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
Ayaz Gul VOA News October 27, 2019 ISLAMABAD – The U.S. chief peace negotiator for Afghanistan met leaders in Kabul Sunday after arriving in the country on an unannounced visit, his first since President Donald Trump halted talks with Taliban insurgents on ending the Afghan war. Officials said Zalmay Khalilzad was accompanied among others by
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 23, 2019 The United Nations and the European Union have joined the United Sates and five European countries in reiterating their commitment to reaching a “sustainable peace agreement” that ends the 18-year war in Afghanistan. A joint statement was released on October 22 in Brussels, where U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay
Ayaz Gul VOA News October 6, 2019 ISLAMABAD – A group of 11 key Taliban prisoners is reported to have been released from the joint Afghan-U.S. Bagram detention facility in Afghanistan in exchange for three Indian hostages. Insurgent sources said Sunday the swap took place in the northern province of Baghlan and two former Taliban
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 5, 2019 Taliban negotiators say they have met in Pakistan with Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan, for the first time since President Donald Trump in September called the peace process “dead.” A Taliban representative on October 5 said the meeting took place between Khalilzad and the Taliban
Ayaz Gul VOA News October 2, 2019 ISLAMABAD – U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban political negotiators have arrived in neighboring Pakistan amid a renewed diplomatic push to resurrect peace talks between Washington and the insurgent group. The Taliban delegation arrived in Islamabad early Wednesday hours after the Khalilzad-led team landed
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 19, 2019 Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, will brief a House of Representatives committee on peace negotiations in a compromise after the panel subpoenaed him in frustration over his refusal to meet with its members. The House Foreign Affairs Committee said that Khalilzad will hold a classified
Associated Press: The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday issued a subpoena to the Trump administration’s envoy to the U.S.-Taliban talks, demanding that he testify at an open congressional hearing next week. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., complained that the Trump administration was keeping Congress and the American people “in the dark” about negotiations
Ken Bredemeier VOA News September 9, 2019 WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt cancellation of planned peace talks with Taliban leaders creates new uncertainty about his vow to end the country’s 18-year military effort to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and could lead to more bloodshed ahead of Afghan elections late this month. Trump called
By Ken Bredemeier VOA News September 8, 2019 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that President Donald Trump “made the right decision” to call off peace talks with Taliban leaders at his presidential retreat because of the terrorist group’s on-going attacks in Afghanistan. “We need to see them capable of delivering on their