Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 8, 2021 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has set out a series of steps to reinvigorate the stalled peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban, according to media reports. Blinken made the suggestions in a letter to President Ashraf Ghani seen by Afghanistan’s TOLOnews. The New York Times also
The Guardian (UK): These are the “danger hours” in Afghanistan: on the streets where Afghans fear for their lives; in negotiations where all sides know the risk of an even more vicious civil war and, in a worst case scenario, a chaotic collapse of Kabul. The US is trapped in a vice. Click here to
1TV: A proposed transitional government as part of Afghan peace process would last until adoption of a new constitution and an election to choose new government, a four-page peace agreement proposal obtained by 1TV shows. Head of the interim government, his deputies and cabinet would be appointed based on agreement by both parties to the
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 6, 2021 Afghanistan’s president said he was open to holding new elections as a way to transfer power, but insisted any new government should emerge only through the democratic process. The comments by Ashraf Ghani at the March 6 opening of the country’s parliamentary session appeared to be a bid
Ariana: US special envoy for Afghanistan peace Zalmay Khalilzad headed to Doha on Thursday where he will share details of his Kabul trip with the Taliban. This comes after Khalilzad held a meeting with Afghan lawmakers while in Kabul, where he suggested the Constitution be amended so as to form a new government. Click here
Ariana: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-i-Islami party is expected to hold anti-government demonstrations in Kabul on Friday, in protest over what they claim is government’s failure to fulfil its side of the peace agreement. Hekmatyar says the demonstrations will lead to the ousting of government leaders. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV: US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has discussed the possibility of forming a transitional government in his talks with Afghan politicians during ongoing visit to Kabul, a senior US State Department official said on Wednesday. Khalilzad has also discussed the possibility of mediation in intra-Afghan peace talks to speed up process, the
Michael Hughes: U.S. State Department envoy Zalmay Khalilzad faces a daunting task – persuading the Taliban not to launch an offensive against Western troops that are likely to stay beyond the withdrawal deadline set by the Doha pact. The reboot in talks with the Taliban comes as the insurgents vow to kill any U.S. forces that
By RFE/RL Gandhara March 1, 2021 The U.S. envoy for the Afghan peace process, Zalmay Khalilzad, was back in Kabul on March 1 for talks with Afghan officials over ways to accelerate the peace process aimed at putting an end to decades of war, before heading to Qatar, where negotiations with Taliban representatives are ongoing. The
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 28, 2021 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban demanded Sunday that the United States and its foreign military allies leave Afghanistan by May 1, in line with a peace agreement the insurgent group signed with Washington a year ago, warning any attempt to change the path “is already doomed to failure.” In