Ayaz Gul VOA News August 7, 2020 ISLAMABAD – A traditional public assembly, known as a Loya Jirga, opened in Afghanistan Friday to determine whether a last set of 400 hard-core prisoners from the Taliban insurgency should be freed to clear the way for long-awaited direct peace talks between Afghanistan’s warring sides. Afghan President Ashraf
Ariana: A traditional consultative council, or Loya Jirga, will convene in Kabul on Friday to decide the fate of the last 400 Taliban prisoners who have not yet been released in accordance with the US-Taliban Doha agreement. The agreement called for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 government personnel that were being held
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 4, 2020 ISLAMABAD – U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan will be reduced to “anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000” troops by November this year. Trump’s remarks to Axios for HBO came as the Afghan Taliban has said its chief peace negotiator in a video
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan August 4, 2020 The Afghan government will convene a grand assembly of elders, known as the Loya Jirga, in Kabul on August 7 to decide the fate of hundreds of Taliban prisoners that Taliban leaders insist should be released before they join peace talks with the government. Last week, President Ashraf
“The strongest is never strong enough to be always the master, unless he transforms strength into right, and obedience into duty.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract (1762) Michael Hughes: The Taliban’s leader – in too many words – essentially signaled that the insurgent group will not rest until a Wahhabi-style theocracy is established in Kabul,
Ariana: In an exclusive report by Reuters, published on Saturday, the news agency stated the US has proposed that hundreds of Taliban prisoners be transferred to house arrest in a supervised facility when they are freed from Afghan jails. Citing three senior official sources, Reuters reported that this was a proposed solution for a deadlock
Tolo News: Like millions of other Muslims in the world, Afghans also began the Eid-al-Adha celebrations on Friday. But in Afghanistan, it coincides with a three-day ceasefire between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).
Jeff Seldin VOA News July 31, 2020 WASHINGTON – U.S. and coalition defense officials fear the Taliban are successfully ratcheting up attacks against the Afghan government, hoping to push it past its breaking point, while often keeping allied forces at bay. The officials, who spoke with the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), warn
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 30, 2020 The United Nations says that more than 100,000 people fled conflict inside Afghanistan’s borders so far this year amid continued violence, despite an agreement between the United States and the Taliban intended to pave the way for intra-Afghan peace talks. The UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 29, 2020 Top U.S. officials have hailed a three-day cease-fire proposed by the Taliban and agreed by the Afghan government, raising hopes that the long-delayed intra-Afghan peace talks could begin next week. The two foes announced a halt in hostilities for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday starting on July 31,