and for all Afghans. More efforts must be made and you will do it," Noor said.
He said plans should be prepared to enable security forces to take offensive stance against insurgents. “We hope that an effective plan should be made to foil enemy's plots and defeat them. We face defeat because of having a defensive stance against insurgents. It is better to have an offensive stance,” he said.
In the past six months, it is the second trip of the president to the northern Balkh province.