US President Joe Biden on Wednesday night officially confirmed that American troops withdrawal from Afghanistan will start on May 1. He said the withdrawal process would be finished by September 11 – the anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States. Biden said: “It is time to end America’s longest war. It is time for American troops to come […]

Officials have slammed the planned unconditional withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and said the withdrawal should be done responsibly. Speaking to Germany’s DPA news agency after news broke of US President Joe Biden’s expected announcement that troops will exit by September 11, one peace talks negotiator in Doha said: “It is the most irresponsible, selfish thing the United States […]

German and Pakistani foreign ministers discussed on Monday bilateral relations and international issues, including the situation in Afghanistan. “Peace negotiations need to be continued and violence in the country has to come to an end after decades of conflict,” Heiko Maas said during a press conference in Berlin with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Qureshi arrived in Germany Sunday […]

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad left Kabul on Monday morning after a four-day visit speaking with Afghan government and political leaders as well as civil society and diplomatic representatives, US Embassy in Kabul said in a statement. “Khalilzad completed a productive four-day visit to Kabul. He met with government and political leders, civil society activist and the diplomatic community to […]

Deborah Lyons, the Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), on Monday met with President Ashraf Ghani and discussed the upcoming Istanbul Summit, UNAMA said. During the meeting the UN envoy highlighted the pressing need for an end to violence with a political settlement that answers aspirations of all Afghans, including women. According […]

Local officials in Herat province said the Taliban have carried out a car bomb attack on an Afghan National Army (ANA) checkpoint in the Shorwardak area of Shindand district on Monday morning. Herat Governor Wahid Qatali confirmed the reports and said that clashes are taking place in the district and reinforcements had been sent to the area. He did not […]

One person was killed and another was wounded in an armed attack on a vehicle carrying security guards of the deputy head of the Senate’s secretariat in Kabul on Saturday evening, police said. According to police the incident happened in PD5 Qala-e-Kashif area in Kabul. Gunmen opened fire on the vehicle, killing the driver and wounding a security guard. The […]

A senior Afghan military official said this week that if the US pulls out without a political settlement having been reached between government and the Taliban, the country will be in “deep trouble”. Speaking to the New York Times this week, the security official said: “If the US pulls out, and there is no political agreement, then we are in […]

The US, UN, Turkey, and Qatar have handed over guiding principles for the Istanbul Summit to the Afghan government and the Taliban. A document seen by Ariana News shows that there are nine guiding principles that could help the negotiating parties reach an agreement on some key points ahead of the Istanbul conference which is due to be held from […]

The High Council for the National Reconciliation (HCNR) has drafted a unified peace plan for the upcoming Istanbul Summit. A copy of the draft seen by Ariana News shows that the plan has four parts including a principle for the future of Afghanistan, a Peace roadmap/President Ashraf Ghani’s plan, a future political system, and an end to the ongoing conflict […]