Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Friday said the peace talks will not end violence in the country if all Afghan factions are not included in the process. Speaking at a gathering on the invasion of former soviet forces on Afghanistan, Hekmatyar said “NATO has been defeated in Afghanistan” and that the war continues in the country over the last four […]

The Taliban have so far not commented about the place of Baradar’s meeting with wounded members of the group. Afrasiab Khattak, a former Pakistani senator and analyst of regional affairs, says Pakistan pursues its interests in Afghanistan through the Taliban and that the group’s approach towards the peace process has remained unchanged as it still favors violence in the country.

A short video clip on social media shows that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy leader of the Taliban, addressed a gathering and said that peace talks are being conducted in consultation with clerics and leaders of the Taliban.

Afghan leaders including President Ashraf Ghani and Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah along with the foreign community in Kabul have strongly condemned the assassination on Wednesday of Yousuf Rashid, head of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA).

The United Nations said Wednesday night it was deeply concerned by US President Donald Trump’s move to pardon four former Blackwater security contractors convicted of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007. “We are deeply concerned by the recent US presidential pardons for four security guards from the private military firm Blackwater who were convicted for killing 14 Iraqi civilians.

Two Chechen militants were killed during an operation in central Logar province, the Defense Ministry said on Monday.

Afghanistan and Azerbaijan agree there is a good potential for expanding bilateral cooperation in different areas. The agreement came during a meeting between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib in Baku late on Monday.

At least five policemen, including the police chief for Chahar Dara district, and 11 others wounded during a clash in northern Kunduz province.

Afghanistan’s National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday after a meeting earlier in the day with his Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani, where the two discussed issues of mutual interest and security concerns relating to the region.

Saleh Omar, district chief for Chardara district in Kunduz, was killed in a Taliban attack on Monday night, a local source confirmed.