Tag Archives: peace

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday that any future troop drawdowns in Afghanistan were “not necessarily” linked to a deal with Taliban insurgents, suggesting some lowering of force levels may happen irrespective of the ongoing peace push. The remarks by Esper in an interview with Reuters came on …

A delegation of the Taliban militant group has travelled to Tehran and met with the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on November 26, the Spokesman of Taliban’s Political Office Suhail Shaheen said Wednesday. During Tehran visit, the Taliban delegation is headed by Mullah Baradar Akhund, the Political Deputy and Chief …

Afghanistan’s First Lady Rula Ghani on Saturday declared that there will be an initiative to form a Military Council of Afghan Women. The Afghan women, especially those in uniform, gathered in the Ministry of Defense to discuss “Peace and Security” during a three day conference. Speaking to the uniformed Afghan …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that his country has an interest in including Iran in the Russia-China-U.S. format for Afghan peace talks. “We have a dialogue with [the United States] on Afghanistan. There is a Russia-China-U.S. format that Pakistan has joined. There is interest in connecting Iran to this …

Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah called on participants at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit that the region needs an efficient strategy to fight against terrorism. On behalf of Afghanistan, Abdullah on Saturday addressed the 18th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s 2019 Council of Heads of Governments in Tashkent. …

The U.S. military has carried out more than 1,100 strikes in Afghanistan in September, according to the new Pentagon figures. Recently, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that there were 1,113 strikes in September compared with 810 strikes in August, and 537 in July. The rise in the number of …

Transparency in the presidential election will help the country to move toward peace and stability, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said on Wednesday. Speaking at an event at the Turkey Embassy in Kabul, Abdullah said people have paid enough sacrifices for the sake of a permanent peace. Abdullah said he is …

Apparently, the U.S. and Taliban are willing to revive the stalled Afghan peace talks. Speaking with CNN-News18, an Indian English-language news television network, the Taliban’s political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said there is no military solution to the issue of Afghanistan. Shaheen further said that the group was ready to talk …

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday called on the Taliban to show willingness to make real compromises at the negotiating table. Speaking at a session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in London, NATO Chief said he would welcome the resumption of peace talks between the U.S. and the Taliban …

The Afghan presidential palace and Ministry of Foreign Affairs released conflicting statements regarding Taliban’s visit to Pakistan and later on brawled on Twitter. On October 3, President Ghani’s spokesman Sediq Sediqqi expressed government’s dissatisfaction about the Taliban’s delegation visit from Islamabad. Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Sediqqi said Taliban …

Reacting to the Taliban’s Pakistan visit, Presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi on Thursday called on Islamabad to eliminate terrorist’s safe heavens in its soil instead of hosting the leaders of the Taliban militant group. A 12-member delegation of Taliban led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with senior Pakistani officials in …

Prominent Afghan politicians on Wednesday expressed their grave concerns regarding the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections at a gathering in Kabul. The politicians emphasized on the importance of peace talks and warned about the crisis that will follow the September 28 elections. Speaking at the event, former Afghan president …

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on the U.S. President Donald Trump to resume talks with the Taliban to pave the way for a political settlement as there was no military solution. Imran Khan met with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New …

Former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker has told that talking with the Taliban in the absence of Afghan government was “a huge mistake”. Speaking during an interview with Fox News on Saturday, Mr. Crocker said that his country has delegitimized the Afghan government that it has supported during the …

President Ashraf Ghani reiterated that holding presidential election and preserving the republican system of government are the only solutions to end the long-term conflict in Afghanistan. In a video message for International Day of Peace, Ghani said that despite bad willing of opponents, Afghanistan is close to peace than any …

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday called on the United States to resume its peace talks with the Taliban insurgent group. Speaking with the reporters in Kabul, Mr. Karzai said that he wants transparent and clear peace talks. He thanked Russia, China, and Germany for their call on the …

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Leader of Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan and a presidential candidate on Saturday claimed that the National Unity Government is the main hurdle in way of peace. Speaking among dozens of women at a campaign rally in Kabul, Mr. Hekmatyar said that Afghans must decide for their country and should …

Afghan government suspends its peace efforts until holding the presidential election which is due on September 28 this month, presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said on Saturday. Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, Mr. Sediqqi said that the future government will lead the Afghan peace process which is a key …

President Ashraf Ghani on Monday said that peace with Taliban is not possible without having a ceasefire. Speaking at the introduction ceremony of new Afghan intelligence chief, President Ghani said that he is ready for talks with Taliban but he does not accept threatening and violence. Ghani emphasized that in …

The UN Envoy to Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto in a statement on Tuesday calls on fighting parties to stop violence in Afghanistan.  The UNAMA chief said that the violence during this week across Afghanistan underscores the urgency of ending the conflict through a negotiated settlement. “The suffering of the Afghan people …