Connect with us

Latest News

Ukraine estimates probability of major escalation with Russia as low – Defence Minister

Published

on

Ukraine estimates the probability of a major escalation of conflict with Russia to be low, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov told parliament on Friday (February 18).

"Our intelligence sees every move that could pose a potential threat to Ukraine," Reznikov said

"We estimate the probability of a large-scale escalation as low," he added.

He said Russia had amassed some 149,000 troops around Ukraine and another several thousand were expected to arrive in the near future. Russia's military build-up has raised Western fears that it will invade Ukraine. Moscow denies any such plans.

The Kyiv government said the rebels fired artillery or mortars four times on Friday.

Separately, Reznikov said Ukraine had no plans to launch an offensive on the rebels' positions.

Kyiv and the pro-Russian separatists have been at war for eight years and the ceasefire between the sides is routinely violated, but the intensity of fighting increased notably this week.

Latest News

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials to visit Kabul in hope of finding solutions to disputes

Published

on

In the hope of settling ongoing disputes, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur said he hopes to send a delegation to Afghanistan within two weeks to seek solutions to Pakistan-Afghanistan issues.

“The federal government talked about negotiations with Afghanistan over bilateral issues, but there’s no success. Now, the dialogue with Kabul will be held at the provincial level.

“A delegation of our [KP] government will meet Afghan officials within two weeks,” Gandapur was quoted by Dawn as saying.

He also said that a delegation of tribal elders from the province would also engage with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

He said he was hopeful that the IEA government would cooperate with the KP teams.

Pakistan has continued to blame Afghanistan for allowing Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to carry out attacks on KP soil from Afghanistan.

However, the IEA has repeatedly said they will not allow any group to plan or conduct attacks against another country from Afghanistan.

Gandapur meanwhile said he hopes the issues Pakistan has with Afghanistan would be resolved through negotiations.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Pakistan, Iran envoys for Afghan affairs discuss changing int’l geo-political situation

Published

on

Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq and Iran's Special Envoy for Kabul and director general for South Asia, Hashem Ashjazade, met on Monday and discussed the fast changing international geo-political situation and regional challenges faced by the two countries, according to Sadiq’s post on X.

Sadiq stated: “We agreed to jointly address these challenges.”

Sadiq is also expected to travel to Russia and China to discuss Afghanistan with officials from those countries.

Meanwhile, experts believe that Afghanistan should maintain reciprocal relations with Pakistan and play an active role in regional affairs.

The Islamic Emirate also believes that Kabul seeks good relations with all neighboring countries and the region, and aims to strengthen its ties with various countries by following an economy-focused policy.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Afghan released in prisoner exchange deal with US

The IEA praised the swap as a step toward the “normalization” of ties between the US and Afghanistan

Published

on

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Tuesday confirmed the release of an Afghan, Khan Mohammad, from a US prison in exchange for the release of two American nationals.

According to a statement issued by the IEA, this move followed extensive negotiations with the US.

Khan Mohammad, was detained nearly two decades ago in Nangarhar and later sentenced to life imprisonment by a US court. He had been serving his sentence in California.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers this exchange as a good example of resolving issues through dialogue, and is particularly grateful to the fraternal State of Qatar for its effective role in this regard,” the statement read.

The IEA praised the swap as a step toward the “normalization” of ties between the US and Afghanistan.

AP meanwhile reported that the freed Afghan had been imprisoned for life on drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

The deal came as former president Joe Biden, who oversaw the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, handed power over to returning President Donald Trump.

AP reported that the family of Ryan Corbett, one American held in Afghanistan, confirmed he had been released.

Corbett was arrested in Afghanistan in August 2022 while on a business trip.

Before Biden left office, his administration had been trying to work out a deal to free Corbett as well as George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was taken by the IEA’s intelligence services in December 2022 while traveling through the country. Habibi, an Afghan American businessman went missing in 2022.

The IEA has denied that it has Habibi.

It wasn’t immediately clear if either of the two men was the other released. Officials in Washington did not respond to AP’s requests for comment early Tuesday.

 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Ariana News. All rights reserved!