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
1TV: Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbduddin Hekmatyar on Sunday warned that his followers will surround the presidential palace and force end of existing rule if the government doesn’t implement their deal. Speaking in a ceremony to mark Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Hekmatyar said that thousands of Hizb-i-Islami prisoners are still in government prisons and its supporters have
Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday said that the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was not the cause of the civil war; instead, he said, there wasn’t a plan for the country in the Soviet exit plan. Afghan leaders, said Ghani, believe this lack of planning led the country into a civil war.
Tolo News: Rahmatullah Nabil, the former head of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency—the National Directorate of Security (NDS)–who is also a critic of Ghani, has said that the president is politically isolated and is trying to gain the support of Afghanistan’s major political parties and political movements. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 31, 2021 A member of the Afghan government’s peace negotiating team said on January 31 that if the Taliban doesn’t return to peace talks in Qatar soon, the Kabul government could recall its representatives before a deal is reached. Government negotiator Rasul Talib told a news conference that the Afghan
Tolo News: Residents in the western province of Herat on Thursday accused President Ashraf Ghani of failing to deliver on promises he made to the people in the province. Residents said that Ghani’s trips to Herat have been symbolic and nothing was done in terms of development or increasing socio-economic prosperity. Click here to read
Ariana: President Ashraf Ghani has threatened to fire security chiefs in Balkh province if they fail to locate and rescue the abducted nine-year-old boy, Abdul Rauf. Abdul Rauf was kidnapped three months ago, by armed men in military uniforms, from PD4 of Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Former Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal said President Ashraf Ghani has violated 80 percent of the constitution during his presidency. Zakhilwal said the Afghan peace process is a US initiative that has caused concern for Ghani. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Some Afghan politicians said on Sunday that President Ashraf Ghani has cultivated new friendships with some of his critics in order to avoid an interim government and to stay in power. This comes after Ghani appointed Mohammad Mohaqiq, head of the Wahdat-i-Islami Party, as his senior political and military adviser and introduced Rahila Dostum
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 9, 2021 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said that his goal is to transition power to an “elected successor,” and that he seeks a “positive peace” with the Taliban. Speaking alongside first lady Rula Ghani in an interview with CNN on January 8, the Afghan president addressed the start