Home » Afghanistan
Government Failed to Respond to Public Demands
May 17, 2012
Faryab: As part of its spring political offensive, the Afghanistan National Front (ANF) is holding a series of rallies in the Northern Afghanistan. Yesterday, Maimana, the provincial capital of Faryab, the most populous province of the North witnessed one of the largest rallies of its history. The ANF successfully held an impressive rally in Shiberghan, Jowzjan ...
Strategic Cooperation Deal Inked with Germany
May 17, 2012
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement between their countries in Berlin on Wednesday, a presidential aide said.
Germany is the sixth country with which Afghanistan has concluded such a pact. In recent months, similar agreements were wrapped up with ...
Australia Pledges $300mln to Afghan Transition
May 17, 2012
SYDNEY - Australia pledged to contribute US$300 million to Afghanistan in the years following the withdrawal of foreign troops to assist local forces with the transition.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Canberra would provide US$100 million annually for three years from 2015 "as part of ...
Amu River, Afghan Tajik Oil is Sufficient: Shahrani
May 17, 2012
KABUL - Oil from Amu River and Afghan Tajik oil zones will not only be sufficient for Afghanistan, but also could export oil to other countries, Afghan Mines Minister Wahidullah Shahrani said today.
The oil extraction bidding process will be started in five months ...
MTNA Reduces Calling Rate
May 17, 2012
KABUL – The Mobile Telecommunications Network Afghanistan (MTNA) on Wednesday announced that it will extend its offer of Reduced Rate (0.99Afs) for On-net voice calls. The decision was made based on customer feedback where there was an overwhelming response in overall ...
Strong ANSF Needed to Protect Civilians: NGOS
May 17, 2012
KABUL - As NATO members gear to debate Afghanistan's future at the Chicago Summit, non-governmental agencies said on Wednesday that Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) were not yet ready to take security control and provide adequate protection for civilians. About 15 national and international development, humanitarian and ...
ANSF Unable to Take Security Responsibilities: MPs
May 16, 2012
KABUL - Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are not able to take security responsibilities and the third phase of transition will face major challenges, Afghan MPs said Tuesday.
The MPs also cited that the decision made yesterday by President Hamid Karzai to start the third phase of security transition should be revised because Afghan forces are still not fully trained and equipped and are not able to hold security without the help of another major military force.
Herati MP Saleh Mohammad Saljoqi believes that the conditions are not ...
Killings Won’t Scuttle Peace Drive: Rabbani
May 16, 2012
KABUL - Chairman of High Peace Council Sallahuddin Rabbani on Tuesday said the killing of political leaders and council members could not derail the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan.
Rabbani and some family members of the late Maulvi Arsala Rahmani were invited to the Senate (upper house of parliament) to offer ...
Senate Approves TAPI Pipeline Deal
May 16, 2012
KABUL - Meshrano Jirga, or upper house of parliament, on Tuesday approved the agreement on a gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.
The Senate okayed the accord on the multibillion-dollar project, also known as TAPI pipeline, after it was placed before the house by the Public Welfare ...
EU Renews Long-Term Commitment to Afghanistan
May 16, 2012
KABUL - Foreign ministers of the 27 European Union member states on Monday reaffirmed their long-term commitment to supporting Afghanistan during transition and the decade of transformation.
With Afghanistan top on the agenda, the ministers, together with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European ...
ISAF to Continue Playing Combat Role if Needed
May 15, 2012
KABUL - While Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) gradually take over security affairs, NATO troops would support the country in combat operations, if necessary, especially after 2014, an ISAF spokesman said on Monday.
“As Afghan forces move more into the lead for combat operations across the country, ISAF will increasingly take more of a supporting role, but that will include supporting Afghans in combat, if necessary,” Christen Jacobson told a news conference in ...
Obama, Karzai to Confer on Afghan Sovereignty
May 15, 2012
KABUL - The US President Barack Obama has welcomed the beginning of the third phase in the handover of security responsibilities to Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
Obama welcomed the handover of security duties in 122 more districts across Afghanistan, announced on Sunday by the President Hamid ...
