Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, 63, on his empathy for the Taliban, his bitter disappointment with the former protective power, the United States, and why he considers the EU as his role model. He says the key to war and peace for his country, however, lies with Pakistan. DER SPIEGEL: Mr. Karzai, the Taliban are the very specter of terror […]

Over 8,000 families have been displaced in at least five provinces as fighting intensifies on multiple fronts between government forces and the Taliban, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations said on Saturday. The families are faced with lack of shelter, access to health services, education and other facilities for a normal life, according to the displaced persons. Baghlan, Helmand, Kunduz, […]

US Brigadier General Matthew Trollinger, deputy director of politico-military affairs for the Joint Staff, told Senate lawmakers during a hearing on Afghanistan that US military equipment could end up in the hands of Taliban fighters and terrorist groups. When pressed for a guarantee that enemy fighters in the region won’t steal some of the abandoned and gifted military equipment, Trollinger […]

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the NATO will continue to support Afghanistan as the organization’s military presence is ending in the country. In a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday, Stoltenberg stated that NATO’s future support to Afghanistan “will have three main pillars.” “As we end our military presence, we are opening a new chapter. […]

The Taliban has “surrounded” five provincial capitals in Afghanistan as of Feb. 2021, according to the Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. FDD’s Long War Journal has assessed that 17 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces are now under direct Taliban threat. For information on districts controlled and contested by the Taliban, see LWJ report, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan. The […]

According to Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Beijing is willing to deepen counter-terrorism and security cooperation with Afghanistan and help the country strengthen its anti-terrorism capacities. Wang made the remarks during a phone conversation with Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar on Monday. Wang said China would continue to support the Afghan government in the country’s peace […]

Eleven members of the US House of Representatives–10 Democrats and one Republican–wrote a letter to President Joe Biden on the “enduring interests and ideals that should continue to guide US efforts in Afghanistan even as the armed forces end their mission in the country” amid the start of the withdrawal of American troops from the country. The letter was signed […]

Taliban on Tuesday morning launched an attack on the Obe district in the western province of Herat, the provincial governor Waheed Qatali said. He said the attack started with the “destruction” of a bridge by the Taliban. The bridge, he said, connected the Obe district with other parts of the province. “Three Taliban fighters, including their commander, were killed in […]

President Ashraf Ghani said that the Afghan government is ready to fight against the Taliban after the full withdrawal of international troops from the country, reiterating that the key to peace talks is accepting the election as a way forward for Afghanistan’s future government. “The threat of terrorism has changed. It has not disappeared. We are all agreed on this,” […]

Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar on Tuesday spoke about a recent trip of a high-level Pakistani delegation to Kabul. He said the two sides reached agreements about the peace process in Afghanistan, but the two countries now need to take practical steps to expand bilateral cooperation on peace in Afghanistan. Atmar made it clear that Afghanistan will not trust […]