Ayaz Gul VOA News March 26, 2018 ISLAMABAD — A top Pakistani government official argues that the crisis in relations with the United States stems from Washington’s focus on military partnership rather than engaging Pakistan as a democracy and addressing mutual concerns. In an exclusive interview, Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir tells VOA, that as a consequence,
Jeff Seldin VOA News March 22, 2018 WASHINGTON — Top Afghan officials see a genuine chance for peace with elements of the Taliban and the Haqqani network but worry the latest effort at reconciliation could be undermined, both by internal rivals and by Pakistan and other foreign influences. Afghan officials believe those insurgent leaders who seek
Ayaz Gul VOA News March 18, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has conveyed to the leadership in Afghanistan its opinion that the Taliban are left with no “excuse or justification for continuing war” following Kabul’s offer of unconditional peace talks. Islamabad’s National Security Adviser, Nasser Janjua, delivered the message during a daylong official visit Saturday, where he
Ayaz Gul VOA News March 1, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan praised Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, Thursday for offering unconditional talks to the Taliban, pledging to extend any help “wholeheartedly” to further the peace effort between the warring parties. Ghani, a day earlier, hosted an international conference named the Kabul Process where he invited insurgents to open
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 9, 2018 ISLAMABAD — An American drone attack in northwestern Pakistan is believed to have killed a high-profile militant commander along with several of his aides. Tribal sources and local Pakistani officials confirmed Friday the strike took place a day earlier near the Afghan border in North Waziristan tribal district. They
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 2, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani alleged Friday Taliban insurgents fighting the government in Kabul are using Pakistan as a headquarters and demanded the neighboring country take immediate action against them. The charges underscore intensifying bilateral tensions in the wake of recent deadly attacks in the Afghan capital that
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 1, 2018 Dozens of angry protesters have gathered outside the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul, chanting slogans such as “Death to Pakistan” and burning flags of the country. The demonstration on February 1 came as senior Afghan officials returned from a visit to Islamabad, where they had pressed Pakistani authorities to
Ayaz Gul VOA News January 31, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Top Afghan security officials have made a surprise visit to Pakistan, to discuss mutual cooperation with civilian and military leaders following a series of deadly Taliban and other militant attacks in Afghanistan. The visit Wednesday took place hours after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan urged
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News January 29, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Eleven members of the Afghan National Army were killed and 16 others wounded in an early morning attack on a military academy in Kabul Monday. “The attack is against an army unit providing security for the academy and not the academy itself,” said Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman
Ayaz Gul VOA News January 25, 2018 ISLAMABAD – The United States has denied Pakistan’s claim that an American drone strike targeted an Afghan refugee camp in the country, in a war of words between the uneasy allies. The denial Thursday came a day after missiles fired from an unmanned aircraft struck a militant hideout located