US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and UNAMA both issued a communique on Saturday calling on both sides to the conflict to stop the fighting and start making progress at the peace talks tables. The communique comes after a meeting on Thursday in Rome between the EU, NATO, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the US, where […]

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that the Afghan security forces’ first job was to make sure they could slow the Taliban’s momentum before attempting to retake territory, as Afghan forces plan to consolidate forces around strategically important parts of the country. Reuters reported that Afghanistan’s military is overhauling its war strategy against the Taliban to concentrate forces […]

Kabul police said Sunday the mastermind behind the rocket attack on Eid al-Adha has been arrested by the police’s Special Forces unit. According to the ministry of interior (MoI), the suspects were detained in PD5 in Kabul city. “During a targeted operation in Kabul’s PD5, special police forces arrested a key member of the Taliban who had planned and organized […]

Pakistan and China on Saturday called on all Afghan stakeholders to agree to a ceasefire and work together to achieve an inclusive peace agreement and political settlement. According to Dawn News, the call was made by the two sides during a foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue in Chengdu in Sichuan province in China. A statement issued by China and Pakistan said […]

Russia has sent military equipment to border areas between Tajikistan and Afghanistan to prevent possible threats originating from the country. Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon while addressing the Tajik army during a military exercise said that the situation in Afghanistan remains fragile, adding that his country is fully prepared to face the possible threats from Afghanistan. The Tajik president called on […]

The Pentagon on Thursday confirmed that the US carried out airstrikes across Afghanistan in the last several days as part of an effort to support the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in their fight against the Taliban. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby in an off-camera press briefing refused to provide details about the airstrikes. “Without speaking to specifics, I […]

A Taliban spokesman has said they don’t want to monopolize power but insisted that there won’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed. In an interview with The Associated Press, Suhail Shaheen, Taliban spokesman and a member of the group’s negotiating team, said the Taliban will lay down […]

Two lawmakers and military experts on Friday raised their deep apprehensions over the Taliban’s continued advances in various regions of the country, saying there has been no change on the ground despite the recent reshuffles in the country’s security entities. A month ago, President Ashraf Ghani announced the appointment of Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi as acting minister of defense, Gen. Abdul […]

The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) on Friday retook the control of Karokh district in Herat but one district fell to the Taliban in the last 24 hours. This follows a relative calm across the country during the first and second days of Eid. “A joint attack was carried out against the Taliban positions. These brave men managed […]

China, which shares a border with Afghanistan, is making preparations for a Taliban takeover of the country. China’s first preference will be to work with the new rulers and is signaling its population that despite the country’s outspoken policy against Islamists, it, unlike others, adhered to a non-intervention policy. It also prepared its public for a Taliban-friendly policy by citing […]