Tolo News: Following a public row between Sediq Seddiqi, the presidential spokesman, and Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Sibaghatullah Ahmadi, President Ghani on Sunday fired Ahmadi and replaced him with the former ambassador to Turkmenistan, Mirwais Nab. The argument was over the propriety of the Taliban delegation to Pakistan. On Thursday Ahmadi publicly supported Pakistan’s hosting of the
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan September 26, 2019 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says his country needs “one president, not two,” telling RFE/RL that if he wins a presidential election on September 28 he won’t accept another national unity government. The 70-year-old Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah have ruled through a deeply unpopular and fractured
By Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 25, 2019 A bitter, fraud-marred presidential election in 2014 pushed Afghanistan to the brink of civil war before a power-sharing deal was reached between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who became president and chief executive officer. Five years on, even as 13 other candidates vie for the
Tolo News: Acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, during Friday’s eight-year anniversary of the death of former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, said that the Presidential Palace’s efforts to monopolize power in the last five years have weakened the system. Speaking in the ceremony at the Loya Jirga tent Rabbani warned that the election commission will be responsible for
Ariana: The governor of Baghlan province has resigned from his position, the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) announced on Monday. According to the statement, Baghlan governor Farid Baseem has resigned due to personnel issues. President Ashraf Ghani has accepted his resignation. The statement further said that the provincial deputy governor Abdul Qadim Niazi will act
Tolo News: Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has suspended a presidential decree which was issued to investigate allegations on appointments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MoFA. A copy of a letter obtained by TOLOnews shows that Mr. Abdullah has said that the investigation is part of election campaign by President Ghani. Mr. Abdullah’s office has not
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan: The son of revered Afghan resistance fighter Ahmad Shah Masud says he wants to make his late father’s goal of creating a moderate Afghan state a reality. In an interview with RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan, Ahmad Masud warned against any peace deal with the Taliban and explained why he’s following
Tolo News: Prominent politicians, former Jihadi leaders and government officials on Monday commemorated Martyrs Week and the 18th anniversary of National Hero Ahmad Shah Massoud’s assassination by laying a wreath at the Minaret of Resistance in Massoud Square in Kabul. Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, Acting Defense Minister Asadullah Khalid, head of Massoud Foundation and presidential candidate
By Ken Bredemeier VOA News September 8, 2019 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that President Donald Trump “made the right decision” to call off peace talks with Taliban leaders at his presidential retreat because of the terrorist group’s on-going attacks in Afghanistan. “We need to see them capable of delivering on their
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News September 8, 2019 ISLAMABAD – The Afghan Taliban have denounced President Donald Trump’s decision to call off peace talks with the insurgent group, claiming American interlocuters were happy with a deal both sides had negotiated in Doha, and that September 23 had been decided as a date to move to the