Turkey’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday that a trilateral meeting between foreign ministers from Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan will take place on Friday, April 23, in Istanbul to discuss the Afghan peace process. According to a statement issued by Turkey’s foreign office, a “trilateral meeting between Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan will take place on 23 April […]

The UK government on Wednesday issued a travel warning for Afghanistan and urged all British nationals in the country to consider leaving by commercial means. According to a statement on the UK government’s website, the Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to provinces and to the “Enhanced Security Zone in Kabul” and the Hamid Karzai International Airport. Reasons […]

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday said during his visit to Kandahar province that it’s important to maintain a strong republic system and that Afghanistan must allow the foreign troops to withdraw with honor “because they have helped us. “I came to Kandahar to be reassured that nothing will happen [conflict-wise] once the foreigners leave.” Ghani said. “We have always […]

The Afghan government is set to formally demand US and NATO hand over their military equipment during the withdrawal process, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said Thursday. But US-led Resolute Support Mission has not yet said whether it will hand over military equipment to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) or not. However, the Afghan government, the United […]

India has promised continued support to Afghanistan, particularly to its security forces, reports a media outlet. India’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. MM Naravane held out the assurance at a meeting with Afghan Ambassador Farid Mamundzay on Wednesday. The Press Trust of India reported the two sides conferred on bilateral defence cooperation, particularly Afghan forces’ capacity building. India’s medical support […]

A trilateral meeting among foreign ministers of Afghanistan, Turkey and Pakistan will take place in Istanbul on Friday (tomorrow), a statement said on Thursday. In addition to recent developments regarding the Afghan peace process, cooperation in the fields of security, energy, connectivity and irregular migration will be discussed the meeting. On the margins of the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu […]

The US State Department’s spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday night that the Istanbul Conference was never meant to replace the Doha talks but rather it was part of a broader diplomatic effort to secure a political settlement. Addressing a press conference, Price said the Doha talks “is an effort that continues to be ongoing and it’s an effort where […]

The German military plans to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by as early as July 4, dpa news agency reported. This is earlier than previously planned, the Defence Ministry informed Germany’s parliament on Wednesday. According to dpa, the German military is currently holding talks with partners in NATO that could see Germany’s 1,100 troops leave by July 4. The […]

America’s ability to strike extremist targets in Afghanistan will be significantly constrained once U.S. forces depart this year, making the task of containing terrorism threats extremely difficult but “not impossible,” a top general said Tuesday. Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee that he is developing plans to address extremist […]

Despite not officially announcing a spring fighting season, the Taliban has increased attacks in various regions of the country—including the strategic areas of Kandahar in the south, Balkh in the north, Herat in the west and Nangarhar in the east. Meanwhile, military analysts attributed the surge in violence by the Taliban to the group’s attempt to pressure the Afghan government, […]