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Elements Out to Fail Ariana: Chief
July 30, 2012
KABUL - Ariana Afghan Airlines chief NasirHakimi on Sunday claimed some government officials and mafia groups were out to destroy the national flag carrier.
Without naming any official or firm, Nasiri told Wolesi Jirga's economic commission that high-ranking government officials used to ...
Karzai Releases Anti-Corruption Decree
July 30, 2012
KABUL - Officials or organizations that neglect Karzai's recently released government reforms will be punished, the Head of Presidential Justice Board,
Nasrullah Stanikzai, said on Sunday." Anyone who disobeys the law will be punished in ...
MPs Call Karzai’s Reform Plan ‘Ridiculous’
July 29, 2012
KABUL - Afghan lawmakers on Saturday called President Hamid Karzai's plan for sweeping reforms "ridiculous" and "deceiving."
Mr Karzai on Friday issued a decree setting out measures to curb corruption. He is under pressure from international donors to curb the rampant corruption that riddles his administration at every level. At a recent conference in Tokyo, donors pledged $16 billion in aid for Afghanistan but demanded that it be tied to a new monitoring mechanism ...
No ‘Grand Bargain’ with Taliban in Afghanistan: Crocker
July 29, 2012
KABUL - Defeating the Taliban and insurgents will be a gradual process and a "grand bargain" bringing the conflict to a swift end is unlikely, the outgoing US ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, told CBS news on Friday.
Mr Crocker stressed that the most important talks would be between ...
Obama Praises Crocker’s Services in Afghanistan
July 29, 2012
KABUL - US President Barack Obama on Saturday met with the country's outgoing ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, in the Oval Office to receive an update on the situation in that country.
Obama thanked Crocker for what he called "superb leadership of the United States efforts in Afghanistan," a statement from the White ...
Congress Wants Haqqani Network Declared as Terrorist Outfit
July 29, 2012
WASHINGTON - Mounting pressure on the Obama administration, the Congress has passed a resolution seeking to designate the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist organization.
On Friday, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging the State Department to declare the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist ...
US to have Small Footprint in Afghanistan After 2014: Obama Aide
July 28, 2012
WASHINGTON - Once the United States completed full security transition to Afghan forces by 2014, America would have a much smaller footprint that would focus on training mission and not aimed against any of Afghanistan's neighbors, an Obama aide said on Wednesday.
Michele Flournoy, co-chair of the National Security Advisory Committee, addressing an audience at the Brookings Institute, dismissed the impression that US forces in Afghanistan would have to deal with ...
2.6mln Afghans at Risk of Hunger from Drought
July 28, 2012
MAZAR-E-SHARIF - Zara, an Afghan mother of seven, doesn't know what to tell her children when they ask about dinner.
"I simply tell them that we must wait until their father gets home to see if he's going to bring anything," she said, speaking ...
Pakistan Cannot Take Unilateral Decisions on Refugees: MoRR
July 28, 2012
KABUL - The Afghan government will not allow Pakistan to take unilateral decisions on Afghan refugees who carry legal documents, amid fears that Afghanistan will not cope with their return, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriates (MoRR) said ...
Karzai Decrees Wide-Ranging Reforms
July 28, 2012
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai on Thursday listed good governance, an effective anti-corruption fight, rule of law and a strong economy as top priorities of his administration.
Recalling his address to last month's joint sitting of parliament, Karzai's office referred to a wide-ranging presidential decree for ...
Daudzai Stresses Stop to Incursions
July 28, 2012
ISLAMABAD - Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Mohammad Omar Daudzai on Thursday asked Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to stop cross-border attacks into the eastern province of Kunar.
Daudzai, who met Khar in Islamabad, said the missile incursions into Kunar had increased after Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf's maiden ...
ISAF Supplies Stopped Due to Security Concerns
July 28, 2012
ISLAMABAD - In an interim security-driven step, Islamabad on Thursday stopped NATO supply trucks from crossing its northwestern border into landlocked Afghanistan, an intelligence official revealed.
Supplies for foreign troops in the neighboring country had been ...
‘Massive’ Hardships for Afghans: ICRC
July 26, 2012
KABUL - Civilians in Afghanistan "face massive difficulties" as the summer fighting season reaches its peak, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
The Taliban, in a statement, said its fighters ambushed a convoy of foreign troops in Kandahar province, destroying two U.S. tanks with rocket-propelled grenades. They also said at least four people were killed by Taliban fighters in Logar province.
There was no ...
Pak-Afghanistan Strengthen their Commitment to Jointly Eradicate Polio
July 26, 2012
KABUL - A senior delegation from Pakistan met Wednesday with a team from Afghanistan, the Minister of Public Health, Suraya Dalil, and partners of the Polio Eradication Initiative, to reconfirm and strengthen the commitment of both countries to work closely together to ...
Lawyer Wants Kabul Bank Defaulters to Be Treated Equally
July 26, 2012
KABUL - The defense lawyer for Kabul Bank's former chief on Wednesday suggested the issue should be resolved in light of relevant banking laws without discrimination against anyone.
Kabul Bank, once the country's largest private lender, plunged into a ...
Karzai Joins Call for NATO to Leave Bases Untouched
July 26, 2012
KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has joined with Afghan lawmakers in asking NATO and US officials to leave their military bases untouched when they withdraw from the country, the presidential office ...
US Trying to Ease Pak-Afghan Border Tension
July 26, 2012
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on Tuesday said it is working with both Afghanistan and Pakistan to reduce tension between the two neighbors over cross-border skirmishes.
"We are working closely with both countries, obviously, to try ...
