Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 15, 2019 The U.S. military is expected to trim troop levels in Afghanistan by more than 1,000 soldiers, a U.S. general told Reuters on February 15. U.S. President Donald Trump told Congress this month he intended to reduce U.S. forces in Afghanistan as negotiators make progress in talks with Taliban
Press TV February 14, 2019 The Afghan Taliban militant group says it is to meet with American representatives in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad next week for a new round of direct negotiations, which have so far excluded the Afghan government itself. The militant group said on Wednesday that separate meetings would be held in
Ariana: In a statement released on Tuesday, the Taliban said that their negotiating team is headed by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, a leading negotiator of the armed group. The list also includes Anas Haqqani, – the brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani network – who is being held in Kabul. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 11, 2019 U.S. Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan has arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit to meet with military commanders and Afghan officials amid a heightened push by Washington for a peace deal with the Taliban. Shanahan, who arrived early on February 11, told reporters traveling with him that
Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani, who visited Nangarhar province on Sunday, said the Afghan government is ready to allow the Taliban to open an office in Kabul, Kandahar or Nangarhar. Ghani said “a sustainable peace and a peace with dignity” will come to the country and for this, he is ready to even sacrifice his life.
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