Ayaz Gul VOA News December 19, 2018 ISLAMABAD — The Taliban say ongoing bilateral “serious discussions” with the United States are entirely focused on the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and reports to the contrary are “propaganda.” The marathon three-day dialogue, being hosted by the United Arab Emirates, is due to conclude Wednesday. Pakistan says
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty December 18, 2018 The United Nations envoy for Afghanistan says the prospect of negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan is closer than it has ever been. The comments by Tadamichi Yamamoto on December 17 came as the Afghan Taliban said its representatives met with U.S. officials in the United Arab
Ayaz Gul VOA News December 17, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan-organized peace talks involving U.S. and Taliban officials took place in the United Arab Emirates Monday. Government officials were not immediately available to discuss details of the meeting. The special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, led the U.S. team in talks that included envoys from Pakistan,
Michael Hughes: Washington still lacks any viable strategy for ending the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan outside of a last ditch bid to strike a Faustian bargain with Taliban contacts in Doha. Beijing, on the other hand, appears to have a workable regional solution that can bring stability and prosperity to Afghanistan if the United States
Ayaz Gul VOA News December 16, 2018 ISLAMABAD — The United States said Saturday it welcomes actions Pakistan is taking to promote a negotiated solution to the war in neighboring Afghanistan. The acknowledgement came a day after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced his country has arranged another round of Washington’s peace talks with the Afghan
VOA News Ayaz Gul December 15, 2018 ISLAMABAD — China, Pakistan and Afghanistan signed a trilateral understanding Saturday to enhance counterterrorism security cooperation, and collectively reiterated their call for the Taliban insurgency to join Afghan peace talks. The foreign ministers of the three countries met in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, for a second round of talks,
Ariana: High Peace Council (HPC) says Taliban has formulated a 10-member negotiating team for peace talks with the Afghan government. The direct talks between the U.S. and Taliban have raised hopes among many interested parties to ensure peace in war-torn Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link). Related ‘No Peace Agreement Will be Concluded Behind
Tolo News: A senior member (Habiba Sarabi) of the High Peace Council (HPC) on Wednesday questioned the structure of the high advisory board for peace by the Afghan government, saying women’s presence in the board has been “unfair and unjust”. Click here to read more (external link).
Safiullah Taye via Al Jazeera: If the peace process proceeds along the unilateral paths that the US and Russia have taken up, this would result in a weaker Afghan government (whether Ghani-led or not) which would undermine whatever peace agreement is eventually reached. Afghanistan needs a strong state to ensure stability and security, not a
Tolo News: “If the US is serious about bringing peace in Afghanistan, then it should reach a conclusion with China and Russia and major countries. If the US does not coordinate about peace in Afghanistan with these countries, the peace process would mean something else, but not an effort for peace in Afghanistan,” said Karzai.