At the time of writing (September 20, 2020), over eight days have passed, but the formal talks between the Afghanistan Government and the Taliban have not yet begun. During this period, the negotiating teams of both sides have held three meetings in Doha, Qatar. Another five meetings have been held between the Contact Groups of both the sides.

Two Army soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with militants during an intelligence-based operation in the Spalga area of Miranshah tehsil (revenue unit) in North Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on September 19, 2020.

As negotiations begin and Afghans wait with baited-breath — the future of Afghanistan remains uncertain. The US is ready to leave, the Kabul government and the people it represents are desperate for peace and the Taliban are eager to be seen as a legitimate political entity.

The 252nd edition of Al-Naba, the weekly newsletter of the Islamic State (IS), was released on 17 September. Al-Naba 252 contained reports of guerrilla attacks and targeted assassinations at the Centre—against Iraqi security forces and the Iranian proxy militias in the Hashd al-Shabi in Iraq, and against the SDF/PKK in eastern Syria—and the “West African State”, Chad and Niger specifically. […]

Delegates of Afghanistan’s government and the Taliban continue finalizing “rules of negotiations” for a power-sharing deal a week after the two foes launched their historic U.S.-brokered direct peace dialogue.

THE initiation of the intra-Afghan dialogue in Doha has raised optimism about achieving political reconciliation in Afghanistan. The stakeholders are apparently aware that this could be a patchy and lengthy process, and that they may need to review their positions from time to time during the whole discourse.

At least 11 civilians were killed and more than 10 others wounded on Saturday in twin air strikes on a Taliban base in the northeastern Afghan province of Kunduz, a provincial official said.

Nineteen years after the al-Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001, American troops are still deployed in Afghanistan, although there is a new enemy that has emerged to destabilize the country—the Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISKP. The Afghan Taliban—the same group that provided sanctuary to al-Qaeda as it planned the 9/11 attacks—is on the verge of entering into a power-sharing […]

Afghanistan Representatives from the Afghan government and the Taliban met in Doha this week to begin intra-Afghan peace talks, which were supposed to immediately follow the U.S.-Taliban agreement in February. Crisis Group expert Andrew Watkins says that after persistent delays, expectations for the first round of talks should remain modest as both sides still need to agree on an agenda […]

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that there are fewer than 200 al Qaeda left in Afghanistan today. Pompeo was speaking at an Atlantic Council event.