Tolo News: President Ghani issued two separate decrees on Saturday: the first decree appointed former national security adviser Mohammad Haneef Atmar as acting foreign minister, and the second decree stated that Atmar was a nominee for the same but full-fledged foreign minister position, pending the Afghan parliament’s confirmation. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty April 4, 2020 Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry says gunmen have shot and killed a member of the presidential guard in the outskirts of the capital, Kabul. Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said on April 4 that another member of the Presidential Protective Service (PPS) was wounded in the same attack late on
Ariana: The Ministry of Public Health announced that the number of positive cases of COVID-19 has jumped to 274, with six deaths in Afghanistan. The Ministry said that most of affected individuals were recorded in Herat and Kabul provinces. According to the latest statistics, 15 new cases were diagnosed in Herat, 14 cases in Kabul
Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani has publicly proposed that the leadership of the peace council be taken on by his political opponent Abdullah Abdullah, who disputed the recent election results and has announced a parallel government. The two sides could not reach an agreement when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Kabul last month
AA: In a landmark development, Afghanistan has started extracting gas from a newly discovered field in northern Jawzjan province, officials confirmed on Thursday. This is the first time in four decades that natural gas is being extracted in Afghanistan, acting Minister for Mines and Petroleum Enayatullah Momand told state broadcaster RTA Pashto. Click here to
Tolo News: Referring to COVID-19, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid was quoted by the Associated Press on Wednesday as saying: “If, God forbid, the outbreak happens in an area where we control the situation then we will stop fighting in that area.” But a Western security source says attacks–from all sides–are occurring alongside the COVID-19 spread
Asia Times: The terrorist attack that killed 27 Sikhs in a centuries-old gurdwara (Sikh temple) last week highlighted yet again the continued and systematic decimation of Sikhs and other religious minorities in Afghanistan. Once a thriving religious minority, the Sikh population in Afghanistan has over the last couple of decades declined significantly, with current estimates
Press TV April 2, 2020 Afghanistan is set to release from prison 100 Taliban militants in a prisoner exchange for 20 of its security forces personnel, the government and Taliban sources say. Both sides on Thursday confirmed that the Taliban prisoners were to be released at the Bagram military base north of the capital, Kabul.