Released Al-Qaeda Prisoner Leading Insurgents in Kunduz

A senior al-Qaeda leader who was released from prison on two separate occasions by the Afghan government is now leading the group's insurgent activities in northern Kunduz province, according to local officials. The Kunduz police have identified the militant leader as Qari Belal, who fled to Pakistan...

IEC Invalidates Results From 69 Polling Sites

During the third round of the vote invalidation process, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Friday discarded results from 69 polling sites.The announcement comes after the IEC invalidated 70 polling sites out of the total 3,846 during the first round of the process and then another 70 in the...

Campaigns Hopeful for Negotiations, But Timing Still Unclear

After a busy week of negotiations, yet with still no settlement between the two opposing camps, representatives of both presidential candidates on Friday maintained that they are optimistic about reaching an agreeable end to the election process soon. Although Abdullah Abdullah's team indicated...

Electoral Deadlock Broken

After waiting for more than six hours for U.S. Secretary of State, both presidential candidates and the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to address the nation, the electoral deadlock has been broken when the men announced that an agreement has been reached during the...

Iran respects popular vote in Afghan presidential election

The Iranian Foreign Ministry says the Islamic Republic respects the popular vote in Afghanistan’s presidential election. In a statement on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said the Afghan presidential polls marked an epic event for the Asian country in terms of massive turnout, adding...

Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan Increase

The leading cause of civilian casualties in Afghanistan is said to be ground combat and crossfire rather than the improvised explosive devices (IEDs), increasing the number of civilian fatalities to 24 percent in the first half of 2014, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan's...

Abdullah declares victory, warns resistance against fake results

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday declared victory in the second round of election and warned to resist the upcoming government claiming that the government and electoral bodies were involved in massive fraud during the runoff election. Abdullah was speaking among thousands of his supporters in Loya...

Ghani Leads Preliminary Results

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced preliminary results of the runoff presidential election Monday evening with Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai leading with 56.44 percent. Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah fell behind with 43.56 percent.Tonight's results were made up of 100 percent...

Militants set hundreds of fuel tankers ablaze in Afghanistan

Militants have set fire to hundreds of fuel tanker trucks in a parking lot on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, witnesses said Saturday. After the attack angry drivers blocked a major highway to demand reimbursement for their losses. Hundreds of other drivers stood by helplessly Saturday morning,...

Amarkhil Resigns in Wake of Fraud Allegations

The Independent Election Commission's (IEC) Secretariat Chief, Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail, announced his resignation on live television on Monday afternoon. The announcement came just a day after presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah released phone recordings of conversations allegedly between...

Afghan intelligence foils coordinated suicide attacks plot in Khost

The Afghan intelligence operatives foiled numerous truck and car bombings plot in eastern Khost province of Afghanistan. The National Directorate of Security (NDS) said Sunday that a group of 14 Haqqani Network militants were arrested in connection to the attacks plot. NDS following a statement said...

Suicide bomber attack in Kabul leaves 1 civilian dead

A suicide attack rocked capital Kabul early Saturday morning, targeting the vehicle of a high ranking high peace council official. The blast took place in the 5th police district of Kabul city near Dawat university building. Deputy interior minister for security, Gen. Ayub Salangi confirmed...

Karzai Reacts to Election Tensions

In a meeting with the Afghan Ulema Council on Friday, President Hamid Karzai described the tensions that have emerged from the presidential runoff election as normal, and assured that the issues would be resolved. Addressing the delegation, President Karzai said, "there is peace and calmness in...

Clash Between Police and Bodyguards of Paktika Governor

A clash between the bodyguards of Juma Khan Hamdard, the governor of Paktika, and police in Balkh province, claimed the lives of four of Hamdard's bodyguards and two police officers on Friday. Another two bodyguards were wounded.  The clash is said to have occurred at a police check-point...

Abdullah Boycotts Commissions, Accuses Karzai

Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday announced at a press conference in Kabul that he has cut off ties with the election commissions and pulled his observers. He claimed President Hamid Karzai has not been neutral in the election process and demanded a freeze on vote counting. "Right...

