IEC: Election Announcement Again Postponed

The Independent Election Commission on Wednesday said that the preliminary presidential election polling results will once again be postponed. Aurangzib, an IEC commissioner, said that the announcement was scheduled for Thursday, November 14, but due to tensions hindering the vote recounting process...

Seven People Killed in Kabul Car Blast

Nasrat Rahimi, an Interior Ministry spokesperson, said at least seven people were killed and 10 others were wounded in a car bomb explosion in the PD15 area of Kabul on Wednesday morning. The blast occurred around 7:25 a.m. local time in the Qasaba area in PD15 of Kabul city, Rahimi saidThe Ministry...

US ‘Strongly Supports’ Release of Taliban Prisoners: Bass

The United States government welcomes and strongly supports President Ashraf Ghani’s courageous decision to release three Taliban prisoners, the US Ambassador to Kabul, John Bass, told Tuesday. President Ghani at a news conference on Tuesday confirmed that Anas Haqqani, Haji Mali Khan and Hafiz Rashid,...

US Airstrike ‘Mistakenly’ Hits Afghan Army Outposts in Logar

A U.S. airstrike has mistakenly hit Afghan army out-posts in Logar province on Monday night, killing three soldiers and injuring four others. Shahpoor Ahmadzai, the provincial police spokesman, told Ariana News that the incident happened in the outskirt of Pul-e-Alam, the provincial capital of Logar...

Americans taking advantage of protests in Lebanon for own interests: Nasrallah

The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement says Americans are exploiting the ongoing mass protests in the Arab country to fulfill their own interests and advance their agenda, stressing that Washington has prevented Lebanon from standing on its feet. Americans are taking advantage...

’Taliban Commander’ Killed In Logar Airstrike

Waisuddin, a Taliban commander, was killed in an Afghan forces airstrike in central Logar province, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Sunday. The airstrike took place in Mohammad Agha district of the province Saturday night, the MoD said in the statement. Waisuddin was involved in the killing...

Afghanistan Protests Summoning of Envoy by Pakistan

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Monday protested the summoning of the Afghan chargé d’affaires by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry over reports of harassment made by Pakistani diplomats in Kabul. On Sunday, Pakistan said that officers and staff from its embassy had been...

Abdullah at SCO: Afghan Peace Requires Regional Cooperation

Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Saturday addressed the 18th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s 2019 Council of Heads of Governments in Tashkent. He stressed the need for further cooperation among countries in the region to boost peace and stability in Afghanistan and to improve...

Afghan woman politician sees Taliban talks as only hope for future

Afghan women have no choice but to hope the Taliban respect their rights for the sake of peace, said Fauzia Kofi, the first woman to lead a political party in Afghanistan. During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban imposed a medieval interpretation of Islam on Afghanistan, the question now is...

HRW says CIA-backed Afghan forces carry out ‘grave’ rights abuses

CIA-backed security units in Afghanistan are committing war crimes and other grave rights abuses with impunity, according to a damning report by Human Rights Watch. The New York-based rights group suggested that the units -- recruited, trained and funded by the US intelligence agency -- should be disbanded...

31 Taliban militants, civilians killed, wounded as explosives-laden vehicle goes off in Jawzjan

An explosion in northern Jawzjan province killed or wounded at least 31 people including many Taliban militants and ordinary civilians. The 209th Shaheen Corps in a statement said the incident took place at around 3:00 pm on Wednesday in Bazarak Jangal Aregh Village of Mardian district. The statement...

Abdullah Emphasizes on Transparency of Election, Importance of Peace

Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah emphasized on Monday that every opportunity for peace must be embraced. However, he said more attention is needed to have a transparent result of the presidential elections. Speaking at the weekly council of ministers, Abdullah emphasized that the result of a transparent...

Taliban Had to Show Real Willingness to Make Real Compromises: NATO

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the alliance supports the resumption of Afghan peace talks between the U.S. and Taliban representatives. However, he reiterated that Taliban had to show real willingness to make real compromises. Speaking with the reporters ahead of the...

Breach of IEC’s Digital Center Unacceptable: MPs

Lawmakers in Afghanistan’s parliament on Wednesday lashed out at the special units of the Afghan police forces for their alleged involvement in breaching the digital center of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), saying the move is not acceptable. The parliament speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani ordered...

