The decision is intended to expedite the procurement process and implementation of projects, the officials said. The National Security Council (NSC) will oversee the procurement process for projects of security and defense institutions based on a decision by the National Procurement Authority, officials of the authority said Sunday.

Kandahar residents said they expect improvement in the security situation of the province with the new changes. The new governor and the new head of the NDS office in Kandahar were introduced to their colleagues by the National Security Adviser at a ceremony in the province on Sunday.

Taliban shadow governor for Sangin district of southern Helmand province has been killed in an airstrike by the Afghan forces, the Defense Ministry (MoD) claimed.

The Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) said at least 130 criminals have been arrested in the past three months in Herat.

Pakistan has cancelled about 200,000 national identity cards fraudulently obtained by Afghanistan refugees.

At least five people were killed and nine wounded in an explosion in Kapisa province on Sunday afternoon, a local official confirmed.

The deputy spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Sunday that the reason why the US has not suffered casualties among its forces in the past 10 months is because the foreign forces are no longer fighting in Afghanistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said Pakistan and Afghanistan have untapped economic synergies and complementarities, which could be best realized through cooperation in the economic and trade sphere.

Security officials in south-eastern Paktika province have claimed capturing a dozen suspects in connection with various crimes, including six landmine-planting insurgents.

A car bomb attack caused casualties to Afghan commando forces in the Jalrez district of central Maidan Wardak province last night, a public representative said on Thursday. SharifullahHotak, a member of the MaidanWardak provincial council, told Pajhwok Afghan News that Afghan Special Forces had launched operations in some areas of Jalrez district.