Last week was one of the deadliest weeks in the past three months as 107 people were killed and 110 more were wounded in various security incidents, most of which were attacks on security outposts, in various parts of the country, according to data collected by TOLOnews. Of those killed from April 3 to April 9, 79 were security force […]

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on Saturday and held a meeting with Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, and the leadership committee of the council, to discuss the peace process, the reconciliation council said. Khalilzad also met with President Ashraf Ghani and according to the Presidential Palace statement, they discussed the peace process […]

Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar met with Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo, NATO Senior Civilian Representative for Afghanistan on Wednesday, who assured the Afghan government of its continued cooperation and support for the peace process and in the fight against terrorism. Atmar expressed gratitude for NATO’s support and welcomed the decisions taken at recent meetings of NATO Foreign and Defense Ministers on Afghanistan […]

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday where the two discussed bilateral relations and issues of regional and global importance including the Afghan peace process. According to a statement issued by the Pakistan government, Khan reiterated the importance Pakistan attaches to its relations with Russia as a key foreign policy priority. He expressed […]

Sources in the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) confirmed to ArianaNews on Wednesday that the United Nations’ (UN) envoy in Kabul sent a letter to the Taliban and government outlining a suggested peace roadmap. According to the sources the letter highlighted the following issues: 1- Ceasefire2- Participatory and transitional government3- Holding of elections4- Preserving gains made over the past […]

The US military withdrawal from Afghanistan may create uncertainty in neighbouring Xinjiang, but might improve China’s security environment in the longer run, analysts have said.

Local officials in Kandahar said that the Arghandab district in Kandahar has been retaken from the Taliban following an operation by security forces. Some parts of the district were under Taliban influence over the last few months, according to officials. Mines have been planted along roads connected to the district, which will delay the return of displaced people to their […]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a meeting with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishanka, said India is an important player in the political settlement in Afghanistan and that it should be engaged in international efforts supporting the Afghan peace efforts. Quoted by the Hindustan Times in a report on Tuesday, Lavrov said that India should “undoubtedly” be part of international […]

A former Taliban member who joined the peace process five years ago is now serving as head of the Hajj and Religious Affairs Directorate in the southern province of Kandahar. Mawlawi Manzoor Ahmad Husaini had different roles as the Taliban-designated security chief in Badghis, head of military commission in the western zone, and head of the Olympic committee during the […]

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad sent a letter to negotiators representing the Afghan republic and the Taliban specifying the date for the Turkey conference on Afghanistan, sources in Qatar said. The sources said that a political consensus for an early solution to the Afghanistan crisis, the establishment of a shared government and a regional and international consensus will be the […]