China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the various unilateral sanctions or restrictions on Afghanistan should be lifted as soon as possible, Reuters reported. According to the report economic sanctions on Afghanistan must end, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement, citing Wang at a virtual G20 foreign ministers meeting on Afghanistan on Wednesday. Afghanistan’s foreign exchange […]

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has urged the international community to refrain from putting unnecessary pressure on the new Afghan government. Speaking at an event on Thursday in Kabul, Mutaqi warned that if a country “pursues enmity with Afghanistan instead of friendship”, it will face the resistance of Afghans. Muttaqi also called for the […]

Kabul residents on Thursday praised the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) for their control of law and order, but concerns over job prospects and economic issues remain prevalent. “Law and order is better under this government than under the previous government, that useless government, but they must work towards getting jobs for the people. They should pay attention to the […]

Moscow is discussing a possible visit by a delegation of the Taliban-appointed government to Russia with Kabul, the RIA news agency cited a Russian foreign ministry source as saying on Friday, Reuters reported. Separately, RIA quoted Taliban deputy culture and information minister Zabiullah Mujahid as saying that Kabul was seeking such contacts, Reuters report said. This comes after the Islamic […]

Hundreds of trucks lined the winding, mountainous road leading to Torkhum, the Pakistan-Afghan border crossing on Thursday. Pakistani officials say that is because exports to Afghanistan have dwindled in the days after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) take over. But some truck drivers were upbeat because they said the vegetable and fruit season in Afghanistan had helped increase exports […]

Around the Taliban, and in a bizarre combination of convergence of interests and ideological kinship, a new anti-Western circle is evolving, including a willing NATO member state…. anti-Western sentiments are bringing together these regional powers, who are now courting Afghanistan’s radical rulers. The hard lesson learned from relying on an “ally” for critical production, then needing to reshore that capability […]

During a regular press conference held just hours after Taliban forces entered Kabul, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying stated that China stands “ready to continue to develop good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation with Afghanistan and play a constructive role in Afghanistan’s peace and reconstruction.”[1] But is China anxious to fill the vacuum left by the US withdrawal, intent on redrawing Asia’s […]

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has asked to address world leaders at the United Nations in New York this week and nominated their Doha-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s UN ambassador, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi made the request in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, Reuters […]

Representatives of Russia, China and Pakistan have met with Afghanistan’s interim Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hasan Akhund and other officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to discuss international recognition of the new government. A spokesman for the Islamic Emirate said its representatives would work to persuade the international community to recognize the Islamic Emirate government and to prevent […]

The Haqqani network derives its name from Jalaluddin Haqqani, who first fought against the Soviet army in Afghanistan, and later against the United States (US) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces. Following the death of Jalaluddin, the leadership of the group was assumed by his son, Sirajuddin, who is set to head the Interior Ministry, perhaps the most important […]