Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty June 29, 2019 Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan, is opening a new round of talks with the Taliban in Doha as Washington bids to speed up the process to end the 18-year conflict in the war-torn country. Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Doha,
1TV: Speaking at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, Ghani highlighted “strong interdependencies” between the Taliban and Pakistan and called for “programmatic approaches” to move from conflict to cooperation. “We have a proverb it says you cannot take an Afghan to heaven by coercion, but you can take him to hell by persuasion,” Ghani said. Click
Ayaz Gul VOA News June 27, 2019 ISLAMABAD – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has begun a two-day official visit to Pakistan to pursue what aides say would be the normalization of the relationship between the two uneasy neighboring countries. The Afghan leader held delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan shortly after arriving in Islamabad
Tolo News: Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has praised Pakistan’s role in the ongoing peace process for his country and has said that “Pakistan could play a key role in bringing peace in Afghanistan and now they are doing it.” “Pakistan is a very important country and Islamabad could play a key role in bringing peace in
By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal June 22, 2019 Dozens of senior Afghan political figures are attending a peace conference in neighboring Pakistan aimed at paving the way for an intra-Afghan dialogue to end almost two decades of war with the Taliban. The June 22 conference came ahead of a new round of peace talks between the
Tolo News: Pakistan is expected to host a meeting on the Afghan peace process with the participation of some prominent Afghan politicians, sources said on Thursday. First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, Acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, former president Hamid Karzai, the Hizb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, former Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor, the second deputy chief executive
By Ayaz Gul VOA News June 18, 2019 ISLAMABAD – The United States explicitly stated Tuesday it is seeking a comprehensive peace agreement with the Taliban that would cover counterterrorism assurances, withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, intra-Afghan talks to find a political settlement to the war and a permanent cease-fire. “This is a framework
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan June 4, 2019 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says he will visit Pakistan on June 27 in an effort to improve bilateral relations that are often hampered by mistrust and reciprocal accusations. Ghani said on June 4 that the visit was agreed on after he met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan
Michael Hughes: There are two very concerning trends recently observed about the new breed of Taliban fighter. The younger generation of Taliban have proven more adept than their predecessors at exploiting technology to wage war both on the physical field of battle and in the propaganda sphere. At the same time these Taliban millennials and post-millennials
Ayaz Gul VOA News June 2, 2019 ISLAMABAD — The armed conflict in Afghanistan has reportedly caused more than 2,300 casualties, including 1,317 deaths, over the past month in operations conducted by pro-government forces and Taliban insurgents. The private Afghan news agency, Pajhwok, released the casualty figures Sunday, crediting its own sources from across 30 out