By Carla Babb VOA News October 16, 2020 President Donald Trump’s national security adviser says a presidential tweet last week that all U.S. troops should be home from Afghanistan by December 25 was a “desire” rather than a military order, and he reaffirmed a plan to decrease U.S. numbers to 2,500 — not zero — by
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan October 16, 2020 KABUL — The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan says he has struck an agreement with the Taliban to reduce the number of casualties in the country as a wave of violence hampered ongoing intra-Afghan peace talks in Qatar. Zalmay Khalilzad made the comments on October 15, amid rising fears about
RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal October 16, 2020 Pakistani officials say several armed men have attacked a convoy transporting four armored vehicles for the NATO forces in Afghanistan and set them alight. The October 16 attack happened on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, police official Zaheer Afridi told RFE/RL. Afridi said the attackers opened
Michael Hughes: President Donald Trump, down in the polls, has been aggressively trying to find an “October Surprise” – a news bomb or development that will shake the electoral terrain with less than three weeks until the November 3 election. His “Hail Mary” passes have included recycling the Ukraine nepotism scandal against Democratic rival Joe
Ariana: The United States and the Taliban have agreed to a “re-set” following a sharp rise in violence in the past week in Afghanistan – specifically in Helmand province. In a series of tweets on Thursday night, US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad stated: “Following several meetings (Resolute Support Commander) General Miller and I had with
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan October 15, 2020 LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan — Concerns are rising for the fate of tens of thousands of civilians caught up in battles between the Afghan government forces and the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand. More than 6,000 families have taken refuge in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, following
By Ayaz Gul VOA News October 14,2020 ISLAMABAD – Officials in Afghanistan said Wednesday two military helicopters collided and crashed in the embattled southern Helmand province, killing at least nine people aboard. Separately, Taliban insurgents raided security outposts in other provinces and killed more than a dozen government forces. Provincial authorities in Helmand said two Russian-made
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan October 13, 2020 LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan — An Afghan official says thousands of families have been forced to flee fighting in the southern province of Helmand, an area that has become a battleground between Taliban militants and government forces. Mohammad Ramin, head of the province’s refugee office, told RFE/RL on October
Deccan Herald: With the changing geopolitical dynamic in the land of the Hindu Kush, the jury is still out in India on what its Afghanistan policy should be. Surprisingly, many former diplomats and geopolitical analysts opine that India must respond to the changed… Click here to read more (external link).
NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan Stefeno Pontecorvo says while both the Taliban and the Afghanistan Republic negotiation teams in Doha have entered the talks in good faith, the rigidity of the Taliban team is holding up progress. He sat down with VOA’s Ayesha Tanzeem in Kabul to discuss what he said were unacceptably