The Taliban cannot return to power in the wake of international forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, says the government’s top peace negotiator. The chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) asked the insurgent not to think of taking over Afghanistan through military means. Such thinking on Taliban’s part would be a gross miscalculation, remarked the HCNR head, who explained […]

President Biden has announced that the United States will withdraw all remaining military forces from Afghanistan before September 11, 2021 — likely marking a definitive end to America’s longest war just months before its two-decade anniversary. The decision fundamentally changes the dynamics of the Afghan peace process, as the Taliban have defined their insurgency by opposition to perceived occupation by […]

The Afghan National Security Council (NSC) said on Thursday the country’s security forces are capable of maintaining security in the country. This comes just hours after US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced a full withdrawal of all foreign troops starting May 1. According to them, all troops will be out of Afghanistan by September 11 […]

Mir Rahman Rahmani, the Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of the Parliament) said Wednesday that a full US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by September is “irresponsible” and that it could result in another civil war. Rahmani stated that the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan is crucial for counter-terrorism, and urged the US not to leave its mission […]

The Taliban said on Thursday the US decision to pull out of Afghanistan starting May 1 is in violation of the agreement signed between the two parties in Doha last year an in turn issued a veiled threat to foreign forces. The Taliban said in a statement that the agreement was that all troops would be out of Afghanistan by […]

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, flew into Kabul on Thursday where he met with President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), in a show of support following the announcement Wednesday of the total withdrawal of all foreign troops by September. On Wednesday night US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General […]

The United Kingdom will pull out all its forces from Afghanistan, says a media report. The Times reported Britain’s plans Hours after US President Joe Biden’s announcement of a full troop pullout from the country by September 20. The UK would transfer control of the Military Academy in Kabul, where its troops train Afghan soldiers, to the government in Kabul. […]

The Taliban have linked participation in any conference on Afghanistan’s future to the pullout of all international forces from the country. Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for Taliban’s political office in Doha, said this in a tweet hours after President Biden announced on Tuesday withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan by September. Naeem wrote: “Until all foreign forces withdraw from our homeland, […]

Taliban on Wednesday afternoon warned the US and NATO to stick to the agreement of troops withdrawal on May 1 and said if the Doha agreement is not adhered to problems will be “compounded” and those in breach of the deal will “be held liable”. In a series of tweets, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said: “The Islamic Emirate of […]

Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns said Wednesday there is a “significant risk” that terrorist groups will seek to rebuild after U.S. troops withdraw and that not having troops in Afghanistan would diminish the agency’s ability to gather intelligence in the country. Addressing a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Burns said: “Our ability to keep that thread in Afghanistan in check, […]