By Ayaz Gul, Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News / August 17, 2021 ISLAMABAD/KABUL – The Taliban said Tuesday talks on the formation of an “inclusive Islamic” government in Afghanistan are near conclusion as the radical movement consolidates its hold over the war-torn country. The Taliban stunned the world over the weekend when they retook power in Kabul, the
Ariana: The Taliban say they don’t want to monopolize power, but insist there will only be peace in Afghanistan once President Ashraf Ghani has been removed from power and a new government is in place. In an interview with The Associated Press, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is also a member of the group’s negotiating
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 19, 2021 A senior Afghan official says the government and the Taliban have agreed at a meeting in Moscow to try to accelerate talks aimed at ending decades of war in the country. The March 19 meeting followed an international conference in the Russian capital on the intra-Afghan peace process,
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 11, 2020 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban reaffirmed Tuesday its commitment to ending violence in Afghanistan, while emphasizing that a comprehensive cease-fire has to be discussed during intra-Afghan peace negotiations due to begin later this month. The proposed talks are an outcome of the agreement the United States sealed with the
Ariana: Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, said the group is ready to release the remaining government prisoners by Eid al-Adha, in case the government also releases the remaining 600 prisoners of the Taliban according to the list already shared with the government. Click here to read more (external link).
By Ayaz Gul VOA News July 16, 2020 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban said Thursday it has already released 845 Afghan security forces under an ongoing prisoner swap with the Kabul government and is working to free the remaining 155 in line with the insurgent group’s agreement with the United States. Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen shared
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News July 9, 2020 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban denied news reports Thursday that they have agreed to an alternative list of prisoners to break a deadlock over prisoner exchange which is holding back the start of negotiations to reach a political settlement. “This is not true. The prisoner commission has told me
By Ayaz Gul VOA News June 30,2020 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban said Tuesday its political chief in a video call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reassured him the Islamist insurgency does not allow anyone to use Afghanistan to plot attacks against other nations. Pompeo’s contact with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the
Ayaz Gul VOA News May 8, 2020 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban said Friday it has conveyed to the United States the insurgent group is not holding an American hostage missing in Afghanistan. U.S. envoy for Afghan peace and reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, has confirmed he called for the release of Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran-turned contractor,
By Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News April 7, 2020 ISLAMABAD – The Afghan Taliban said Tuesday they will now approach the Americans to resolve the prisoner release issue, after telling its technical team in Kabul to stop participating in what they called “fruitless meetings” with representatives of Afghan government. The release of up to 5,000 Taliban