Ayaz Gul VOA News October 29, 2019 ISLAMABAD – A senior official in Afghanistan announced Tuesday that under a “new” peace plan, the government will not seek any more unconditional negotiations with the Taliban and will require that a cease-fire last at least one month before initiating any peace process with the insurgent group. Hamdullah
Ariana: Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani resigned from his post on Thursday. In his resignation letter to President Ashraf Ghani, Rabbani said that the foreign ministry had been sidelined and that it was treated as a private NGO. Immediately, it was unknown if President Ashraf Ghani will accept his resignation. Salahuddin Rabbani had [a] tense
1TV: Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission said on Tuesday that the main door of its data center was opened to help two special forces of police get warm. This comes as Abdullah Abdullah’s team has claimed that the data at the digital center were altered in an organized night raid that happened in collusion with President Ashraf
1TV: Afghan presidential candidate Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said on Sunday that an interim government must be formed before holding any future election in the country. Hekmatyar, who was addressing reporters in Kabul, claimed that as many as one million fraudulent votes were cast in favour of incumbent President Ashraf Ghani. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 20, 2019 U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has arrived in the Afghan capital on his first trip to that country since taking over as Pentagon chief in July, possibly signaling fresh U.S. efforts to end the longest war in U.S. history. He will reportedly meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani
Michael Hughes: A potential scandal involving a foundation Afghan President Ashraf Ghani established in the United States could affect voter sentiment during the likely presidential run-off. However, many questions remain open to determine whether the allegations amount to true corruption or run-of-the-mill conflict of interests. On Sunday, October 13, Tolo News reported that The Institute for
Tolo News: The Afghan Senate’s Complaints Commission on Thursday referred Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi to the Attorney General, following reports that Qayoumi had received a $255,000 salary from a private institute in the US in 2017. Qayoumi is the acting Minister of Finance–and top adviser to President Ashraf Ghani. Earlier this week, TOLOnews obtained documents showing that
By Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 16, 2019 Turnout in Afghanistan’s presidential election was already a record low, at around 26 percent. But it could sink more as election authorities sift through the votes cast in the September 28 poll. The election commission could discard more than 700,000 of the 2.7 million votes
Tolo News: Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday called for an investigation to be launched to assess a $255,000 salary received by Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi, the acting Minister of Finance–and top adviser to President Ashraf Ghani–by the US-based Institute for State Effectiveness. Earlier this week TOLOnews obtained documents revealing that Qayoumi received a $255,000 salary from
Tolo News: Documents seen by TOLOnews reveal that the acting Minister of Finance–and top adviser to President Ashraf Ghani– Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi, received a $255,000 salary from a private institute in the US in 2017. A year earlier, in 2016, Mr. Qayoumi received a $105,000 salary from the institute, the US-based Institute For State Effectiveness, while