In an open letter to the “American people,” the Taliban militant group has claimed it is willing to enter into “peaceful dialog” to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. According to copies of the nearly 3,000-word letter, released by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in several languages on Wednesday, the group called on the American people […]

The United States government on Monday released $100 million in budget assistance to Afghanistan. The agreement was signed between Afghan Finance Minister Iklil Hakimi and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass in Kabul.

At least 54 rebels were killed and several others sustained injuries during clashes with Afghan security forces in the past 24-hours across Afghanistan, said Ministry of Defense on Friday. The casualties inflicted on the insurgents in Nangarhar, Ghazni, Paktia, Kandahar, Zabul, Farah, Balkh, Jawzjan, Faryab, Kunduz, Baghlan, and Helmand provinces of Afghanistan, a statement by […]

NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan Cornelius Zimmermann has stressed timely holding of upcoming election, saying, “With transparent polls, people’s trust in the democratic process increases.” Zimmermann made the remarks during a meeting with a number of Afghan journalists at his office. He said the new US strategy on Afghanistan encouraged NATO member countries to […]

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the end of a four-day NATO parliamentary assembly in Bucharest, Romania, on Monday that “if NATO leaves too soon, we risk Afghanistan returning to a state of chaos – a safe haven for international terrorism”. “The situation in Afghanistan is challenging. We all understand the costs of staying in […]

The US Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker said on Sunday that American troops will remain in Afghanistan for at least another decade. “But are we likely to have troops in Afghanistan for the next decade? Sure,” Corker said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd aired on […]

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States have said they will not abandon Afghanistan. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg joined Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and US Defense Secretary James Mattis at the news conference after holding closed door meeting, and reaffirmed the alliance’s commitment to Afghanistan, saying ‘NATO wants to ensure the […]

India and Afghanistan reviewed their bilateral relationship during a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah on Thursday. “Strengthening strategic partnership with a close neighbour,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

At least eight terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group’s offshoot, ISIS Khorsan have been killed in an airstrike by the United States forces in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. The provincial police commandment in a statement said the airstrike was carried out in Nazian district of Nangarhar.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with The Associated Press (AP) that he welcomed the announcement by US President Donald Trump that the US is now going to be in Afghanistan on a condition-based mission and said NATO will also increase troop numbers to train Afghan forces. He did not however reveal details […]

The U.S. forces with coordination of Afghan military have doubled its airstrikes in Afghanistan, following Washington’s new strategy for the war-torn country, Presidential Palace (ARG) said Wednesday. According to ARG, drone and warplane raids were being “effective” in suppressing the insurgents across the country.

NATO will take another month to respond to Washington’s demands for alliance allies to send more troops to Afghanistan. During a meeting of the NATO Military Committee in Tirana in Albania on Saturday, defense chiefs from 29 member nations recognized the need to send in more troops, said the committee’s chairman General Petr Pavel.

Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States expressed their commitment to eliminate Daesh from the region, which could best be achieved through information sharing, complementary efforts and enhanced cooperation. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the tripartite (Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States) counter Daesh and Pak-Afghan bilateral military cooperation

The second Indo-Afghan Strategic Partnership Council meeting was held in New Delhi on Monday. At the meeting, both countries held extensive talks and discussed political relations, security issues, development and cultural cooperation, investments and reviewing challenges in mutual relations. Afghanistan minister of foreign affairs also met with Indian national security advisor and discussed counter terrorist […]

Afghan security forces have repulsed a major coordinated assault by hundreds of Taliban militants in eastern Nuristan province, killing over 70 militants, officials said Wednesday. Hundreds of militants stormed security check posts in this mountainous province bordering Pakistan a day earlier. The militants were taken on by National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) for hours.

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani will visit India next week. During his visit, he will call on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will also hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The visit comes weeks after US President Donald Trump announced a new policy on Afghanistan and sought sought more help from […]

Over 58 anti-government militias including their senior local commander were killed and 10 others were wounded during joint military operations led by Afghan National Security and Defense Forces within the last 24 hours across the country. Afghanistan Ministry of National Defense press office issued BNA, the operations were conducted with support of Afghan air and […]

The United States will send about 3,500 extra troops to Afghanistan, U.S. officials confirmed on Wednesday. The report was first released by Reuters after two top U.S. military officials hold closed door briefings with members of the America’s Congress about Donald Trump’s policy for South Asia. But the Pentagon said it would not make any […]

U.S. military has signed a 1.4 billion contract with MD Helicopters for supply of 150 530F aircraft to the Afghan army. The contract will be executed by 31st August, 2020, according to statement from U.S. Department of State. It includes also pilot training and maintenence.

The foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting in New York within the next two weeks, the Afghan Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday. Pakistani Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif and the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan, Salahuddin Rabbani, discussed the upcoming meeting in a phone call on […]

Egypt has condemned the attack on a mosque in Kabul, which resulted in the death of 28 people and injuries to 50 others. In a statement issued yesterday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that the government and people of Egypt stand with the government and people of Afghanistan in the face of terrorism, […]

Office of The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has strongly condemned the suicide attack by the Daesh militant group on the embassy of Iraq in Kabul that left two Afghan civilians dead. “The attack, which occurred in a residential area of central Kabul, lasted around five hours and involved several armed men who killed […]

Pakistan and China have agreed to continue to work closely with the Afghan government to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan. The agreement over the issue was reached after a meeting between Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, according to a statement issued by Pakistan […]

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Tuesday said his country agreed to conduct joint border operations with Pakistan. His statement came two weeks after Pakistan proposed joint border operations against illegal movements. Ghani told a visiting delegation of the U.S. Senate led by Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, that Washington’s support […]

Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nafees Zakaria in statement said that there have been numerous meetings held by regional countries to address the rising influence of Daesh and other terrorist organizations in Afghanistan. He added the war-like situation in Afghanistan is going on for the last 40 years, and has given space to non-state actors and […]

Pakistan hosted a meeting between the Afghan government and Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan representatives in eastern Murree city near federal capital as part of the commitment to facilitate an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, said Foreign Office on Wednesday. According to Pakistan Foreign Office, representatives from China and the United States also participated in the […]

NATO defence ministers confirmed, during a meeting of the NATO mission Resolute Support nations here on Thursday, enduring support for Afghanistan. The meeting, attended by Afghan Acting Minister of Defence Masoom Stanezkai, reviewed the security situation and the first six months of the Resolute Support mission.

At least twelve militants were killed during precise air strikes in Pakistan’s northern Khyber tribal region on Tuesday, said the military. According to Pakistan military’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that fighter jets carried out air strikes in the early hours of Tuesday near the Pak-Afghan border, which is part of Khyber Tribal Agency. The […]

Pakistan on Wednesday said it fully supports peace and stability in Afghanistan, as the two sides agreed to work closely for the security and socio-economic development of the region. “Pakistan has firm resolve to fully support Afghanistan’s efforts for peace and stability, including through facilitating an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process,” said

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said India was proud of its close relations with Afghanistan and shared Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s goal of building a strong, prosperous and independent Afghanistan. He was speaking at the Rastrapati Bhawan during a banquet hosted for the Afghan president who was on a three-day visit to India. Mukherjee […]

Around eighty insurgents and eleven Afghan National Army (ANA) personnel were killed during operations in several provinces, claimed Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Monday. According to the MoD, 68 rebels were killed in Andar and Waghaz districts of southern Ghazni province and over 20 insurgents were killed in Badakhshan and Kunar provinces. It confirmed that […]

US President Barack Obama said Tuesday he approved Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s request for “some flexibility on our drawdown timelines. “I’ve consulted with General Campbell in Afghanistan. My national security team and I’ve decided that we will maintain our current posture of 9,800 troops through the end of this year,” Obama said at a joint […]

Secretary of State John Kerry announced a “new development partnership” with Afghanistan that includes USD 800 million in aid and plans for the Pentagon to request funding for 352,000 Afghan Security Force personnel through 2017. The details were announced in a press conference where Kerry spoke alongside Secretary of Defense (DoD) Ash Carter, Afghan President […]

US President Barack Obama on Thursday spoke with President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan by video conference, along with Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the White House announced. Obama “encouraged accelerated Afghan progress toward forming an inclusive national unity government and expressed his expectation that their visit to Washington later this month (March) will demonstrate […]

In a meeting with Nasir Ahmad Durrani, the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Minister, Jean-Michel Marlaud, the French ambassador to Afghanistan said that his country has a long standing relationship with Afghanistan and will continue to help the Afghans by fully cooperating with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation (MRRD) in their efforts to build the rural […]