Newly-appointed police chief for southeastern Paktika on Saturday vowed to recapture fallen districts from the Taliban and turn check-posts into military bases.

Masoud Andarabi, Minister of Interior Affairs, said Saturday the Taliban is playing for time in the ongoing peace negotiations in Doha and waiting to see what the new US administration decides following the inauguration of Joe Biden last week.

Top Afghan officials on Saturday welcomed the decision of US President Joe Biden’s administration to review a landmark US deal with the Taliban and focus on whether the insurgents have reduced attacks in Afghanistan in keeping with the agreement.

Officials said there are no chances of illegal transfer of gold or money at the airport. Officials at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul rejected the claim by Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who said anonymous planes are involved in the illegal transfer of gold and money at the airport.

Ghani appointed former deputy finance minister Mohammad Khalid Payenda as acting minister of finance. President Ashraf Ghani removed Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal from his post as the minister of finance, the Administrative Office of the President said, citing at least five reasons behind the decision.

Three Taliban insurgents were killed and three security personnel were wounded during separate clashes in southwestern Nimroz province, police said on Thursday.

NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative (SCR) in Afghanistan, Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo on Thursday reaffirmed NATO Allies and partners support to the Afghan security forces, during a video call with Kandahar Governor Rohullah Khanzada and Assistant Governor Faisal Sherzai.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has handed over to the Ministry of Public Health a fourth batch of personal protective equipment (PPEs) worth more than $187,000 to help the country combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Pakistani foreign minister has said that the new US administration should play an active role in the ongoing Afghan peace process and the opportunity made available for ending the Afghan crisis should not be missed.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu reiterated NATO Support toward Afghan peace process, adding that NATO will address its training mission in Afghanistan in February.