United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the continued expansion of Daesh and Al-Qaeda in Africa and resurgent terrorism in Afghanistan pose a growing threat to global peace and security. Addressing a UN-backed counter-terrorism meeting in Malaga, Spain, this week he said: “Responses to terrorism must be anchored in the rule of law, human rights, and gender equality to […]

The United States has the capability of conducting strike operations in Afghanistan if a threat emanates from the country’s territory, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said on Wednesday. In a prepared testimony for the House Appropriations Committee, Milley said: “We do maintain surveillance (in Afghanistan) and I won’t go into the details of how or […]

On May 5, unidentified gunmen killed two former Afghan National Army soldiers, a father and his son, in the Dehrawood District of Urozgan Province. On May 1, 2022, Taliban fighters killed a former ‘commander’ of the National Security Directorate (NDS), Mohammad Asif Sultani, in the Pul-e-Rangina area in Police District (PD) 6 of Herat city, Herat Province. April 17, 2022, […]

Tehran has granted Iranian citizenship to 22 Afghan investors who successfully went through the legal process. The Afghan entrepreneurs received Iranian nationality at a ceremony in Tehran on Tuesday, Mehr News Agency reported. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Bikdeli, addressing the ceremony, referred to religious, cultural and historical commonalities between Iran and its neighbors. The Ministry of Interior in Tehran […]

The Russian foreign minister has hit out at the West for blocking the assets of Afghanistan’s central bank. The Western countries were not ready to allocate the frozen funds for the needs of the Afghans, Sergey Lavrov alleged. He slammed as a theft EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s suggestion to seize Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine. […]

On the morning of April 1, seven children were playing in the lush wheat fields of Afghanistan’s Marjah district, in the southern Helmand province, by tossing around a metal object. Moments later, it exploded. The blast claimed five of their lives, including the youngest in the group, a 5-year-old boy. “My daughter has not only lost her three sons, but […]

Terrorist groups within Afghanistan are still about a year away from being able to attack targets in western countries, but remain a significant concern for U.S. military planners, intelligence officials told lawmakers on Tuesday. Last fall, Defense Department officials said that groups like al-Qaida and Islamic State Khorasan Province (known as ISIS-K) could strike at the United States within six […]

Clashes on Afghanistan’s border with both Pakistan and Iran signify an end to the relative wary regional calm that has prevailed since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul. Pakistan perceives that the Taliban de facto authorities of Afghanistan are sympathetic to Pakistani militants that threaten Pakistan’s stability. Any tensions with Afghanistan reduce Pakistan’s ability to use the Taliban and […]

Islamabad: The United States wants to continue working with Pakistan in areas of mutual interests including border security and counterterrorism. “We value our bilateral relationship,” Ned Price, the US Department of State spokesperson, said at a press briefing on Thursday. “We want to continue to work together in areas where we do have mutual interests with our Pakistani partners. That […]

Afghanistan continued to face a severe liquidity crisis this quarter with access to physical bank notes constrained and banks facing major liquidity challenges due to declining economic activity, lack of trust in the banking center among Afghans, and an inability to transact internationally. The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) said in its latest quarterly report that Da Afghanistan […]