Turkey Approves Deal for Training Pak, Afghan Military
May 15, 2012
ANKARA - Parliament approved a protocol concerning the training of Afghan and Pakistani military personnel. The governments of Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan, emphasizing their desire to improve relations and cooperation in the field of ...
Karzai Names 2 for Top Judicial Slots
May 15, 2012
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai on Monday nominated two members of the Supreme Court's High Council for a vote of confidence from the lower house of parliament, an official ...
EA Launches Mumtaz Behtarin Package
May 15, 2012
KABUL - Etisalat Afghanistan (EA), the first operator to launch 3.75G services in Afghanistan Monday also announced the launch of Mumtaz Behtarin package, with enhanced features including the Best Rate offer to all networks in Afghanistan.
Now customers in Afghanistan have the freedom to enjoy connectivity ...
MPs Fail to OK Changes to House Procedures
May 15, 2012
KABUL - The Wolesi Jirga -- lower house of parliament -- on Monday failed to approve proposed amendments to the house internal procedures due to a lack of quorum.
A bill seeking changes to Rule 11 of the procedures was presented before the house by the legislative commission’s head, Nazir Ahmad ...
Afghans to Take more Control from NATO: Karzai
May 14, 2012
KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday announced a new transfer of security control from NATO that will see local forces take responsibility for 75 percent of Afghanistan's population.
Kapisa province, where French troops are based, will be among 11 provinces to come under Afghan control, a statement from the president's office said.
It is the third phase of the transition of military control in the war-torn country and another step towards the withdrawal of 130,000 US-led NATO troops by the end of ...
UN Envoy Hails China’s Strong Support for Afghanistan
May 14, 2012
KABUL - The top United Nations envoy to Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, hailed China's support for the peace and reconstruction process of the war-torn country, saying it is crucial for the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
"The bilateral policy of investment in Afghanistan that is promoted by China is extremely important for the future of ...
Top Afghan, Pak and NATO Commanders Hold High-Level Meet
May 14, 2012
ABUL - Top military commanders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Sunday discussed border control measures and mechanisms to avert "untoward incidents" along the Afghan frontier, as the three sides resumed high-level military contact after a break of several months.
A Pakistan Army contingent led by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ...
Maulvi Arsala Rahmani Assassinated
May 14, 2012
KABUL - Unidentified gunmen on Sunday shot dead a prominent member of the High Peace Council, Maulvi Arsala Rahmani, in the heavily-fortified capital Kabul, officials said.
The assailants opened fire on Rahmani, a former Taliban leader and sitting member of the Senate, at 9:30am, when he was on his way to parliament, said a spokesman for the 101st police zone, Hashmatullah ...
NATO Welcomes Karzai’s Decision on Transition
May 14, 2012
KABUL - Senior NATO officials and the ISAF commander in Afghanistan on Sunday welcomed President Karzai's announcement confirming the third group of provinces, cities and districts changing hands as part of the third phase of transition. Security responsibility for Kapisa, Uruzgan and Parwan provinces ...
WJ Panel Okays US-Afghan Pact
May 13, 2012
KABUL - Wolesi Jirga's international affairs commission has approved the strategic partnership accord between Afghanistan and the US, and it would be presented to the house's general assembly soon, a lawmaker said on Saturday. President Hamid Karzai and his US counterpart Barack Obama signed the strategic partnership agreement at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on May 1.
A legislator from Paktika province and the commission member, Syed Ishaq Gilani, told Pajhwok Afghan News the accord had been submitted by the government to the Wolesi Jirga early last week. Approved ...
US Congressmen Want Haqqani Network Designated as ‘Terrorist’ Group
May 13, 2012
KABUL - US congressional intelligence committee members have urged US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to immediately designate the Haqqani network as a terrorist group, Reuters reported.
The committee's leaders, who recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan, said the Haqqani is still a major threat for the US in ...
NATO Ignores CSTO Offers to Fight Drugs: Russia
May 13, 2012
MOSCOW - Russia's Foreign Minister says NATO has so far ignored repeated offers from the CSTO bloc to start real action in fighting the Afghanistan drug trade, such as destroying poppy crops and heroin labs.
