Tolo News: “With the rush decision, with the premature peace process, Afghanistan is going to fall into … chaos, violence and civil war,” warned Massoud. Massoud said: “We must talk with [the] Taliban, we must make peace with the Taliban,” but he warned that the insurgents must accept core values such as democracy and women’s
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 24, 2021 The Taliban has flatly rejected a proposal by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to hold snap elections within six months or a year right after a peace deal is signed with the militant group. Ghani will unveil details of his proposal at an international peace conference in Turkey in April, according
Margaret Besheer VOA News March 23, 2021 The U.N.’s top diplomat in Afghanistan sought to lower expectations of a quick peace deal between the Afghan government and Taliban, saying Tuesday that peace is possible, but it will not come immediately, as “genuine and profound differences” exist between the two sides. “Afghans and their international partners
Ayaz Gul VOA News March 23, 2021 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged Tuesday to consult and share with NATO allies Washington’s plans on any possible military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Washington has committed to pulling out its remaining 2,500 troops and several thousand NATO forces from the war-shattered South Asian nation
Tahir Khan VOA News March 21, 2021 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban claim they, not the U.S., originated the pending proposal for a three-month reduction in violence, or RIV, to “create a conducive atmosphere” for intra-Afghan peace negotiations, two Taliban officials told VOA Saturday. “We have floated a plan under which all related sides will reduce
Radio Free Afghanistan March 21, 2021 U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on March 21 just weeks before Washington is due to withdraw the last of its troops under a deal struck with the Taliban last year. President Joe Biden said last week in a television interview that it would
Tolo News: Fazil was the Taliban’s designated chief of army staff during their regime in Kabul and the two know each other from the mid-1990s. According to reports, the verbal clash broke out when Dostum put his hand on Mullah Fazil’s shoulder to inquire about his health, but Fazil removed Dostum’s hand from his shoulder
Frud Bezhan March 19, 2021 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Afghan special forces stormed an isolated mudbrick house in a Taliban-controlled district of Ghazni Province in October, killing six suspected militants — including Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, the No. 2 figure in the Al-Qaeda terrorist network. The Egyptian national, also known as Abu Muhsin al-Masri, was on the FBI’s Most Wanted
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 19, 2021 A senior Afghan official says the government and the Taliban have agreed at a meeting in Moscow to try to accelerate talks aimed at ending decades of war in the country. The March 19 meeting followed an international conference in the Russian capital on the intra-Afghan peace process,
Radio Free Afghanistan March 18, 2021 Representatives of the Afghan government, the Taliban, and several major countries have gathered in Moscow to push for a reduction in violence to advance the peace process in Afghanistan. “We hope that today’s conversation will help create conditions for achieving progressive inter-Afghan negotiations,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said