Tolo News: At least 20 Afghan media outlets and media-supporting organizations in an open letter to President Ashraf Ghani raised their concerns about the possibility of restrictions on media outlets and on the freedom of speech, as the government has suggested amendments to the mass media law that was enacted in 2006. The letter says
Ayaz Gul VOA News June 14, 2020 ISLAMABAD – Afghanistan’s warring sides have agreed to open long-awaited peace talks in Qatar, possibly later this month, to negotiate a sustainable cease-fire and political settlement to years of conflict in Afghanistan. A spokesman for the Taliban insurgency on Sunday confirmed to VOA the breakthrough development but did
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Saturday reported 556 new positive cases of the coronavirus out of 1,045 samples tested in the last 24 hours, bringing the total accumulated cases to 24,101. The numbers are surging as the country is faced with a lack of testing capacity, treatment equipment and health facilities to
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty June 10, 2020 A top Russian diplomat says Russia, the United States, and Afghanistan will hold video consultations to try and jump-start intra-Afghan peace talks. Zamir Kabulov, who is Russia’s presidential envoy on issues related to Afghanistan and the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s second department of Asia, told Russian
By Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News | June 9, 2020 ISLAMABAD – In a continuation of a U.S.-led push to encourage intra-Afghan negotiations, Pakistan’s army chief took a one-day trip to Kabul Tuesday. General Qamar Javed Bajwa met in the Afghan capital with both President Ashraf Ghani and the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, the man who would lead future
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News | June 4, 2020 ISLAMABAD – Eight countries and the European Union have encouraged the Afghan government and Taliban to make sure women participate in upcoming peace negotiations. The grouping welcomed recent developments that seem to have smoothed the path toward the start of intra-Afghan talks, where Afghans from various political
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 31, 2020 By Frud Bezhan After 18 years of fighting, the Afghan war is at a deadly stalemate. Afghanistan is divided up among government forces backed by international troops, the Taliban and its militant allies, the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, and a collection of smaller foreign terrorist groups. The United
Tolo News: Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) on Wednesday strongly criticized the Afghan government’s anti-corruption policy, saying actions promised by the Afghan government to curb corruption have been vague and there is a need for transparency for efforts to crack down on graft at customs. The watchdog says that President Ghani’s promises regarding the elimination of
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 26, 2020 KABUL — The Afghan government plans to release 900 more Taliban prisoners on May 26, as a cease-fire by the militants enters its third and final day. The break in fighting, which came into effect on May 24 to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, was for
The Guardian (UK): People in Afghanistan protested on social media that no women were present at a high-level government meeting, despite assurances from the president that they would be involved in important decision-making roles. The outcry followed a tweeted photo of a meeting of 12 political leaders at the presidential palace – all of them