Ariana: The Afghan Office of the National Security Council (NSC) said Sunday that the US-Taliban deal, which was signed in Doha last year did not lead to ending the bloodshed in the war-weary country. Click here to read more (external link). Related Abdullah Calls on Taliban to Resume Talks Jamiat Will Not Remain Indifferent Over
Ariana: President Ashraf Ghani said during a phone conversation with Afghan soldiers on Saturday morning that Taliban will not get an interim government in Afghanistan. Ghani said that he is ready for Taliban’s threats. “As long as I am alive, they will not see the face of an interim government,” said Ghani. Click here to
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 19, 2021 The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East says the U.S. military is looking for so-called “fallback” bases in Saudi Arabia to protect forces in the event of raised tensions with Iran. “What we would like to do, without shutting down [current] bases…is to have the ability
Ariana: Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) stated in a report released Thursday that despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent on efforts to support Afghan women and girls since 2002, some programs were designed on assumptions that proved to be ill-suited to the Afghan context. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 17, 2021 Unusually high levels of fighting in the winter by Taliban militants risks further endangering an already fragile peace process in Afghanistan, according to the commander of U.S. forces in the war-wracked country. “Taliban violence is much higher than historical norms,” General Scott Miller told Reuters on February 17.
Michael Hughes: NATO defense chiefs at their upcoming ministerial are expected to approve a plan to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond the May Doha agreement deadline due to the Taliban’s alleged failure to divorce al-Qaeda and the need to support intra-Afghan talks. However, the irony is the decision will ensure a nearly dead peace process
Daily Beast: Earlier this month, a study group established by Congress recommended that President Joe Biden extend the May 1 deadline for withdrawing troops from America’s longest war. It’s a strategy that many experts say runs the risk of abrogating the U.S.-Taliban agreement and potentially setting back the potential peace process in Afghanistan—or even dooming
Ariana: Taliban Deputy Leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar says that there is no military solution to the long-term conflict in Afghanistan. In an open letter to the people of the United States, Mullah Baradar stated: “The past nineteen years have proven beyond any doubt that the Afghan issue cannot be resolved through the use of
Tolo News: Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar at an event on Sunday blamed the Afghan government and the US for the deadlock in the Doha negotiations, saying that the United States has “failed” in its fight against the Taliban while calling the incumbent government “occupied.” Click here to read more (external link). Related US President Biden has
Tolo News: The survey conducted by Pajhwok Afghan News shows that the Afghan government controls 46 percent of the territory. A Taliban spokesman has claimed in this survey that they control or have influence over 70 percent of the country’s territory, but a spokesman for the Interior Affairs Ministry has said that the Taliban does