The presence of NATO troops in Afghanistan remains conditions-based, the alliance chief says. The Taliban must honour their commitments to reducing violence Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed,

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for a political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. At a meeting with Masood Foundation chief Ahmad Wali Massoud, the speaker hoped: “The peace process will herald an era of peace and prosperity in Afghanistan and the region.”

President Ashraf Ghani and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have discussed the Afghan peace process and the state of bilateral relations. The Presidential Palace in Kabul said on Thursday that Ghani held a telephonic conversation on further boosting cooperation between the two countries.

A university lecturer was killed in a targeted IED explosion in Kabul city late Thursday morning.

Afghan commando forces freed 23 security force members and one civilian from a Taliban prison in Kunduz on Wednesday, 217 Pamir Corps said in a statement. Mohammad Ali Yazdani, commander of the corps, said the Taliban prison was in Qashlaq Kabuli area of Khan Abad district, in Kunduz province and that it was destroyed during the operation.

Head of intelligence units from regional countries held a two-day conference on regional security and the fight against terrorism in Kabul this week, Ahmad Zia Siraj, the head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said Thursday.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday evening that no decision on troops withdrawal has yet been made by the Alliance and its partner nations. Addressing a virtual press conference after a two day NATO Defense Ministers meeting, Stoltenberg said the Alliance has not yet made the decision because it feels there is still a chance for peace in Afghanistan.

President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday urged the international community and regional nations to put pressure on the Taliban and their supporters to reach a political settlement. Addressing a follow-up workshop on the Geneva summit commitments in Kabul, Ghani raised the issue of the high levels of violence currently gripping the country.

Kabul hit by attacks on members of security forces, judges, government officials, civil society activists and journalists in recent weeks A Kabul University professor was killed when a bomb hit his car in Afghanistan’s capital on Thursday, police officials said, the first attack in days after a series of such incidents in recent weeks.

Mubashir Muslimyar, a lecturer at Kabul University, and one other person were killed in an IED blast in Kabul, security sources said. Referring to the incident, Kabul police announced that an explosion targeted a vehicle in Kabul’s PD3 on Thursday, and that one person was killed in the blast.