Newly appointed acting defense secretary, Christopher Miller has signalled he could accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the Middle East in the final weeks of the Trump administration. Miller, a former U.S. special forces officer and counterterrorism expert, was this week given the role by President Donald Trump who fired defense secretary Mark Esper.

The Afghan government on Saturday expressed deep concerns over continued violence in the country, saying that there is a need for the Taliban to stop violence and make efforts for peace. Presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said that continuation of violence by the Taliban is not acceptable.

Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, on Saturday said the Taliban prisoners were released in the hope for ending the war or reducing violence in the country, but the expectations from the move were not met.

A suicide attacker with a car bomb was identified and killed by Afghan National Security Forces on Friday evening in Helmand province, the ministry of defense said in a statement.

The explosion targeted a government forces’ checkpoint near the gate of the Afghan capital. A suicide car bomb exploded at the western entry gate of the Afghan capital Kabul, killing at least three soldiers and wounding four others, an Afghan official said.

Afghan forces have captured the mastermind of two brutal attacks on education institutes in the country’s capital which killed nearly 50 people, officials said Saturday. Mohammad Adel planned an attack on his alma mater Kabul University on November 2 and a bombing at another education centre in October, officials said.

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Thursday in a phone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg discussed the situation in Afghanistan including the Afghan peace process. The Presidential Palace stated on Twitter that the two sides discussed, “the ongoing situation of Afghanistan, the peace process, and NATO’s support for the Afghan Defense and Security Forces.”

U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad visited Ankara from November 11-13, U.S. embassy in Turkey said in a statement.

Abdullah Abdullah, Head of the High Council for National Reconciliation said Friday that no progress has been made in the Doha intra-Afghan talks. Addressing the Herat Security Dialogue, Abdullah stated that so far, no decision has been made to return the government’s negotiating delegation from Doha.

First Vice President, Amrullah Saleh, said that the Afghan government did not recognize the US-Taliban deal signed late in February in Doha. Addressing the Herat Security Dialogue virtually, Saleh said “We did not recognize the Doha deal. We did not welcome the deal. We did not approve the deal. We just said that we noted the Doha deal. The deal […]