Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 6, 2018 U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says he’s not worried about Islamabad retaliating against Washington over its suspension of as much as $2 billion in military aid this week. “I’m not concerned, no,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon on January 5, when asked about concerns that the U.S.
Press TV January 5, 2018 Pakistan has denounced as “counterproductive” Washington’s decision to suspend millions of dollars in security aid to Islamabad. “Arbitrary deadlines, unilateral pronouncements and shifting goalposts are counterproductive in addressing common threats,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The statement said Islamabad was “engaged” with US officials and awaiting
WPR: Illegal mining has become so integral to the Taliban’s shadow government that it has established a fully functioning mining department, known as the Dabaro Comisyoon or “Stones Commission,” to manage the taxation of extracted minerals and ores. It even issues “official” Taliban-sanctioned mining licenses. Click here to read more (external link).
Press TV January 4, 2018 A bomb explosion claimed by the Daesh terrorist group has killed at least 11 people and injured 25 others in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, officials say. The bombing took place on Thursday, when an attacker detonated his explosives near a group of security personnel who were carrying out an operation against
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan January 4, 2018 Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and the United Nations, expressed support for President Donald Trump’s tough line against Islamabad and said the administration is likely studying various methods to put pressure on Pakistan for what he called its lack of cooperation in the fight against
Hasib Danish Alikozai VOA News January 3, 2018 WASHINGTON — Last year was the deadliest since 2016 for journalists in Afghanistan, with 21 reporters being killed in the line of duty, a new report, released by Nai, a nongovernmental organization advocating for open media in Afghanistan, claims. Abdul Mujib Khelwatgar, the chief executive officer of Nai told
Tolo News: Atta Mohammad Noor, the ousted governor of Balkh, has ordered the removal of Engineer Mohammad Dawood, the newly-appointed governor of Balkh by President Ashraf Ghani. A letter obtained by TOLOnews shows that the order has been issued based on complaints by residents of Zaare district in Balkh. The residents claimed that Engineer Dawood had
Foreign Affairs: Although the Taliban has demonstrated a surprising ability to survive and conduct high-profile attacks in cities like Kabul, it is weaker today than most recognize. It is hamstrung by an ideology that is too extreme for most Afghans, a leadership structure that is too closely linked to the Pashtun ethnic group, an over-reliance on
Press TV / January 3, 2018 Pakistan’s opposition leader Imran Khan has denounced Donald Trump as “ignorant and ungrateful” after the US president accused Islamabad of harboring terrorists. Khan, who has ambitions to become Pakistan’s next prime minister, said in a Twitter post on Wednesday that the Trump administration was making Pakistan a scapegoat to
Press TV January 2, 2018 A top US commander has called for a more aggressive approach in the Afghan army against a normally quieter Taliban during the winter season, saying more American “trainers” would be deployed to the front lines to escalate the offensive. General Joseph Votel of the US Central Command, who leads forces