Out of the blue on June 1 the news broke that secret talks had taken place in mid-May between the head of the Taliban and the prime minister of Qatar. A cloak of secrecy had been cast over this first known meeting of Haibatullah Akhunzada, leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan, with any foreign statesman. News of the talks was […]

Sweden’s government has appointed Johan Ndisi as its Special Representative for Afghanistan and the new head of the Swedish embassy for the country, a statement said on Saturday. Ndisi will assume his position in August, Sweden’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement, adding that the embassy’s operations had temporarily been relocated to Stockholm. “The government has appointed Johan […]

Addressing a gathering of religious scholars, tribal elders and local officials, the Minister of Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani said that the “poison” of the enemies still remains in Afghanistan and a lot of work is needed to build public trust. Sirajuddin Haqqani’s trip to the north of the country is at the request of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate. […]

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has said the UN Security Council report by the sanctions monitoring team on the situation in the country is “biased and far from reality”. The UNSC’s sanctions monitoring team said in its latest report that the IEA’s link with terrorist groups, such as Al-Qaeda and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), remains strong and symbiotic. “A range […]

UK government on Friday announced that Robert Chatterton Dickson has been appointed charge d’affaires ad interim of the UK Mission to Afghanistan, currently based in Doha. Chatterton Dickson will take up his appointment next month, the UK Foreign &Commonwealth Office said in a statement. Dickson worked as deputy ambassador and charge d’affaires of the UK embassy in Kabul during 2013-2015. […]

Following the United Nations Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate’s Deputy Spokesman Bilal Karimi says the imposed sanctions should be lifted and distrust between Afghanistan and the international community should be reduced and a new phase of relations should be formed. Karimi emphasized that creating a positive engagement with the acting government of Afghanistan is in the interest of […]

The BBC reported on Tuesday that an investigation by the media outlet has found a marked decrease in poppy cultivation across Afghanistan this year. The BBC reported that it traveled in Afghanistan – and used satellite analysis – to examine the effects of a decree issued in April 2022 by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada […]

Clashes erupted over the border between Afghanistan and Iran over the weekend, leading to a Taliban official threatening to conquer Iran amid increased tensions and an ongoing water dispute. Videos and pictures circulating on social media have shown Afghanistan’s Taliban forces and Iranian border forces firing at each other near a border post, killing at least one Taliban officer and […]

An ongoing power struggle for the position of ambassador at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi underlines India’s diplomatic quandary about the nature of its engagement with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not issued any public statement regarding the dispute between representatives of the previous Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban’s Islamic […]

The Islamic Emirate’s special forces in an operation on Wednesday killed a top Daesh commander along with his accomplice in eastern Nangarhar province, state-run Bakhtar news agency reported. This Daesh commander’s name was reportedly “Turab”. The operation was conducted on Wednesday evening in Wuch Tangi village of Shiwa district in eastern Nangarhar province, according to the provincial officials reported by […]