"We've been urging our NATO colleagues for a long time to establish cooperation between CSTO and the North Atlantic Treaty ...
NATO Summit Must Protect Women Rights: UN
May 13, 2012
KABUL - The upcoming NATO summit in Chicago must ensure that special measures are taken to protect the rights of Afghan women as U.S.-led coalition forces prepare to pull out, U.N. organizations said Saturday.
There is widespread concern that gains women have made in the 10 years since the overthrow of the brutal Taliban regime could be lost in ...
Gen. Allen, Kayani Confer on Border Security
May 13, 2012
ISLAMABAD - Top American and Pakistani military officials discussed security along the Pak-Afghan border during a meeting in Rawalpindi on Saturday, the army said.
An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) team, led by Gen. John Allen, met Pakistan army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani at the General ...
Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan Fall 20 Percent: UN
May 12, 2012
KABUL - After five years of rising deaths, civilian casualties in Afghanistan dropped 20 percent in the first four months of the year, the United Nations said, a rare piece of good news as foreign combat forces prepare to pull out by the end of 2014.
The killing of civilians has soured the feelings of many ordinary Afghans towards foreign forces and has been a constant strain on ties between the Afghan government and its Western backers in the increasingly unpopular war.
"There are several elements behind this ... there was perhaps ...
Obama, Rasmussen Agree NATO Summit will Focus on Afghanistan
May 12, 2012
KABUL - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and US President Barack Obama agreed that the conflict in Afghanistan would be one of the topics addressed at the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago.
The two leaders met Wednesday in the White House and also agreed that defense capabilities and NATO partnerships with countries outside the ...
Tehran Summons Afghan Diplomat over US Deal
May 12, 2012
KABUL - The foreign ministry in Tehran on Thursday summoned Afghanistan's charge d'affaires and lodged a protest with him over anti-Iran propaganda by some Afghan media outlets.
Mohsen Paakain, the Iranian diplomat in charge of Afghan affairs ...
Taliban Under Ruthless Pressure: Gen. Adrian
May 12, 2012
WASHINGTON - The Taliban in Afghanistan are being kept under "ruthless pressure", a top British commander based in the country has said, claiming a decline in the number of attacks from the militant group.
"During the early part of this year, we've seen a scale of ...
No One has the Right to Interfere in Afghanistan: Ludin
May 12, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Iran to respect its sovereignty in seeking a long-term agreement with the US, saying it should not make "undiplomatic" statements on this matter.
Afghanistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin said none of ...
ANF Accused Karzai for Misinterpreting SPA
May 10, 2012
>SHIBERGHAN - At the start of its spring campaign Afghanistan National Parties held a big public rally in Shiberghan, Jowzjan province on Wednesday. Addressing the rally Afghanistan National Front (ANF) leaders accused the government for promoting corruption and ill governance. They welcomed the US-Afghan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) but blamed president Karzai for misinterpreting parts of the agreement for personal gain. The speakers once again asked for the change of political system from presidential to parliamentary form of ...
Afghanistan’s Human Rights Remain High on Agenda
May 10, 2012
LONDON – British Foreign Secretary William Hague released the 2011 Human Rights and Democracy report. The report drew a gloomy drawing of Afghanistan's human rights records for the year 2011, which termed Afghanistan's human rights issues to be high on the agenda, and suggested Afghan government to work hard for the implementation of its ...
No Cut in Forces’ Strength Till 2017: Mohammadi
May 10, 2012
KABUL - Minister of Interior Bismillah Mohammadi on Wednesday said much work had been done to avoid a cut in the end-size of Afghan security forces until 2017.
He was summoned by the Wolesi Jirga along with Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and Deputy Foreign Minister Javed Lodin to brief lawmakers on the Chicago summit, taking place later this month.
Heads of NATO member states are scheduled to ...
Dwindling Foreign Aid to Hit Afghan Growth: WB
May 10, 2012
KABUL - The World Bank indicated on Wednesday the withdrawal of international troops by 2014 and dwindling foreign aid would hit Afghanistan's economic growth, making it tough to sustain the achievements made over the last decade.
"Aid has funded the delivery of essential services, including ...