Ariana: President Ashraf Ghani has threatened to fire security chiefs in Balkh province if they fail to locate and rescue the abducted nine-year-old boy, Abdul Rauf. Abdul Rauf was kidnapped three months ago, by armed men in military uniforms, from PD4 of Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh. Click here to read more (external link).
Michael Hughes: President-elect Joe Biden may have no choice but to allow Zalmay Khalilzad to stay on as U.S. envoy to Afghanistan for reasons of continuity amid the ongoing negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban. Khalilzad, a native Afghan turned American cowboy, is not taking any chances, however, as he aggressively pushes President Ashraf Ghani
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 16, 2021 A group of Taliban militants has killed 12 members of the local security forces in the country’s western Herat Province, in what provincial police on January 16 described as an insider attack. Herat police spokesman Abdul Ahad Walizada said the attack was carried out by at least two
Ariana: Media support bodies in Afghanistan have accused government of not properly investigating the targeted killings of journalists adding that because of this and the high level of threats they face, some have already left the country. “Unfortunately violence against journalists has not reduced, because government has not followed up on the cases of journalists
Ariana: The level of US forces in Afghanistan have reached 2,500 on Friday, US acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller announced today in a statement released by the US Department of State. According to Miller the further reduction of US troop levels to zero by May of 2021, remains conditions-based. Click here to read more (external
Ariana News: At least 36 Taliban insurgents were killed in clashes with the Afghan security forces in southern Kandahar province on Thursday, police said. Jamal Nasir Barikzai, a spokesman for Kandahar police told Ariana News that the clashes took place in the Bagh-e-Pul area at the outskirt of the provincial capital Kandahar city. Click here
1TV: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday called Iran “the new Afghanistan” as he accused Tehran of providing safe haven for al Qaeda militants. “I would say Iran is, indeed, the new Afghanistan – as the key geographic hub for al-Qaida – but it’s actually worse,” Pompeo said speaking at the National Press
Asia Times: US troop drawdown may revive East Turkestan Islamic Movement and its dormant Uighur insurgency in Xinjiang – America’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s possible resumption of at least partial power in Kabul will have far-reaching implications for China and Pakistan, both of which aim to play key roles in the country’s post-war
Ariana: Kai Eide, former head of UNAMA has pointed a finger at Afghanistan’s leaders and said there is little unity among them and that hostile statements made could undermine the peace process. Referring specifically to the first vice president, Eide said: “I see Amrullah Saleh, the vice president, constantly (making) what I would call rather
Delbar and her family of eight fled war in Afghanistan’s Faryab Province almost a year ago and their home district is currently under the control of Taliban militants. They now live in tents in the snow in the city of Sheberghan in neighboring Jawzjan Province and say they don’t have enough food. Officials say