Minister of Mines and Petroleum Mohammad Haroon Chakhansuri on Thursday said that construction work on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipeline Project will kick off next year. Speaking at a press conference Chakhansuri said the ministry has established an effective coordination mechanism between government institutions involved in the TAPI project and also with international institutions and TAPI partners.

At least three NDS forces were killed and 19 civilians wounded on Thursday evening in a car bomb explosion in Gardez city, the capital of Paktia province.

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad left Washington Thursday for Turkey and Qatar where he will once again hold talks on the intra-Afghan negotiations. The US State Department said in a statement that when in Turkey, Khalilzad will discuss international coordination and Turkish support for Afghanistan’s peace talks.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas believes the security of soldiers from his country cannot be ensured without continued support from the United States.

As Doha peace talks continue at a sluggish pace, Pakistani has promised ramping up efforts to bring a lasting ceasefire to Afghanistan.

Some Russian embassy staffers suffered minor injuries as the vehicle they were travelling in struck an improvised explosive device (IED). In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said late on Tuesday that the occupants of the car suffered “mild concussions”.

A senior Afghan Taliban leader has been detained in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province, a Pakistani newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Taliban are not honouring the peace pact they signed with America in February, says the US permanent representative to NATO. “Well, first of all, we never thought this peace process would be easy, and clearly it has not been,” Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison told an online news conference in Brussels.

The Afghan government and Taliban peace talks teams announced Wednesday that they had finalized the rules and procedures for the intra-Afghan talks and will start discussing the agenda.

The United States, European Union (EU), UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the British Embassy in Kabul were among many who welcomed Wednesday’s announcement of a breakthrough in the Doha peace talks and say they hope this leads to a ceasefire.