Ayaz Gul VOA News June 19, 2018 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — A high-powered Afghan security delegation visited neighboring Pakistan on Tuesday for official talks on how to jointly push peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan. Haneef Atmar, the Afghan national security advisor, led the team, which included the interior minister and the head of the Afghan spy
Michael Hughes: A U.S. drone operator amid the first ceasefire Afghanistan has ever witnessed decided to launch a projectile into Kunar province to vaporize a morally repugnant Pakistani Taliban leader. The point, however, is not whether the mission succeeded or if he on the receiving end of the strike were target-worthy. The point is what was
VOA News Carla Babb June 14, 2018 PENTAGON — A U.S. drone strike has targeted the leader of the Pakistani Taliban in an Afghan province near the border with Pakistan, a U.S. military official confirmed to VOA. Unconfirmed reports from locals Thursday said Mullah Fazlullah has been killed. The U.S. official, who spoke on the condition
Khaama Press: Referring to border fencing, the Army Chief said that this is an obstacle for checking terrorism and not between people of both sides. Pakistan started work on fencing the line in June last year, covering the areas which the Pakistani authorities are the most prone in terms of the movement of the militants. Major
VOA News Ayaz Gul June 12, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, traveled to Afghanistan Tuesday, where his high-powered delegation held talks with President Ashraf Ghani on bilateral and matters related to Afghan peacemaking efforts. A presidential spokesman in Kabul confirmed the talks but did not immediately share details. Bajwa undertook the
Mohammad Habibzada VOA News June 10, 2018 Hopes for direct peace talks are high in Afghanistan after the Taliban agreed to a unilateral cease-fire from the Afghan government. A former high-ranking Taliban official said the temporary peace deal could be extended and efforts for direct peace talks could be made. “It is even possible the
Al Jazeera (Ahmed Rashid): It appears that pressure from Pakistan on the Taliban Shura which largely resides in the Pakistani border town of Quetta has been instrumental in pushing the Taliban to agree to a ceasefire. According to Lisa Curtis, deputy assistant to US President Donald Trump, Washington has been pursuing “multiple lines of effort” for bringing peace to Afghanistan
Ayaz Gul VOA News June 9, 2018 ISLAMABAD — The Taliban announced Saturday it will halt offensive operations against government security forces across Afghanistan during three-day festivities of Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The cease-fire coincides with the unilateral weeklong halting of anti-Taliban operations by the Afghan
Ayaz Gul VOA News June 8, 2018 ISLAMABAD — The United States has confirmed it is asking Pakistan for help in facilitating the Afghan government’s direct peace talks with the Taliban insurgency. After months of strained relations and disruption in high-level mutual contacts, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week
Ayaz Gul VOA News June 7, 2018 ISLAMABAD — The United States appears to be easing public pressure on Pakistan in a bid to encourage the country to help promote peace and reconciliation with the Taliban to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan. The optimism, analysts say, stemmed from Wednesday’s rare telephone conversation U.S.