Category: Afghanistan

IEA hoping to wrap up probe into death of al-Qaeda leader in Kabul

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sunday the Islamic Emirate will soon finalize the investigation into Washington’s claim that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in Kabul in a US drone strike. Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, said in an interview with CBS that the leadership of the Islamic Emirate was not aware of the presence […]

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Defense minister urges Pakistan to stop using its airspace against Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s Defense Minister Yaqoub Mujahid on Sunday said American drones flying over Afghanistan are entering the country’s airspace from Pakistan. Speaking at an accountability session in Kabul, Mujahid called on Pakistan to stop allowing the use of its airspace against Afghanistan. He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) did not have reliable radar detection systems in place but that […]

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US keeps pressure on terrorists’ groups in Afghanistan: White House

In the first year of commemoration of the killing of 13 American soldiers outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the president of the United States has said that his country will maintain pressure against terrorist groups in Afghanistan without a military presence. In a statement published by the White House on Friday, Joe Biden said that Washington has […]

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Hekmatyar calls for elected body to decide future governance system

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hizb-e-Islami, on Friday called for establishment of a council whose members would be elected by the people and which would draft a constitution and decide the future governance system. “We never want to join a government which is not formed based on the people’s votes…where the highest authority is not a council that would represent the […]

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Uzbekistan-Afghanistan joint trade zone to be established

Officials in Balkh province said plans are underway to establish a trade zone within two months in the border area of Balkh province and Surhandarya province of Uzbekistan. Officials said 120 acres of land would be utilized and the cost would be $75 million. The plan to create a joint trade zone was signed between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan last year […]

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Tajikistan coal exports to Pakistan resume via Afghanistan

Sher Khan customs office of Kunduz province says that the export of coal from Tajikistan to Pakistan via this port has started again and it is loading more than 100 trucks of coal daily. “It has been four days since the coal transit started, I ask the traders to have their tariff and transit documents when requested, and the traders […]

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UNHCR alarm over forced Afghan refugees returns from Tajikistan

On Thursday, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, warned of the danger faced by Afghan refugees who continue to be detained and deported from Tajikistan, reiterating that it’s illegal to force those fleeing persecution back to their homeland. In the latest incident, some five Afghans, including a family comprising three children and their mother, were returned home to Afghanistan, despite UNHCR’s […]

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Taliban Taps Former Gitmo Detainee to Crush Afghan Resistance

Afghanistan’s Taliban government tapped a former Guantanamo Bay detainee to lead the group’s campaign to counter a resistance movement in the country’s Panjshir Province, a spokesman announced yesterday according to MENAFN. That commander, Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir, will be in charge of snuffing out resistance efforts in Panjshir and part of Baghlan province. After the Taliban’s return to power in […]

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Zawahiri’s death still under investigation by IEA: Mujahid

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said Thursday that Washington’s claim they killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahir in Kabul is still only an allegation and that the IEA’s investigation is ongoing. “Zawahiri’s death is still a claim and efforts are going on for this case and his death report is not yet finalized,” said Mujahid. Speaking […]

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Taliban impose ‘harsh’ limits on Afghans’ religious freedom -U.S. panel

Conditions for religious freedom in Afghanistan have “drastically deteriorated” since the Taliban seized power last year as the last U.S.-led foreign troops pulled out after 20 years of war, a bipartisan U.S. commission said on Tuesday. The Sunni Muslim extremists’ “harsh enforcement” of their hardline version of Islam “violates the freedom of religion or belief” of a wide range of […]

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