Ayaz Gul VOA News December 13, 2019 ISLAMABAD – America’s chief negotiator for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, visited Pakistan on Friday, a day after he briefly suspended peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar in retaliation to this week’s attack by the insurgent group on the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Khalilzad met
1TV: The war in Afghanistan will end in a matter of weeks if Pakistan denies safe haven to the Taliban, US Senator Lindsey Graham said on Monday. While the US is holding talks with the Taliban, Graham said that it should start negotiating with Pakistan. “As to negotiating with the Taliban, I think we got this
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan November 22, 2019 KABUL — President Ashraf Ghani’s office says the Afghan leader has discussed the government’s seven-point peace plan in a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, who insisted on a cease-fire as a “precondition” to begin negotiations with the Taliban. Trump also said that “for any process to succeed,
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News November 19, 2019 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban freed two Western hostages Tuesday after the Afghan government released three important Taliban prisoners, who were flown to Qatar where the Taliban has a political team. Sources told VOA the hostages, American Kevin C. King, 63, and Australian Timothy J. Weeks, 50, were released
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan November 12, 2019 KABUL — The Afghan government has released three key Taliban prisoners, including Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of Sirajjuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani network, in exchange for two professors of the American University of Afgahnistan in Kabul, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has announced. The prisoners
Ariana: Pakistan prefers a weak government in Kabul and has played an active, and by many accounts, a negative role in Afghan affairs for decades, a U.S. Congressional report has said. In its latest report on Afghanistan, the independent and bipartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) identified Pakistan, the most important neighbor of Afghanistan. However, it said,
Ayaz Gul VOA News November 5, 2019 ISLAMABAD – Pakistan said Tuesday it will have fenced off its traditionally porous border with Afghanistan by the end of next year, leading to an improved security situation in the region. The military-led massive construction program, launched in mid-2017, is installing a pair of nearly 3-meter-high chicken wire
Ariana: The U.S. State Department said in a recent report that Islamabad pledged support for political reconciliation between the Afghan government and Taliban, but did not restrict the Taliban or the Haqqani network from operating in Pakistan and threatening U.S. and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. The annual terror report, released on Friday last week, said Pakistan
Ariana: Supporters of the Afghan Taliban group are seen among the anti-government protesters in Pakistan asking for the resignation of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Footage from the protest shows a group of protesters holding the Taliban flag among thousands of Islamist marchers. The presence of pro-Taliban men in a civil protest, however, has sparked
VOA News November 4, 2019 Pakistan has closed its consular office in Afghanistan’s capital, citing unspecified security reasons. Pakistan said the Kabul office will be closed until further notice. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Afghanistan’s charge d’affaires has been summoned to “convey serious concerns over the safety and security” about its diplomats in Kabul. Pakistan said