Dr. HussainYasa Chairman AMRC Released
July 25, 2012
KABUL - The Chairman of Afghanistan Media and Research Center (AMRC),( Dr. HussainYasa, who was mysteriously abducted from Kota Sangi( neighborhood in Kabul on Monday noon released on Tuesday evening. According to AMRC sources, he( has been abducted by National Directorate of Security (NDS) for( criticizing government policies.
(A National Directorate of Security (NDS) official told Pajhwok Afghan News on condition of anonymity Dr. Hussain Ali Yasa, has been released ...
Obama Vows Responsible End to Afghan War
July 25, 2012
WASHINGTON - Pledging to finish the job in Afghanistan and end the war responsibly, US President Barack Obama has reiterated that the process of security transition to Afghan forces would be completed by 2014.
With Osama bin Laden dead and Al Qaeda on the road to defeat, Obama ...
Senators Blast Karzai Govt. for Lack of Clear Trade Policy
July 25, 2012
KABUL - Afghan senators described the Karzai government's trade policy with Pakistan as equally poor as its diplomatic policy with the neighboring country, calling for the trade problems faced by Afghan businesses to be ...
Situation in Afghanistan Discussed in Astana
July 25, 2012
ASTANA - The situation in Afghanistan was discussed during the meeting between Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov and senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs of the National Security Council of the United States Alice Wells, Kazakh Foreign Ministry said ...
Afghanistan Demands List from Diplomats in Anti-Graft Fight
July 25, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan has asked major Western backers and diplomats to furnish a list of contractors they use with close ties to top Afghan officials as part of efforts to crack down on rampant corruption worrying international ...
Govt. Should Disclose Details of Afghan-US Security Deal: Abdullah
July 24, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan's government should provide exact details about the Afghan-US security deal to be signed within the year to ensure it in the national interest, head of opposition party National Coalition Abdullah Abdullah said.
The Afghan government will soon begin negotiations with the US government over a security agreement which may boost US military ...
Security Personnel Behind Unrest: MPs
July 24, 2012
KABUL - Some members of the Wolesi Jirga -- or lower house of parliament -- on Monday blamed Afghan soldiers and policemen for complicity in the current unrest, but the Ministry of Interior ...
Chinese DM Holds Talk with Afghan Counterpart
July 24, 2012
BEIJING - Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie held talks Monday with his Afghan counterpart Abdul Rahim Wardak and pledged to boost military ties between the two ...
Karzai Asks Berlin for Help with Taliban Talks
July 24, 2012
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has asked the German government for a renewed attempt in the difficult task of mediating peace talks with the Taliban. SPIEGEL has learned that Karzai asked German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle for help getting the Taliban back to the negotiating table on the sidelines of ...
Cabinet Orders more Work on Mining Law
July 24, 2012
KABUL - The Council of Ministers believes the proposed mining law needs more work for reasons of clarity and improvement, the Presidential Palace said on Monday.
President Hamid Karzai, who chaired the Cabinet meeting, directed Minister of Justice Habibullah Ghalib to work more on the draft law, a ...
US Afghan Drawdown Halfway Done: Gen. Allen
July 23, 2012
KABUL - The top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan said Sunday that this year's pullout of 23,000 American troops is at the halfway mark. But he cautioned against putting too much emphasis on the drawdown, saying that foreign troops will fight through 2014 when the NATO combat mission ends — and beyond.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, U.S. Gen. John Allen said Afghan Security Forces were increasingly taking the lead but needed more confidence in planning and executing ...
WB Gives $125m Grant to Repair Rural Roads
July 23, 2012
KABUL - The Ministry of Finance and the World Bank on Sunday signed a $125 million grant, funded by the bank's International Development Association, to rehabilitate rural infrastructure destroyed during years of conflict. The project includes maintenance of secondary and tertiary rural ...
Afghan Social Media War Steps Up with New Campaign
July 23, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan's intensifying war by social media has stepped up a notch with free speech activists launching a campaign using Twitter and Facebook to fight wide confusion over competing NATO and Taliban claims, as well as looming government media ...
India to Provide 600 University Scholarships to Afghans
July 23, 2012
KABUL - India will offer 600 scholarships to Afghan students over the next five years in the fields of agriculture, civil service and forestry, the UN Development Program (UNDP) said Sunday.
An agreement between Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and ...
Pak-Afghan Trade Transit Deal Extended to Tajikistan
July 23, 2012
ISLAMABAD - In a landmark development, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Saturday agreed to extend the Afghanistan-Pakistan Trade Transit Agreement (APTTA) to Tajikistan in what will be the first step for the establishment of a North- South trade corridor. The countries concerned ...
Kabul to Decide Troops’ Withdrawal: US Envoy
July 22, 2012
"The process of withdrawal is already underway, and no deadline has been set for its completion," the US envoy said here in an exclusive chat with The News the other day in a banquet Afghan President Hamid Karzai hosted in the honor of visiting Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
The ISAF's American commander, General Allen, was also present. The feast was also attended by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Lt General Zaheerul Islam, and a number of other ..
US Not in Afghanistan to Fight Terrorism: Iran
July 22, 2012
TEHRAN - A senior Iranian official says US presence in Afghanistan is aimed at controlling Russia and China, harassing Pakistan and expanding American influence in Central Asia.
"The Americans came to the country with the aim of controlling Russia and China, harassing Pakistan, expanding its influence in the ...
Afghanistan Visit was Successful: Pak PM
July 22, 2012
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf Friday said that his visit to Afghanistan was truly successful as it provided an opportunity to reiterate Pakistan's unequivocal support for the political peace and reconciliation process which was Afghan-led and ...