1TV: Russia could send troops to Afghanistan to fight terrorism if the country’s authorities ask for it, Moscow’s special envoy reportedly said this week. But for this, Zamir Kabulov, said that it is necessary to wait for the results of the inter-Afghan dialogue and the formation of a coalition government that will represent the interests
Ayaz Gul VOA News March 7, 2020 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban says its peace pact with the United States does not alter the status of the insurgent group’s supreme leader as the “lawful ruler” of Afghanistan, saying he is duty-bound by religion to establish an “Islamic government” after foreign “occupation” troops exit the country. The
By Freshta Jalalzai Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 7, 2020 Less than 48 hours before the Taliban signed a conditional peace agreement with the United States, I telephoned the spokesman of the Taliban’s Doha office to discuss the terms of the pending accord. “I am driving at this very moment,” Suhail Shaheen told me when I
Ayaz Gul VOA News March 6, 2020 A U.S. media outlet reported Friday that the U.S. government had intelligence that the Taliban did not plan to abide by promises they made in the recent peace agreement with the United States. NBC News cited three U.S. intelligence officials, who remained anonymous in the report, saying the
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 6, 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump says the Taliban could “possibly” overrun the Western-backed government in Kabul after the United States withdraws from Afghanistan. Trump was speaking to journalists at the White House on March 6, days after the United States signed a deal with the Taliban aimed at putting
Ayaz Gul VOA News March 6, 2020 ISLAMABAD – Officials in Afghanistan say at least 27 people were killed and 55 injured Friday when gunmen opened fire on a gathering in Kabul, with high-profile opposition politicians in attendance. Witnesses said the shooting started when a former vice president, Karim Khalili, was delivering his speech to
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 5, 2020 U.S. defense chiefs have told lawmakers that the initial results from the Taliban peace deal have been mixed, but they insisted that the extremist group is adhering to much of the agreement despite a flare-up of deadly violence in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told a Senate panel
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan March 4, 2020 The United States has conducted a “defensive” air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province after a checkpoint manned by Afghan forces was attacked. “The US conducted an airstrike on March 4 against Taliban fighters in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand, who were actively attacking an #ANDSF checkpoint.
Ayaz Gul VOA News March 3, 2020 ISLAMABAD – U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone Tuesday with a top leader of the Taliban insurgency about the landmark peace deal the two sides recently signed in Qatar that aims to end a nearly 19-year-old war in Afghanistan, America’s longest. A Taliban readout of what it
Michael Hughes: The newly-inked U.S.-Taliban “peace” agreement – a pact that excludes the actual sitting internationally-recognized government of Afghanistan – will never bring peace to the war-torn country because it was never really designed to. The agreement and February 29 signing ceremony in Doha are all part of a publicity charade that will weaponize President Donald