New Zealand has announced that the country will conclude its military mission in Afghanistan by May 2021. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta, and Defense Minister Peeni Henare announced Wednesday morning that the country will conclude “its deployment of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to Afghanistan by May 2021.”

Russian Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said on Wednesday that Moscow would like all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to agree to an inclusive and transitional coalition government.

At least 11 workers at the Pashdan Dam in Karokh district of Herat were abducted by the Taliban on Sunday, said Wakil Ahmad Karokhi, a provincial council member.

Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, on Monday reacted to remarks by Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, calling them “the language of threat and insult,” saying such talk “doesn’t work” in Afghanistan and it is not what the people expect from their political leaders.

Two days ahead of the NATO ministerial, the Afghan government expects the continued support of the alliance to Afghanistan in its train, advice and assist mission. The NATO meeting has been called an important event where allies are expected to decide on the presence of international troops in Afghanistan.

Taliban Deputy Leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar says that there is no military solution to the long-term conflict in Afghanistan. In an open letter to the people of the United States, Mullah Baradar stated: “The past nineteen years have proven beyond any doubt that the Afghan issue cannot be resolved through the use of force or by alternating military strategies […]

Eleven people, including an engineer, working on the Pashdan Dam project in Herat province, have been kidnapped by the Taliban, provincial council members confirmed Monday.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on the eve of the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday that the alliance will “closely consult” on the way forward in Afghanistan.

Some Afghan diplomats continued to serve in some of Afghanistan’s foreign missions beyond the legal period of three years in violation of the relevant law, Pajhwok Afghan News reliably learned on Wednesday.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has suggested that Berlin’s military deployment in Afghanistan should be extended beyond its expiration in March, Germany’s dpaInternational reported. Quoted by the Funke Media Group newspapers in comments published Saturday, Maas said that the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban will not be completed by then.