Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News January 25, 2019 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — As peace talks between the United States and Afghan Taliban enter a crucial stage, the Taliban leadership has announced a new chief negotiator, a man named Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. According to a statement issued Thursday night by Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, the action is intended
By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal January 25, 2019 A co-founder of the Afghan Taliban who was released from detention by Pakistan last year has been appointed as the leader of the militant group’s political office in Qatar. The move comes as the talks with the United States on a potential deal to bring an end to
VOA News Ayaz Gul January 24, 2019 ISLAMABAD — Hopes are running high that uninterrupted, extended peace talks between the United States and the Taliban in Qatar could set the stage for a politically negotiated settlement to the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan. The talks opened Monday with the U.S. team led by Washington’s special representative for
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan January 23, 2019 Afghanistan’s main spy agency says it has killed a Taliban commander who masterminded this week’s attack on Afghan forces at a military base in which scores of people were killed. The National Directorate of Security (NDS) said the commander, whose name it gave only as Noman, was
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 22, 2019 The U.S. military says one of its service members was killed by “enemy small-arms fire” in Afghanistan on January 22. The incident was under investigation, a statement said, without providing further details. It did not name the service member or the branch of the military, pending notification of
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan January 22, 2019 KABUL — Afghan officials say a Taliban attack on a military base to the west of Kabul killed at least 65 members of the country’s security forces. Taliban militants carried out the assault in Maidan Shahr, the capital of Maidan Wardak Province, early on January 21. “We
Ayaz Gul VOA News January 21, 2019 ISLAMABAD — Taliban insurgents launched a major suicide bomb-and-gun attack against a military base in central Afghanistan, killing at least 18 security troops and injuring dozens more. Authorities said the assault took place early Monday morning in Maidan Shahr, the provincial headquarters of Wardak province, about 50 kilometers from
The Independent (UK): A large number of Pashtun politicians, tribal chiefs and intellectuals are against the Taliban, which is one of its biggest weaknesses… The central, conservative ideology of the Taliban is also responsible for its failure, as it is unacceptable for most Afghans, particularly the literate population…The media has played a key role in highlighting the
Manoj Kumar Mishra via Asia Times: From a geopolitical perspective, Afghanistan provides the US with a venue for quick access to gather intelligence as well as develop military strategies against geographically adjacent state actors such as Iran, China and Russia, and limit the ambitions of non-state actors such as the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani Network and
1TV: “Do you want Pakistan or other neighbouring countries represent you, or you represent yourselves as Afghans? If you want Pakistan to represent you, we will talk with Pakistan,” Ghani said after registering to seek second term in upcoming election expected in July. The comments come after Taliban’s repeated rejection of negotiating with the Afghan government, but