Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Tajik counterpart Sherali Mirzo on Saturday discussed joint measures to counter threats from the Taliban in the Tajikistan and Afghanistan border area, Russia’s TASS news agency reported. Russia on Friday pledged to help its ally Tajikistan to build a new outpost on the border. The two countries will also hold major drills next […]

A special unit of the country’s intelligence agency, NDS, conducted an operation in Rabat village in Parwan province last week in which 10 people were killed, following concerns raised by local residents linking insecurity in the area to the existence of illegal armed groups. There have been many reports about the activities of illegal armed groups in some areas recently. […]

Sources said that security forces left Narai district in the eastern province of Kunar on Sunday due to lack of supplies and that fighting continues on other fronts, including Nijrab district in Kapisa where its central areas are still under Taliban influence. “Narai district fell (to the Taliban) without resistance. This shows the weakness of the leadership of the security […]

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and UNAMA both issued a communique on Saturday calling on both sides to the conflict to stop the fighting and start making progress at the peace talks tables. The communique comes after a meeting on Thursday in Rome between the EU, NATO, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the US, where […]

Kabul police said Sunday the mastermind behind the rocket attack on Eid al-Adha has been arrested by the police’s Special Forces unit. According to the ministry of interior (MoI), the suspects were detained in PD5 in Kabul city. “During a targeted operation in Kabul’s PD5, special police forces arrested a key member of the Taliban who had planned and organized […]

Pakistan and China on Saturday called on all Afghan stakeholders to agree to a ceasefire and work together to achieve an inclusive peace agreement and political settlement. According to Dawn News, the call was made by the two sides during a foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue in Chengdu in Sichuan province in China. A statement issued by China and Pakistan said […]

A Taliban spokesman has said they don’t want to monopolize power but insisted that there won’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed. In an interview with The Associated Press, Suhail Shaheen, Taliban spokesman and a member of the group’s negotiating team, said the Taliban will lay down […]

Two lawmakers and military experts on Friday raised their deep apprehensions over the Taliban’s continued advances in various regions of the country, saying there has been no change on the ground despite the recent reshuffles in the country’s security entities. A month ago, President Ashraf Ghani announced the appointment of Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi as acting minister of defense, Gen. Abdul […]

The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) on Friday retook the control of Karokh district in Herat but one district fell to the Taliban in the last 24 hours. This follows a relative calm across the country during the first and second days of Eid. “A joint attack was carried out against the Taliban positions. These brave men managed […]

China, which shares a border with Afghanistan, is making preparations for a Taliban takeover of the country. China’s first preference will be to work with the new rulers and is signaling its population that despite the country’s outspoken policy against Islamists, it, unlike others, adhered to a non-intervention policy. It also prepared its public for a Taliban-friendly policy by citing […]