The calamitous scenes at Kabul’s airport, where thousands of people are scrambling to escape the Taliban before an August 31 deadline, prove the US is not concerned with the fate of ordinary Afghans, Islamist leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar told The National. With days before the US ends its 20-year presence in Afghanistan and with tens of thousands of Afghans soon to […]

Clashes erupted between the Taliban and the resistance movement on Thursday in Gulbahar, the entrance gate of Panjshir province, and both sides used heavy and light weapons. Both sides accused each other of initiating the clash. The resistance movement said the Taliban started the clashes. “The enemy attacked Panjshir province form Andarab route twice and suffered heavy casualties,” said Fahim […]

Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar will lead a new Afghan government set to be announced shortly, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources in the Taliban. According to the report Baradar, who heads the Taliban’s political office, will be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, in senior positions in the […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that there would be no political force to talk to directly if Afghanistan breaks up as a country and called for joint efforts to decide about “legalizing” a political force in the country. Putin made the comment at a forum in Vladivostok where he was asked if Moscow would recognize the Taliban government. […]