MPs Demand Impartiality of Karzai, International Community

Members of Parliament from the Lower House asked President Hamid Karzai and the international community to be impartial during the election process urging that they respect the votes of the Afghan people, on Wednesday.In emphasis to their request they ask that the Independent Election Commission...

Afghan president hopeful Abdullah Abdullah cries foul

Afghan presidential election candidate Abdullah Abdullah has demanded an immediate halt to vote-counting over allegations of widespread fraud. Dr Abdullah said ballot boxes had been stuffed to the benefit of his rival Ashraf Ghani and he had lost trust in the electoral authorities. "We have asked...

FEFA Releases First Election Observation Report

The Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA) on Tuesday released its first report regarding the presidential elections. "FEFA has noted more than 6,651 cases of violations on the Election Day," FEFA Head Nadir Naderi said. According to the report, 396 polling centers faced a delayed opening,...

Abdullah urges to suspend IECC chief Ziaulhaq Amarkhil

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, presidential contender in the second round of election, on Monday called for the suspension of Independent Electoral Complaints (IEC) Chief, Ziaulhaq Amar Khel. Speaking during a press conference late Sunday evening, Abdullah warned that he and his team will not accept...

Senior IEC Official Accused of Fraud

Just after polls closed Saturday evening, Gen. Zahir Zahir, the Kabul Police Chief, leveled accusations against top Independent Election Commission (IEC) official Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail, claiming he had attempted to steal ballots from the commission's headquarters. According to Zahir, vehicles...

473 major terrorist attack plots foiled by Afghan security forces

The Afghan national security forces foiled at least 473 major terrorist attack plots during the election day in Afghanistan. Afghan intelligence – national directorate of security (NDS) chief, Rahmatullah Nabil said Saturday that Lashkar-e-Taiba and Haqqani Network militants were looking to...

ECC Records Complaints, Asks Observers to Stay Vigilant

As polling places closed and vote counting began Saturday evening, the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) said it had registered well over 100 complaints regarding electoral violations. The commission urged election observers to stay through the end of the process in order to ensure greater transparency. According...

Voting starts in Afghanistan run-off presidential election

People in Afghanistan started voting in a run-off presidential election on Saturday. The voting was officially inaugurated at at 7:10 am in Kabul by Independent Election Commission (IEC) chief and other IEC officials. Noor Mohammad Noor, spokesman for the Independent Election Commission (IEC), said...

Pakistan seeks power sharing with Taliban in Afghanistan�s next government

The Afghan intelligence – national directorate of security (NDS) chief, Rahmatullah Nabil has said that the Pakistan intelligence agencies are looking share power with Taliban in the next government of Afghanistan. Nabil said the main motive behind continued cross-border shelling and violence...

Five US soldiers killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan

Five American soldiers serving with the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have lost their lives in an apparent friendly fire incident in Afghanistan’s troubled southern province of Zabul. "Five American troops were killed yesterday during a security operation in southern...

Mustaghna:
Afghanistan Maintains Foreign Policy Sovereignty

The Afghan government recently dispatched a congratulatory message to the Syrian president Basharul Assad for his re-election. This is while most of the country's western allies have declared the Syrian election illegitimate and unlawful and therefore criticize the Afghan stance. This has led...

Afghan Forces on Alert for Runoff

The National Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Monday announced that 195,000 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were deployed in different regions of the country to maintain security for the June 14 runoff.The National Directorate of Security (NDS) reaffirmed their determination to foil any plot against...

Karzai greets Bashar al-Assad for his victory in Syrian elections

Afghan President Hamid Karzai congratulated President Bashar al-Assad for his victory in Syria presidential election. President Karzai quoted in a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan said he was hopeful that his reelection will result to development, prosperity and...

Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiban behind attack on Dr. Abdullah

Afghan security officials said Sunday that attack on presidential contender Dr. Abdullah Abdullah was carried by foreign intelligence agencies. The issue was shared during the National Security Council (NSC) meeting chaired by President Hamid Karzai. The security officials said preliminary investigations...

Lebanese experts praise Imam Khomeini�s legacy

Experts have held talks in Lebanon to discuss the legacy of the late founder of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini. A ceremony was held in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday on the occasion of the anniversary of the demise of Imam Khomeini. Many Lebanese figures said they believed Imam Khomeini's...