From above, the new border wall separating Turkey from Iran looks like a white snake winding through the barren hills. So far it only covers a third of the 540-km (335-mile) border, leaving plenty of gaps for migrants to slip across in the dead of night. Traffic on this key migration route from central Asia … Read more
The Taliban announced an “amnesty” across Afghanistan on Tuesday and urged women to join its government, seeking to convince a wary population that its has changed. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, at Taliban’s first news conference, said it sought no revenge and “everyone is forgiven.” Taliban has sought to portray itself as more moderate than when it … Read more
Taliban fighters in the Afghan capital, Kabul, started collecting weapons from civilians on Monday because people no longer need them for personal protection, a Taliban official said. “We understand people kept weapons for personal safety. They can now feel safe. We are not here to harm innocent civilians,” the official told Reuters. City resident Saad … Read more
The Taliban‘s rapid advance L1N2PK073 towards Kabul is not only causing concern about Afghanistan‘s future but also about the impact on other countries in the region and their economies. Iran and then Iraq lie to the west of Afghanistan. Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are to the north. But the immediate focus for financial markets and … Read more
More than 22,000 Afghan families have fled from their homes to escape fighting in the former Taliban bastion of Kandahar, officials said Sunday, as authorities arrested four suspected insurgents over this week’s rocket attack on Kabul. Since early May, violence has surged across several provinces including in Kandahar after the insurgents launched a sweeping offensive … Read more
Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Dr Moeed Yusuf on Thursday said that Islamabad was committed to Afghan peace and “idiotic statements” by “some spoilers” in Afghanistan will not affect its support for peace and stability of the war-torn nation. Yusuf’s remarks were in reference to a recent tweet by Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh who shared … Read more
The Taliban do not want to battle government forces inside Afghanistan‘s cities and would rather see them surrender, a senior insurgent leader said Tuesday, as the militants also warned Turkey against extending its troop presence. The hardline Islamist group has swept through much of the north as foreign troops complete their withdrawal, and the government … Read more
Afghan Air Force Major Dastagir Zamaray had grown so fearful of Taliban assassinations of off-duty forces in Kabul that he decided to sell his home to move to a safer pocket of Afghanistan‘s sprawling capital. Instead of being greeted by a prospective buyer at his realtor’s office earlier this year, the 41-year-old pilot was confronted … Read more
Turkey has offered to guard and run Kabul‘s airport after the United States and other NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan, but U.S. officials say Ankara is imposing conditions which need to be resolved as their leaders prepare to meet next week. Turkish officials say Ankara made the proposal at a NATO meeting in May when … Read more
Pakistan on Monday served a demarche to Afghanistan‘s ambassador Najibullah Alikhel, protesting against the accusations by the Afghan leadership. Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO), however, did not specify the statement which angered it. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in a recent interview, alleged that Pakistan “operates an organised system of support” for the Afghan Taliban. “The names … Read more