The 209th Shaheen Military Corps said Sunday that the Afghan Air Force has targeted a Taliban hide out in Chahar Bolak district of Balkh province – killing Mawlavi Qudrat, Taliban’s intelligence commander for the Northern Zone, along with 11 other fighters. In addition Mawlavi Rohani, the Taliban’s commissioner for the district, along three other fighers were wounded, the Corps said. […]

A key member of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mira Khan aka Mufti Khalid, was killed in Kunar province of Afghanistan on Saturday, Dawn News reported Sunday. According to the report Khan was a close associate of Mullah Fazllulah, the TTP chief who died in a drone attack in 2018, also in Afghanistan. Reports indicate that Mufti Khalid’s death was attributed […]

Pakistan has conveyed to the leadership in Afghanistan it will no longer conduct official business with Kabul’s top national security chief because of his recent “abusive outburst” against Islamabad, highly placed officials and diplomatic sources confirmed to VOA Friday. The controversy has again highlighted political tensions and historic mistrust plaguing relations between the South Asian neighbors, which share a nearly […]

National Security Advisor (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib said on Saturday that the Taiban’s supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has not been seen in the last year – which has again raised questions about whether he is dead or alive. Mohib said in a press conference in Kabul Saturday that intelligence findings indicate that Taliban members have not had any contact with […]

The Biden-Harris Administration on Friday submitted to Congress the U.S. President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget request of $752.9 billion for national defense, $715 billion of which is for the Department of Defense (DoD) – of which $3.3 billion is earmarked for Afghanistan. According to the budget report, the FY 2022 Defense Budget submission reflects Biden’s priorities to end the […]

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in a released statement on Friday has called for greater support from the international community for Afghanistan’s people, including those displaced within its borders and refugees seeking safety outside the country. The appeal comes at the end of a four-day visit by UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou, who was on […]

A Turkish garrison will be deployed near Kabul airport and 600 US marines and an unspecified number of troops could be deployed to guard Washington’s embassy, according to a report. Hundreds of foreign troops will remain in Afghanistan as part of US plans to prevent a Taliban capture of the capital, The Sun reported on Wednesday. A Turkish garrison will […]

“If such a step is taken, then the responsibility for all the misfortunes and difficulties lies upon those who commit such mistakes.” Since U.S. President Joe Biden announced on April 14 that the United States would fully withdraw from Afghanistan by September 2021, there has been discussion — among regional observers and, according to reports, among diplomats — about the […]

Afghanistan’s National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib and his U.S. counterpart Jake Sullivan discussed security and counterterrorism cooperation during a phone call on Thursday. The National Security Council tweeted that “NSA Sullivan reiterated American support for ANDSF, development assistance, and [the need for] peace in Afghanistan.” Sullivan in turn tweeted that he had discussed a “strong and enduring U.S.-Afghanistan partnership” with […]

Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was on Tuesday critical of US President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces in Afghanistan by September 11 and warned that this decision is not underpinned by a clear plan to mitigate the risks once troops have withdrawn. Addressing the U.S. Senate, McConnell said Biden’s decision was “dangerous, wishful thinking”. He said the decision […]