The US State Department is downsizing the US Embassy in Kabul and has ordered all nonessential personnel to leave Afghanistan amid concerns of heightened violence as US and NATO troops withdraw. The department “ordered the departure from U.S. Embassy Kabul of U.S. government employees whose functions can be performed elsewhere,” it noted in a travel advisory issued Tuesday. In an […]

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Tuesday Afghanistan could be taken over by Taliban or descend into civil war when the US withdraws troops by September 11 – the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Blinken told CNN a civil war or Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is “certainly a possible scenario” when the US withdraws all its troops from the country. The […]

Commander of US Central Command General Kenneth F. McKenzie said on Tuesday he is developing concepts that will preserve the US’s ability to ensure Afghanistan does not again become a safe haven for terrorist attacks against the United States. He said these concepts will help enhance America’s “ability to strike terrorists and capitalize on partnerships elsewhere in the region.”

Attaullah Salim, Deputy of the High Council for the National Reconciliation (HCNR) said Wednesday that the Taliban has shared a draft of a peace plan with the council. Addressing a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Mujahidin victory, Salim stated that he hopes the integration of the HCNR’s plan with the Taliban peace plan could lead to “a common vision […]

Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib implied this week that the troops’ withdrawal had come sooner than expected. In an interview with VICE Media, Mohib said: “We weren’t expecting it to come this soon so there hasn’t really been a proper transition,” he said. Mohib said the looming withdrawal has “put us at risk” in some ways but added that […]

The Pentagon is reportedly sending around 650 troops to Afghanistan in the coming days to protect US forces as they withdraw from the country, CNN reported Tuesday, citing several defense officials. According to CNN, the deployment was approved by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin late last week as part of a package of military assets being sent to the country to […]

National Directorate of Security (NDS) Chief Ahmad Zia Saraj said Tuesday that the Afghan government is ready to exchange Pakistani prisoner Abdullah Orakzai, leader of the Khorasan branch of the Islamic State (IS-K), locally known as Daesh, for two Taliban leaders in Pakistan’s custody. The NDS forces arrested Abdullah Orakzai aka Aslam Farooqi, the IS-K leader, along with 19 of […]

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called on warring parties in Afghanistan to remain engaged in the Afghan peace process. In an interview with the Turkish News Agency Anadolu, Qureshi stated that Pakistan will urge the Taliban to remain engaged and continue with the peace process. “We will certainly try and urge them, you know we will urge them […]

Officials in Pakistan appear upset over U.S. military assessments warning of a possible resurgence of terrorism in the South Asian country after the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan and calling into question Islamabad’s commitment to peace in the war-torn neighboring country. Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and South Asia, shared the […]

Four intelligence officials, a university lecturer, and a civil servant were gunned down in targeted attacks in Afghanistan’s capital on Saturday. Police in Kabul said four officers of the National Directorate of Security, the country’s main spy agency, were shot dead by unknown assailants in the Paghman area during the morning rush hour. Rafi Usmani, a lecturer at a private […]