The Guardian (UK): Afghan authorities have drafted a deal giving the Turkish government control of more than a dozen schools in Afghanistan affiliated with the exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen. Western and Afghan officials believe the agreement is part of a bargain allowing Afghanistan’s vice-president, Abdul Rashid Dostum, who has been accused of abducting and torturing a
Tolo News: A petition has been filed by families of civil war victims, who have pointed fingers at certain factions, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar-led Hizb-e-Islami, for their involvement in war crimes and called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague to prosecute offenders. They called on the ICC to launch an investigation into the crimes
Tolo News: A debate in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) over a recent controversial land deal between government and Alokozay Group of Companies exposed predictable divisions among lawmakers on Tuesday when chairman of parliament’s Transport and Telecommunication Commission slammed the accord as violation of the prevailing laws of the country and urged the contract’s
Tolo News: Yasin Zia was appointed as governor of Takhar province on the proposal of IDLG and the decision of President Ghani last year in October. The reason behind Zia’s move to resign is not clear so far. Click here to read more (external link).
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan May 24, 2017 Afghan authorities have arrested eight people, including the son of a lawmaker, after a rock-throwing crowd forced a plane to return abruptly to Kabul to pick up two lawmakers who had missed their flight. The May 23 incident has caused uproar among many Afghans, including politicians and people
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan May 20, 2017 Afghan officials say controversial Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum has left the country amid claims that he ordered his men to abduct, beat, and rape a political rival last year. Yaseen Khamosh, a media adviser to Dostum, told RFE/RL late on May 19 that Dostum had gone to
Tolo News: The state minister for reforms in security sector, Amrullah Saleh, at a gathering in Kapisa province on Friday, criticized the recent remarks of Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and said he had ‘insulted’ Afghanistan’s war victims when he made his first speech after 20 years at the Presidential Palace one week ago. Click here to
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan May 11, 2017 Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e Islami group said on May 11 that it will not hand over its weapons, despite pledging to do so as part of a peace deal signed with the government in September. The decision prompted a rebuke from President Ashraf Ghani’s office, with a
Press TV May 6, 2017 Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai holds the US responsible for the rise of Daesh in his homeland, saying Washington is in cahoots with the notorious terrorist group it has created. “Daesh is a US product,” Karzai said in an exclusive interview with the US-based Fox News network published earlier this
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan May 5, 2017 KABUL — Hundreds of Afghans have staged a protest against Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, hours after the notorious militant leader held a large rally in Kabul to mark his return to the country under a peace deal with the government. The rally at a stadium and the protest outside Hekmatyar’s