DOHA: Washington’s special envoy to Afghanistan met with the Taliban in Qatar, the insurgents said Saturday, as efforts intensify to revive a peace process faced with mounting violence and a US troop withdrawal deadline, foreign media reported.

Eight security force members were killed and six more were wounded in an attack by the Taliban in Nahr-e-Shahi district in Balkh province on Saturday night, the provincial police said. The police said that five Taliban were also killed and seven more were wounded in the fighting.

Amid new developments in the peace efforts, Afghanistan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said negotiations with the Taliban will lead to a temporary peace, and he reiterated that achieving real peace requires addressing the regional and international dimensions of Afghanistan’s issue.

TOLOnews has seen a proposed draft plan for Afghan peace that was recently shared with political leaders and outlines a roadmap toward an end to the violence and a structure for a future government.

At least eight policemen were killed after Taliban militants stormed a security base in northern Balkh province, police confirmed. Adil Shah Adil, a spokesman for Balkh police said the militants attacked the Shahrak Afghania Base in the Nahr-e-Shahi district of the provinces on Saturday night.

Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation said Sunday that the republic’s shortcomings have weakened the government’s position with regards to the peace talks with the Taliban.

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has handed over Washington’s plan for the formation of a transitional government in Afghanistan, the Taliban confirmed.

The EU has condemned targeted killings of journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society representatives and continuous violence in Afghanistan and called for an immediate ceasefire. In a statement issued on Friday, the European Parliament called for a ceasefire and for parties to the conflict to continue the peace process in order to preserve the fundamental rights and principles in […]

The Taliban has released 53 members of the Afghan Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) that were being held captive by the group in southern Kandahar province. Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Taliban confirmed the move in a tweet late Friday night.

Indian farmers began gathering on Saturday to block a six-lane highway outside New Delhi to mark the 100th day of protests against deregulation of agriculture markets.