Islamist terrorist formations – global, transnational and Pakistan-based – despite relentless efforts over decades to create turmoil in India’s hinterland, have failed to gain any noticeable traction. In fact, the last major attack (resulting in three or more fatalities) by Islamist terrorists, outside Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), was recorded on January 2, 2016, when 14 persons, including the six attackers, […]

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday rejected any military parallels with the US war in Vietnam and dismissed concerns that his country would collapse after American forces are withdrawn. In an interview with CNN, Ghani said it was time Afghanistan regained its sovereignty after 20 years of American and international presence. “In the past two years, Afghan defence and security […]

Germany will not let down its Afghan staff as the international military mission in the country, Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer pledged on Sunday. “I feel it is Germany’s sincere duty to not leave these people without protection now that we will permanently withdraw,” the defence ministry in Berlin said on Twitter, quoting extracts from an interview with German news agency […]

Pakistan on Monday urged the Taliban to remain engaged in the Afghan peace process after the armed group said it would now shun summits about Afghanistan until all foreign forces had left. The decision was taken after the United States said last week it would withdraw all troops by Sept. 11 this year, later than a May 1 deadline set […]

No one can offer guarantees about Afghanistan’s future after U.S. troops leave, a top White House official said on Sunday, even as he stressed the United States would stay focused on terrorist threats emanating from the country. This comes after US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that United States will withdraw all remaining troops from Afghanistan by September 11. […]

American officials said on Saturday that orders for the remaining US troops to start leaving Afghanistan could be issued in the next few days. According to the New York Times, the officials, who were not named, said if US troops face no threats from the Taliban, the forces could be completely withdrawn well before the September 11 deadline. This comes […]

The planned withdrawal of US troops and the Taliban’s perceived disinterest in the peace talks have raised concerns among members of Afghanistan’s Meshrano Jirga (Upper House of Parliament) who in turn called on Afghans to stand together and work for peace. Speaker of the Meshrano Jirga, Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, called on all Afghans, and politicians to remain united during peace […]

Sources from the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) said on Sunday that envoys from the United Nations, U.S, Turkey, and Qatar in Doha are trying to convince the Taliban to attend the upcoming Istanbul Conference. Following the announcement that all foreign troops will be out of Afghanistan by September and not May 1 as per the US-Taliban agreement signed […]