VOA News February 9, 2019 The top U.S. negotiator in peace talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders says he hopes a peace agreement can be achieved before Afghanistan’s next set of elections just five months away. Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, spoke Friday to an audience at the United States Institute of Peace
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News February 8, 2019 ISLAMABAD — When Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani laid out the red carpet in 2017 for controversial Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar — once known as “the Butcher of Kabul” for his role in the bloody conflict for the control of the capital in the 1990s — many thought he was
Ariana: Former President Hamid Karzai who attended the two-day Moscow Talks has called for convening Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) to resolve the ongoing crisis in the country. Speaking with Russia’s Sputnik News Agency, Karzai hailed Moscow’s role in facilitating the Afghan politicians meeting with the Taliban representatives. Karzai said the outcomes of the Moscow meeting
Lisa Schlein VOA News February 6, 2019 GENEVA — U.N. de-miners say the number of people being killed and maimed by landmines in Afghanistan is rising due to explosives newly planted by the Taliban. The United Nations has been involved in clearing landmines in Afghanistan for 29 years. Over that period, the U.N. and its partners
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 6, 2019 Taliban representatives and an Afghan delegation led by former President Hamid Karzai have entered the second and final day of talks in Moscow, with the militants continuing to insist upon the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan as a first step in the peace process. The talks
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan February 6, 2019 Two journalists have been shot and killed after unidentified gunmen stormed a radio station in northeastern Afghanistan, their colleagues and officials say, the latest deadly attack on reporters in the war-torn country. Shafiq Arya and Rahimullah Rahmani, both in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 5, 2019 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reiterated the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan in a telephone call with President Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan leader says. “Secretary Pompeo stressed that there is no uncertainty and ambiguity about the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan and our enduring partnership,” Ghani tweetedon February 5. The
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 5, 2019 Taliban representatives and an Afghan delegation led by former President Hamid Karzai have begun two days of talks in Moscow billed as part of an “intra-Afghan” peace process — despite the absence of Kabul government representatives and continued militant attacks back in Afghanistan. The gathering has been criticized
Task and Purpose: The Pentagon’s most recent report on contractor personnel numbers for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2019 shows there are now 2,847 armed private security contractors supporting the Operation Freedom’s Sentinel mission in Afghanistan, up from the 1,722 armed contractors it reported in Jan. 2017. The use of armed security contractors seemed to be on the decline
Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday said that those forcing people to hold peace talks must avoid discussing the issue of dissolving the country’s army. He said: “Those who are forcefully bringing others to negotiate must not talk about dissolving our “lions” (army); if they are so brave, then they must come and fight