Speculations abound over Taliban’s aim to exploit the vacuum left by the partial withdrawal of US-NATO troop to seize control of the capital Kabul and re-establish an Islamic Emirate, similar to the one the US dislodged from power after its 2001 invasion. The ground reality seems to confirm these concerns about an impending civil war. Violence and territorial contestations are […]

A bilateral agreement on military cooperation between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan was signed on Friday, the Afghan National Security Council (NSC) said. According to the NSC, Afghan National Security Advisor NSA Hamdullah Mohib and Kazakh Defense Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev signed the agreement during Mohib’s visit to the Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan. The NSC stated that the pact was aimed at paving the […]

The Taliban militants have captured another three districts in the last 24 hours, sources said. According to the sources, Dahana-i-Ghori district in Baghlan province; Awba district in Herat; and Shirin Tagab district in Faryab province were captured by the Taliban, bringing the total fallen districts to 37 since May 1. In Herat, the Awba district fell to the Taliban early […]

The centers of two districts in northern Afghanistan have fallen to the Taliban following clashes in the last 12 hours with sources reporting high casualties among Afghan forces in Jawzjan province. Amruddin Danishjo, the deputy head of the Jawzjan provincial council, said the center of the Mardian district in Jawzjan fell to the Taliban on Saturday morning. He said that […]

On a warm May night, the sound of footsteps and a stranger’s voice in the darkness outside his home startled a man in Afghanistan. Alarmed, he went to investigate. He saw that someone had affixed something to his door. He found a handwritten note: “You have been helping U.S. occupier forces and … you are an ally and spy of […]

Taliban tried to take advantage of relative vacuum in absence of int’l troops, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah tells Anadolu Agency The head of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation accused the Taliban of trying to “take advantage of relative vacuum after the withdrawal of foreign troops in the country,” and said that Turkey’s presence in the Kabul International Airport is ‘important.’ […]

The Afghan government on Saturday announced the appointment of Gen. Bismillah Khan Mohammadi as new acting minister of defense and Gen. Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal as acting minister of interior, a major shake-up in the country’s security sector in the middle of surging violence that has been gripping Afghanistan on various fronts. President Ghani also appointed Gen. Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai as […]

Former foreign minister and former national security adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta on Saturday asked Afghan political leaders to come together and unite in support of Afghanistan’s National Defense and Security Forces. He said this will help to reduce casualties among security forces as the fighting intensifies on multiple fronts. Speaking at the funeral ceremony of Lieut. Colonel Sohrab Azimi, a […]

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the only way forward toward peace in Afghanistan is through reconciliation, coexistence and talks among Afghans, and he reiterated that Islamabad’s approach toward its neighbor has changed and it will favor a future arrangement that is acceptable for all Afghans. Talking to TOLOnews in an exclusive interview at his office in Islamabad last […]

Germany said on Friday it was ready to take in more local staff who have been working for its military in Afghanistan as NATO’s mission there winds down. The decision follows calls for Berlin to accelerate the process by which hundreds of Afghans who worked for the German military can resettle in Germany because of fears for their security if […]