Tolo News: A security source said the armed forces surrounded Dostum’s house on Tuesday because he had brought huge numbers armed personnel into the city. In addition, the source said, nine of Dostum’s security guards were accused of mistreating Ahmad Eshchi, former deputy head of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan. Only two of the guards
Tolo News: The Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) has announced that president Ashraf Ghani has ordered the appointment of Atta Mohammad Noor, as the new governor of Balkh province. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: A Turkish newspaper has claimed Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Hizb-e-Islami group, is currently in hospital in Istanbul. The newspaper, Aydinlik, quoted a Turkish intelligence source as saying Hekmatyar is being treated at an Istanbul hospital. No details were however given. Click here to read more (external link).
DW: Hekmatyar’s chief negotiator, Amin Karim, told the Associated Press news agency that the warlord would return to the Afghan capital, Kabul, in “a matter of weeks, not months.” He is believed to be currently hiding in the eastern Kunar province, where he enjoys popular support. “More fighting will result in more bloodshed, and that is
Tolo News: The disarmament of Hizb-e-Islami members was not part of the peace deal, said the group’s peace negotiator. Members of Hizb-e-Islami will not lay down their arms under the peace deal with the government, but will dissolve its military wing, a top negotiator for the group, Amin Karim, said on Sunday. Click here to read
Tolo News: Referring to recent negotiations between the president and Balkh’s acting governor, Jamiat’s leadership council said it supports discussions between Noor and Ghani. In a press release issued on Sunday, Jamiat-e-Islami party reiterated its call for the full enactment of the political agreement by President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah in order to meet
Tolo News: Commenting on recent reports of talks on power-sharing between President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah, the CEO’s spokesman Mujiburrahman Rahimi on Thursday said no individual and no force would be allowed to undermine or move the political share of the CEO to someone else. The statement comes after reports emerged of ongoing negotiations
Afghanistan Analysts Network: As in most years, the feeling in January 2017 is that this will be another crucial year for Afghanistan. The AAN team has identified several key themes that we think it important to follow this year. They range from crises in the Afghan government and how changes in global politics, particularly the change
Tolo News: Afghanistan’s attorney general ordered the arrest of nine of First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum’s bodyguards on charges related to the alleged abduction and sexual assault of a political rival, who accused the vice president of sodomizing him with a rifle. Dostum has denied the accusations. His office called them a baseless effort to
ReliefWeb: Afghanistan’s new electoral law has come into force, which means that the requirement of electoral reform ahead of the next elections has – at least nominally – been met. AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili and Martine van Bijlert discuss the main features of the new law and note that the most controversial and complicated changes have