The New York Times: Since his days as a C.I.A.backed Afghan guerrilla leader against the Soviets in the 1980s, the former prime minister and perpetual insurgent Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has always seemed to be negotiating his next shift of alliances. Now, with his Hezbi Islami militant group nearly eclipsed by the Taliban, Mr. Hekmatyar, 68, is once
Business Standard: Months after Tajikistan closed its consulates in Kunduz and Badakhshan province citing security issues, Afghanistan has asked Dushanbe to re-open the consulates in the country. Click here to read more (external link).
The Diplomat: Mohammad Mohaqiq, CEO Abdullah Abdullah’s deputy, said the government rejecting public demands to use the Bamyan route “is a clear discrimination and bullying against the people of central provinces.” Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), as TOLOnews reports, blames the previous government for the confusion about routes. DABS says it inherited the decision to go through
Meri News: Afghanistan’s acting Defense Minister Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, has been appointed (May 6, 2016) chief of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Intelligence (NDS), the prime domestic and foreign intelligence agency of Afghanistan, which directly reports to the President of Afghanistan. Earlier in December 2015, the deputy head of NDS, Massoud Andarabi, was appointed as NDS’ acting
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan May 6, 2016 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has proposed a reshuffling of his defense and intelligence ministers in the aftermath of a massive deadly terrorist attack in Kabul. Zafar Hashemi, the president’s office spokesman, tweeted late on May 5 that Ghani had appointed acting Defense Minister Masoom Stanikzai to be
Khaama Press: Former Afghan interior minister Ali Ahmad Jalali has said the government of national unity led by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah will not collapse. Jalali served as the minister of interior during former President Hamid Karzai’s administration and is currently in the United States, serving as lecturer in a US military academy.
1TV: Mohammad Muhaqqiq, the second deputy for Afghanistan’s Chief Executive, has claimed that rejecting Bamyan as the route for electricity transmission from Central Asia is ‘discriminatory’. Afghanistan’s cabinet on Saturday decided that the 500 kV electricity grid TUTAP would pass through Baghlan province despite demonstrations that demanded it to pass via Bamyan. Click here to read
Tolo News: Concerned about reports of Afghanistan issuing passports to people from other countries, India has moved to tighten visa controls for Afghans, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Salahuddin Rabbani. Rabbani was summoned by the Meshrano Jirga (Upper House of Parliament) on Sunday to explain the issue of visa restrictions by India and the United Arab
Khaama Press: A top aide to President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has called for the establishment of a national resistance against the interference of Pakistan in the country, insisting that the Taliban group and other terror groups fighting in the country are slaves who are fighting for the interests of the outsiders. Ahmad Zia Massoud, the presidential envoy
ISLAMABAD, April 30 (Xinhua) — The Taliban suicide bombing in Kabul on April 19 that killed 64 people and injured nearly 375 has thwarted fresh efforts by Pakistan to broker peace talks between the Afghan government and the insurgent group. Pakistan’s efforts had initially convinced the Taliban to send a delegation of key political negotiators