U.S. intelligence agencies have told the Biden administration that the Taliban could overrun most of Afghanistan within two to three years if U.S. troops leave before a power-sharing deal is reached between the warring sides, a news report said on Friday. Such a takeover potentially would allow al-Qaeda to rebuild in Afghanistan, the New York Times reported, quoting anonymous U.S. […]

Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser (NSA), said on Saturday that if a peace deal has not been reached by the time US and NATO troops withdraw from Afghanistan, the country could be plunged into a civil war. Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Mohib said the Afghan government wants peace and a ceasefire instead of just a reduction in […]

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has left for Turkey and the region ahead of the Istanbul summit on Afghan peace which will be held next month. The US State Department said in a statement on Saturday that Khalilzad began the trip on Thursday – a trip aimed at encouraging the two warring parties to accelerate their negotiations […]

The High Council for National Reconciliation chairman is optimistic about next month’s conference on Afghanistan in Turkey. Speaking to France 24, Abdullah Abdullah hoped the UN-led Istanbul meeting would help promote Afghan peace negotiations.

Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar, who is currently on an official visit to India, met with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Monday night and discussed an international consensus on the Afghan peace talks, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “The two sides reviewed the Troika Peace Meeting in Moscow and assessed the final declaration […]

The Afghan government and the Taliban agreed on Friday to try to accelerate peace talks, at a meeting in Moscow that followed an international conference there on the peace process, a senior Afghan official was quoted as saying.

The Taliban warned Washington on Friday against defying a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, promising a “reaction,” which could mean increased attacks by the insurgent group.

It’s an open question of whether President Joe Biden will stick to the current deadline for pulling all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan under a peace agreement signed with the Taliban last year. First, though, we’ll have to figure out how many troops are actually there right now.

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday said that he will not transfer authority without elections, as pressure mounts for Afghans to consider a new US proposal for peace, which includes a plan for an interim government. Ghani made the remarks during a seminar on Afghanistan’s foreign policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Referring to the government’s peace roadmap, Ghani […]

At least 303 prisoners – including 12 female inmates – were handed over to the Afghan government this week, the Afghan ministry of foreign affairs confirmed on Tuesday. The ministry said in a statement that the prisoners, Afghan Nationals lodged in Iran’s jails, were handed over to Afghan officials at the Islam Qala – Dogharoun border crossing on Sunday.