Category: South East Asia

Pakistan Not to Host US Bases for Afghan Mission: VOA

Pakistan ruled out Tuesday the possibility of again providing its military bases to the United States for future counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, as US troops prepare to completely leave the country by September 11, VOA reported. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the remarks to reporters in Islamabad, explaining that his government has adopted a policy that allows it […]

Read more ›

‘Tactical Retreat’ Preceded Fall of Nerkh District: Officials

Following reports about the fall of Nerkh district of Maidan Wardak province to the Taliban, Afghan security officials said that the security forces made a “tactical retreat” from the district. Maidan Wardak’s governor said that the security forces retreated from the district as part of a “conspiracy,” without further elaborating. He said the district is currently under Taliban control. However, […]

Read more ›

Ceasefire in Afghanistan to Start Wednesday at Midnight

A three-day nationwide ceasefire between the Afghan government and the Taliban is expected to begin on midnight Wednesday. The Taliban’s spokesman told TOLOnews that the ceasefire is not to continue after the three days of Eid-ul-Fitr, which begins on Thursday. However, the public has urged the Taliban to agree to a permanent ceasefire and stop their violence against the Afghan […]

Read more ›

China calls for ethnic inclusion and moderate Islamic policy in ‘new’ govt

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that China feels it is necessary for Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, including Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, to fully support the Afghan peace process and that Afghanistan should ensure all ethnic groups and parties fully participate in the future political lineup. In a statement issued ahead of a foreign ministers meeting of Central Asian countries, […]

Read more ›

104 cargo loads of US military equipment flown out of Afghanistan

US forces in Afghanistan have moved about 104 cargo loads of equipment out of the country so far and have turned over more than 1,800 items of gear for destruction, US Central Command said on Tuesday. CENTCOM said in a statement that since President Joe Biden’s decision to fully withdraw all military personnel from Afghanistan “the US has retrograded the […]

Read more ›

Taliban capture key district near Afghan capital

Taliban insurgents captured a key district just outside the Afghan capital Kabul in central Maidan Wardak province on Tuesday, forcing government forces to retreat, security officials have confirmed. The capture of Nerkh district comes amid intensifying violence across the country following an announcement by the Taliban of a three-day ceasefire over Eid-ul Fitr. Reuters reported that Tariq Arian, an interior […]

Read more ›

Deputy leader of Taliban faction sustains ‘serious’ injuries in skirmish

Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, deputy head of the Taliban splinter group in the western part of the country, was badly injured in a skirmish in Herat province, sources said. Provincial officials told Ariana News that Niazi was wounded in a skirmish with Taliban militants in the Guzara district of the province. The sources stated that Niazi, who reportedly is a […]

Read more ›

Afghan amb to the US on the Taliban: ‘They are not interested in peace but power’

The Afghan ambassador to the US, Roya Rahmani, spoke to The World’s host Marco Werman about the security situation in Afghanistan, and the government’s handling of it. Grieving families buried their dead on Sunday after a horrific bombing at a girls’ school in the Afghan capital that killed 50 people, many of them pupils between 11 and 15 years old.

Read more ›

Business Community Skeptical as Taliban Pledges Security

Business community and economic analysts have shown mixed reactions to a recent tweet by Taliban member Suhail Shaheen in which he said the group will protect Afghan businesses and all other economic activities in the future government in the country. Afghan politicians, businesspeople and investors have said that such statements by the Taliban leaders are symbolic—and insist the group proves […]

Read more ›

Logar MPs Raise Alarm Over Deteriorating Security

Lawmakers from Logar province in Afghanistan’s parliament on Tuesday raised grave concerns over what they described as deteriorating security in the province. MPs warned that the fragile security situation in Logar could have serious implications on the security of Kabul if substantial actions weren’t taken to fix the lack of security in Logar. However, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has […]

Read more ›