1TV: The Pentagon asked Congress earlier this year for funding to reimburse the Taliban for expenses the militant group incurs attending peace talks, a US newspaper reported on Wednesday. The money would cover the Taliban’s costs for expenses such as transportation, lodging, food and supplies, Kevin Spicer, a spokesman for the chairman of the House Appropriations
Ayaz Gul VOA News May 13, 2019 ISLAMABAD — The Taliban’s chief negotiator says in newly released remarks that the United States is on the verge of defeat and will quit Afghanistan soon “either of their own accord, or they will be forced out.” Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai made the assertions in an April 28 speech
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 10, 2019 The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan said on May 10 that “faster progress” is needed in peace talks with the Taliban as another round of discussions between the two sides came to an end. Zalmay Khalilzad said “steady but slow progress” was made in the round of discussions
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 6, 2019 Peace talks between U.S. negotiators and Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar, have been interrupted to mark the beginning of Ramadan. The two sides are apparently at loggerheads over the key sticking point of when foreign forces might leave Afghanistan. The two sides have been involved for much of
Ayaz Gul VOA News May 5, 2019 ISLAMABAD — A Taliban suicide car bomb-and-gun attack against a provincial police headquarters in northern Afghanistan has killed at least 13 security personnel and injured more than 55 other people. Afghan officials said the assault in Pul-e-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province, began around midday Sunday with a Taliban
1TV: Loya Jirga had no achievements and it should have been held after a peace agreement, Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has said. Speaking in an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency during visit to the country, Abdullah said that that most of what was included in the declaration of the Jirga had already been discussed
Ayaz Gul VOA News May 4, 2019 ISLAMABAD — Authorities in Afghanistan said Saturday coalition airstrikes in an eastern province have killed up to 50 Islamic State militants, while Taliban insurgents have killed at least seven government forces in a western district. The Defense Ministry said the overnight airstrikes were carried out in coordination with Afghan
Ayaz Gul VOA News May 3, 2019 ISLAMABAD — An Afghan grand assembly, or loya jirga, ended Friday with the delegates in Kabul demanding peace with the Taliban, as President Ashraf Ghani promised to free 175 Taliban prisoners ahead of Ramadan, which begins in a few days. The Afghan Taliban, for their part, responded harshly to
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 2, 2019 Qatar has appointed an ambassador to Afghanistan for the first time, as the Persian Gulf nation hosts peace talks aimed at ending the nearly 18-year Afghan war. Doha, the Qatari capital, hosts the Taliban’s semiofficial political office and has been the location of the ongoing talks between the
Michael Hughes: Many members of Afghan civil society have said they refuse to let the Taliban reverse progressive advances including in the area of women’s rights while the insurgents, who feel they have handed a great foreign invader a military defeat, have their own conditions including making the country’s constitution more Islamic. The warring parties in