Ayaz Gul VOA News August 15, 2020 ISLAMABAD – Officials in Afghanistan said Saturday a prominent female peace negotiator had survived an assassination attempt ahead of U.S.-brokered negotiations with the Islamist Taliban. Fawzia Koofi, a 45-year-old former Afghan parliamentarian and a renowned human rights activist, was returning to Kabul from the neighboring northern Parwan province
Tolo News: On the threshold of the intra-Afghan talks, which are expected to be held on Doha in the near future, the Taliban on Saturday issued a statement saying the group does not recognize the Afghan government as a legitimate system. The statement was apparently issued in response to a recent statement by the Afghan
VOA News August 14, 2020 Afghanistan has begun releasing the last 400 of its Taliban prisoners, government officials said Friday. Eighty of the prisoners were released Thursday officials said. The release is a condition for starting peace negotiations in the war-ravaged country. The U.S and the Taliban signed a prisoner release agreement earlier this year, calling for the Taliban to release the 1,000 government and military
By Ayaz Gul VOA News August 13, 2020 ISLAMABAD – A senior official in Afghanistan said Wednesday that a team of state representatives will begin formal peace negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar “early next week” to try to negotiate a political solution to the country’s long war. Mustafa Mastoor, the Afghan Minister of Economy, said
Ariana: The Afghan media on Wednesday voiced concern over the upcoming intra-Afghan peace talks in Doha after Qatar visas for local journalists were not approved. Members of the public also objected to the move saying talks should not be held behind closed doors and that the people of Afghanistan have the right to be kept
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 11, 2020 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban reaffirmed Tuesday its commitment to ending violence in Afghanistan, while emphasizing that a comprehensive cease-fire has to be discussed during intra-Afghan peace negotiations due to begin later this month. The proposed talks are an outcome of the agreement the United States sealed with the
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News August 10, 2020 ISLAMABAD – Nineteen Afghan civilians were killed in multiple roadside mine blasts in Kabul and Kandahar Sunday. Two of the blasts occurred in Arghistan district of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. In the first incident, a Toyota pickup carrying civilians hit a roadside mine near Shana Nari village killing nine
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 9, 2020 U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says the United States is planning to cut back its troop levels in Afghanistan to “a number less than 5,000” by the end of November. Esper made the remark in an interview with Fox News that was broadcast on August 8. His
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 9, 2010 Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani Sunday announced the release of a last batch of 400 Taliban prisoners, clearing the way for an early start to a U.S.-brokered peace dialogue with the Islamist insurgency. Ghani’s decision came after a government-sponsored grand public assembly, known as a Loya Jirga, advised him
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan August 8, 2020 A traditional Afghan council is expected to back a proposal for the government to release a final group of 400 Taliban prisoners, a move that potentially paves the way for intra-Afghan peace talks. Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Loya Jirga gathering Afghan politicians and community leaders, said