Category: Afghanistan

Afghanistan should not become a center for rivalry: Muttaqi

Afghanistan should not become a location for rivalry among the world’s great powers, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said this week during a visit to the Afghan embassy in Turkey. Muttaqi said: “The policy is that henceforth Afghanistan should not become a center or ground for rivalry among the great powers.” “Henceforth, it should not be like Afghanistan be […]

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Islamic State Growing in Afghanistan But Not Ready to Attack US, West

More than six months after the U.S. pulled its last troops from Afghanistan, the threat from the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate is growing, though new intelligence assessments suggest that earlier warnings the group might be able to strike at America and its allies as early as next month appear to have been overblown. Various intelligence estimates from the U.S. and […]

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Turkish FM ‘advises’ IEA officials on what’s needed to gain int’l recognition

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday he advised Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials on what steps need to be taken for the Afghan government to gain international recognition. “We told them in a very friendly fashion which steps should be taken for international recognition,” Cavusoglu told a press conference. He said that they focused on the importance […]

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IEA hoping for Kabul airport deal with Turkey and Qatar

While attending the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister told Anadolu Agency on Saturday that he is “hopeful” an agreement will be reached with Turkey and Qatar on operating the airport services in Kabul. Stating that an agreement had been secured on “a number of issues regarding Kabul Airport” with these two countries, Amir Khan Muttaqi said some issues […]

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IS suicide bomber of Pakistan mosque was Afghan: police

An Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber who killed 64 people at a Shiite mosque in northwest Pakistan last week was an Afghan exile who returned home to train for the attack, police said Wednesday. There have been warnings Afghanistan could become a recruiting ground and staging post for militants since the Taliban returned to power last year following the hasty […]

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ADB suspends TAPI project until IEA gains international recognition

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has confirmed that work on the trans-nations Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project has been suspended until the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government has gained international recognition. In response to an email sent to the ADB by Ariana News, an official confirmed that the project has been put on hold. He said the ADB “has […]

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New govt in Afghanistan not cooperating with anti-Pakistan elements: Pakistan NSA

The new government in Afghanistan is not cooperating with anti-Pakistan elements, Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf has said. The official said there has not been any deliberate action by the new government in Afghanistan that would undermine Pakistan. Yusuf, however, said that the threat of terrorism remains and it should be eliminated. In the past, Pakistan accused the former […]

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Afghan, Pakistani officials hammer out transit agreement to facilitate trade

Afghanistan and Pakistan trade and transit officials met earlier this month to discuss the implementation of Temporary Admission Document (TAD) which would enable free movement of cargo trucks between the two countries. Via video link on March 1, Afghanistan’s acting minister of industry and commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, and Pakistan’s advisor to the prime minister of Pakistan on commerce and investment, […]

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Karzai says while the war has ended, unity has not yet been achieved

Former president Hamid Karzai has said that while the war has ended in Afghanistan, the country has not achieved peace and stability as it desired. Speaking to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, Karzai said: “So far, we have not reached that peace and stability the Afghan people desire, which lies in national unity, the peace which is attained by national unitedness, […]

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Taliban’s secretive Haqqani Network leader finally shows his face

One of the Taliban’s most secretive leaders, whose only picture on US “most wanted” lists is a grainy semi-covered profile, was photographed openly for the first time Saturday at a passing-out parade for new Afghan police recruits. Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who also heads the feared Haqqani Network, has previously only been photographed clearly from behind — even since the […]

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