Afghan Govt May Join Beijing Peace Discussion

Discussions are underway about the participation of the Afghan government in the Beijing intra-Afghan talks, officials from the State Ministry for Peace said on Wednesday, as the Taliban continue to refuse to meet with the Afghan government. If an invitation is made by the Chinese, and the criteria...

FM Rabbani Resigns, Citing Parallel Structures

Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani resigned from his post on Thursday. In his resignation letter to President Ashraf Ghani, Rabbani said that the foreign ministry had been sidelined and that it was treated as a private NGO. The working environment in the National Unity Government...

US Mission Has Not Changed in Afghanistan: Esper

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday that counterterrorism operations are critical for peace in Afghanistan and to ensure that the country is no longer a safe haven for terrorists. Counterterrorism operations remain critical to our efforts to achieving peace and ensuring terrorist organizations...

China Set to Host Taliban, Afghanistanian Politicians

China will host an intra-Afghan dialogue between Taliban and Afghan politicians to discuss issues about Afghanistan, especially the peace process. Mohammad Ismail Khan, a prominent politician and former Jihadi leader who is invited to the meeting on Monday told Ariana News that former president Hamid...

IEC Chairperson Apologizes for Violation of Timeline

The preliminary result of Afghanistan’s presidential election was set to be announced on October 19 but it didn’t happen today due to technical problems. The Chairperson of the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) Hawa Alam Nuristani apologized to people for being unable to announce...

62 killed, 33 wounded in an explosion in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan

The local officials in Nangarhar province confirmed that the death toll from today’s explosion inside a mosque in Nangarhar has climbed to at least 62. Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial government said the explosion wounded at least 33 people. Khogyani further added that the explosion...

Civilian Casualties Have Spiked: UN

According to a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission, in the first nine months of 2019 the UN documented 2,563 civilians killed and 5,676 injured, which is similar to the same period from last year; however, in the third quarter-July 1 to September 30--UNAMA documented an unprecedented spike...

Qayoumi Referred to Attorney General

The Afghanistanian Senate’s Complaints Commission on Thursday referred Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi to the Attorney General, following reports that Qayoumi had received a $255,000 salary from a private institute in the US in 2017. Qayoumi is the acting Minister of Finance--and top adviser to President...

Authorities Fail to Enforce Court Order over a Former IEC Member

Strong criticisms rise after authorities failed to implement a court decision over a former member of the Independent Election Commission. Afghanistan’s justice center sentenced all members of electoral commissions to five years in jail after they were found guilty of rigging the votes of Kunar parliamentary...

Leaders of India, China have frank discussions defuse border tensions

Chinese President Xi Jinping says he had a free and frank discussion with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their second annual summit aimed at defusing decades of tensions between their countries over border disputes, including an ongoing row over Kashmir. The two leader held one-on-one...

Russia jails American-Israeli woman on drug charges despite Netanyahu plea

A Russian court sentenced a US-Israeli woman to seven and a half years in jail for drug offenses on Friday, a ruling Israel condemned as disproportionate and which her family said Moscow had linked to the fate of a Russian citizen detained in Israel. Naama Issachar, 25, was arrested in April while in...

IEC Registers Non-biomteric, Fraudulent Votes: Saadati

Stability and Partnership electoral ticket led by Abdullah Abdullah calls on Independent Election Commission (IEC) to stop transferring voter’s data to main server. In a press conference on Monday, the ticket’s second VP Assadulah Saadati said that they have noticed that IEC registers non-biometric...

Blast In Ghazni University Leaves 23 Students Wounded

At least 23 students were wounded in an explosion inside Ghazni University in PD3 of Ghazni city on Tuesday morning, local officials said. The blast happened inside the Literature Faculty of the University at around 9:40 am on Tuesday. The spokesman for the provincial governor, Arif Noori told that...

Reasons Riyadh May Be Leaning to Yemen War End

The Yemen war has now reached a highly sensitive and decisive juncture that signals conflict is heading to an end. Over the past year and during various war stages, the political experts and media predicted that Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies will accept negotiations and a political solution to...

Ghani: We Must Avoid 2014 Election Chaos

Ashraf Ghani, a contender in the current election, said there is confidence among his team about their victory in the election, but he insists that the crisis caused by the 2014 elections should not be repeated. In an interview with Germany’s Spiegel news agency published on Monday, President Ghani...

Taliban Delegation Meets Pakistani Officials

A Taliban 12-member delegation led by political deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mahmmod Qureshi on Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry hosted the meeting to provide an opportunity to resume US-Taliban...