Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Wednesday on the phone and discussed the need for continuous coordination with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to deal with the ongoing humanitarian crisis. “Blinken and Zardari discussed coordination to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, regional stability, commercial and people-to-people ties, and the devastating […]

US President Joe Biden has notified Congress of his intent to rescind the designation of Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally, according to a statement published by the press service of the White House on Wednesday. “In accordance with section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k), I am providing notice of my intent […]

In April, the Taliban announced a blanket ban on drug production and use in Afghanistan. There are a number of potential reasons for the move, which would cause considerable financial pain to many of the group’s core constituencies, as well as to the Taliban itself. But the timing of the announcement suggests that the ban will not go into effect […]

The UN secretary-general’s new deputy special representative (political) for Afghanistan has arrived in Kabul. On 17 June 2022, António Guterres, the UN chief, appointed Markus Potzel of Germany as his new DSR for Afghanistan. A statement from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAM) said Potzel arrived in Kabul on July 3. Potzel brings to the position more than […]

Afghan religious leader Khwaja Sayyad Chishti, also known as Sufi Baba, has been shot dead in India’s Maharashtra state, a media report said on Wednesday. The 35-year-old Muslim community leader from Afghanistan was shot dead by a group of four unidentified attackers in the Yeola town of Nashik district on Tuesday, NDTV quoted police as saying. Motive behind the murder […]

Mawlavi Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, Afghanistan’s acting minister of defense, arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for a two day visit. Mujahid is expected to discuss a number of issues with Qatari authorities. This is his first trip abroad after being appointed to the post following the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) takeover in August last year. Mohammad Naeem Wardak, the spokesman […]

Mawlavi Abdulsalam Hanafi, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) acting deputy prime minister, on Wednesday met with Markus Potzel, the new head of the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMA) in Kabul. At the meeting, Hanafi wished Potzel well in his new position and said: “Since you have enough experience in Afghanistan, you can be a good partner for the Afghan […]

Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), reassured neighboring countries on Wednesday that Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against any country and in turn asked the international community to not interfere in the country’s internal affairs. In a statement to mark Eid-ul-Adha, Akhundaza said: “We fully assure the neighboring countries and the world […]

The Awami National Party (ANP) asked the government to raise the issue of revival of Pak-Afghan trade at a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI). ANP’s parliamentary leader in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Sardar Hussain Babak issued the call in a statement on Monday. Babak said KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, being a member of CCI, should raise the […]

The United States and Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban concluded a two-day meeting in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, the first in-person talks between the two sides in more than three months. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi led their respective delegations at the negotiating table.