In a series of his recent meetings with influential political leaders, President Ashraf Ghani on Friday met with former president Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council of National Reconciliation, as part of efforts to develop national and political consensus around peace. The country’s political situation, the peace process, strengthening of political consensus and ensuring a […]

At least 12 people were killed and 15 more were wounded in an explosion inside a mosque in Shakar Dara district north of Kabul on Friday afternoon, police said in a statement. The blast happened at Haji Bakhshi Mosque in Qala-e-Murad Bek area in Shakardara district of Kabul during Friday prayer, police said. Sources said the bomb was placed inside […]

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday spoke with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on phone and the two sides discussed the regional efforts to advance the Afghan peace process and the recent waves of violence including the attack on Sayed Al-Shuhada school that killed over 60 students and wounded 150 more. Secretary Blinken conveyed Eid greetings and expressed […]

A number of Afghan security and defense forces in Herat, who have spent months on the battlefield and are away from their families, welcome the three-day ceasefire between the Taliban and the government. They say it is better for all parties to declare a permanent ceasefire and to resolve their disagreements through negotiations. Residents also expressed their wish that the […]

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hizb-e-Islami, called the decision to withdraw foreign troops from Afghanistan “irresponsible” as violence escalates, and he warned of another war beginning. Hekmatyar said that the decision to withdraw foreign troops from Afghanistan was “wrong” ahead of forming of a transitional government. “With the withdrawal of the foreign troops it’s clear that another war will begin […]

Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, former vice president and head of the Islamic National Movement of Afghanistan–Junbish-e-Milli–in an address to a gathering in his home province of Jawzjan on Thursday, said the Taliban must stop violence and should bow to the people’s demand for a lasting ceasefire. “We are Muslims. We should not fight against each other. If we want to […]