Pakistan confirms escape of Taliban leader who justified Malala shooting
A high-profile local Taliban figure who announced and justified the 2012 attack on teenage Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has escaped detention, Pakistan's interior minister confirmed a few days after the militant announced his breakout on social media. Former Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, who claimed ...
Pakistan no longer a militant safe haven and stands behind Afghan peace process, says Khan
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan insisted Monday that his country is no longer a militant safe haven, and said his administration fully supports the Afghan peace process. Khan's assertion was, however, challenged hours later, when a suicide bomber targeted a religious rally in the southwestern ...
Remains of two U.S. service members retrieved from Afghan air crash site in Taliban territory
The United States recovered on Tuesday the remains of two personnel from a U.S. military aircraft that crashed in Afghanistan, American and Afghan officials have said. On Monday, the U.S. military said an E-11A aircraft had crashed in the province of Ghazni, but disputed claims ...
Mike Pompeo accuses Iran of undermining Afghanistan peace efforts
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused Iran of working to thwart efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, but he offered no specific details to support his allegation. Pompeo leveled his charge amid an escalating crisis with Iran following a U.S. drone strike ...
Afghan polls set to see big drop in voter numbers amid Taliban threat and lack of interest
At least 2.2 million people voted in Afghanistan's presidential election with more votes to come, the election commission head Maulana Abdullah said on Sunday, indicating a very low turnout that could mar the result. Tight security ensured the election took place on Saturday in relative ...
Japanese agency plans to nurture Afghan industries in bid to provide employment, eradicate poverty
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has launched an initiative to nurture industrial activity in northern Afghanistan so that local residents can earn regular income in a bid to prevent them from joining extremist groups, it has been learned. The "one village, one product" program ...
Taliban car bomb blast kills four Afghan special forces members in Kabul
A suicide bomber targeted an Afghan Special Forces base in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least four commandos, officials said, as violence continued to escalate following the collapse of peace talks between the United States and Taliban insurgents. The bomber blew up an explosives-laden minibus ...
Taliban says Trump's decision to cancel Afghan talks will mean more U.S. lives lost
The Taliban on Sunday said U.S. President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to cancel peace talks would lead to fresh losses of American lives in Afghanistan at a time when the insurgent group was ready to finalize a deal to end the war. The Islamist group ...
There is little reason to believe that a U.S. withdrawal will mark the end of violence in Afghanistan.
Full pullout from Afghanistan could ignite 'total civil war,' say nine U.S. ex-envoys
Nine former U.S. ambassadors on Tuesday warned that Afghanistan could collapse in a "total civil war" if President Donald Trump withdraws all U.S. forces before the Kabul government and the Taliban conclude a peace settlement. "A major troop withdrawal must be contingent on a final ...
In Trump's team, misgivings emerge over any deal with Taliban in Afghanistan
As negotiators work to nail down an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, misgivings have grown among some Trump administration officials and lawmakers that it will erode the United States' ability to thwart attacks from there, U.S. officials said. Their concerns ...
Is peace in Afghanistan possible?
A pact with the Taliban is unlikely to bring any respite from the ongoing violence.
