By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan September 28, 2019 KABUL — Polls have closed in Afghanistan’s presidential election with voting marred by several attacks and reports of problems at polling stations. Fifteen candidates were on the ballot, but the race was widely seen as a two-horse race between President Ashraf Ghani, who is seeking another five-year
By Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 27, 2019 Fifteen men will contest Afghanistan’s presidential election on September 28 in a race among old power brokers — ex-government officials, prominent technocrats, and a notorious former warlord. The twice-delayed September 28 election is slated to be only the second-ever democratic transition of power in the
By Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 25, 2019 A bitter, fraud-marred presidential election in 2014 pushed Afghanistan to the brink of civil war before a power-sharing deal was reached between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who became president and chief executive officer. Five years on, even as 13 other candidates vie for the
Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani has appointed Walid Tamim, former head of Afghanistan Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, to two key posts in government despite the Attorney General’s Office says Tamim has three corruption cases under investigation at the judicial organization. Legal experts said such appointments are contradicting rules and regulations in the government. Tamim was a close
Ariana: President Ashraf Ghani has announced that he will issue a legislative decree on Wednesday on recognizing “Sadat” as an ethnic group in the country. It comes as Afghanistan currently has 14 ethnic groups defined by the Constitution including Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aymāq, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashai, Nuristani, Gujjar, Arab, Brahui, Pamiri and Qezlbash. Click here to
Al Jazeera: Comprising 15 percent of the population, the mostly Shia Muslim ethnic minority has long suffered targeted killings – The Hazara have long suffered oppression and persecution in Afghanistan. They are now often targeted by groups swearing allegiance to ISIL. In the 1990s, thousands were killed by al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. The Taliban declared them as “non-Muslims” during their rule from 1996
The Afghan government has serious concerns about the violence perpetrated against peaceful protestors and civil activists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. — Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) February 7, 2019 1TV: Fresh protests by Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, which was founded a year ago to protest the death of Pashtun man killed by police, come following the death
VOA News | December 14, 2018: Hundreds of ethnic Uzbek residents were forced to flee their homes in northern Faryab province because of the recent expansion of Taliban in border areas with Uzbekistan. VOA’s Abdulbasir Ilg’or reports.
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News December 11, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities are scrutinizing media coverage of a Pashtun nationalist movement, blocking VOA websites and filing police cases against journalists covering local rallies. Sailaab Mehsud of RFE/RL’s Mashaal radio and Zafar Wazir of a local TV channel were identified in a police report as participants in a