Home » Afghanistan
Russia Supports SCO Observer Status for Afghanistan
March 31, 2012
BEIJING - Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov backed plans for giving Afghanistan observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday March 30, following an SCO security meeting in Beijing, RIA Novosti reported.
Russia "reaffirmed support ...
Pak MPs Oppose NATO Arms Supply
March 31, 2012
ISLAMABAD - A majority of Pakistani parliamentarians Friday urged the government not to allow transportation of arms and ammunition to foreign forces in Afghanistan, Xinhua reported.
Participating in a debate over whether or not to reopen the supply lines for the US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan, the parliamentarians ...
US to Consider a Range of Options against Pakistan
March 31, 2012
WASHINGTON - Adopting a policy of carrot and stick, the Pentagon leader on Thursday said a military-to-military relationship with Pakistan was improving.
But another defense official told Congressmen the US would consider a "range of options" against Pakistan if it did not take ...
Afghan, Americans Tired of War: Panetta
March 29, 2012
WASHINGTON - After more than a decade of the anti-terrorism campaign, the Afghans and Americans were tired of war, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday.
“We've been through 10 years of war in the United States, and there's no question that the American people are tired of war, just as the Afghan people are tired of war,” Panetta told reports.
At a joint media availability with his Canadian counterpart, the secretary said: “I think the American people understand why we're engaged in Afghanistan. 9/11 represented an ...
Spring, Summer Operations will be ‘Unique’: ISAF Commander
March 29, 2012
WASHINGTON -Spring and summer will offer “unique operational conditions” in Afghanistan as the security transition there gains momentum, the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said here Mar. 26.
In remarks at the Brookings Institution, Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen said the U.S. force will return to a pre-surge level of about ...
Hundreds of Women Jailed for Moral Crimes: HRW
March 29, 2012
KABUL - About 400 women and girls are imprisoned across Afghanistan for moral crimes, a leading human rights group said on Wednesday, asking the Karzai administration to free the detainees.
The United States and other donor countries should press the Afghan government to end the “wrongful imprisonment”, Human Rights Watch said ...
Mohammadi Vows Crackdown on Armed Commanders
March 29, 2012
CHAGHCHARAN - Interior Minister BismillahMohammadi on Wednesday promised a crackdown in western Ghor province on illegal armed commanders within two months.
Local officials say up to 6,000 armed men, or about 100 groups, operate in the province. Mohammadi, who arrived in Chaghcharan, held a ...
Taliban’s Spring Offensive won’t Succeed: Gen. Allen
March 28, 2012
WASHINGTON - A top American commander has said they have done much to 'degrade the Taliban's capabilities' this winter by denying them resources and sanctuary -- making it hard for them to retaliate in the spring season. General John Allen, commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference the US would only decide in September on its force level in the country. "I believe we've made it harder for them (the Taliban) ...
MoD Rejects Report on Suicide Attack Plot
March 28, 2012
KABUL CITY - A defense ministry official on Tuesday dismissed as confusing media reports that nearly a dozen suicide bombers had been arrested close to the ministry's building. The reports in local and foreign media quoted unnamed Afghan security officials as saying that several suspected individuals had been detained for ...
MPs Fault Ahmadinejad’s Remarks
March 28, 2012
KABUL - Some Meshrano Jirga members on Tuesday denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks about Afghanistan as interference in the country's internal affairs. Speaking at the 5th Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan in Dushanbe, Ahmadinejad said on Monday said financial support had failed to provide
Regional Engagement Crucial As Afghan Transition Quickens: Ban
March 28, 2012
DUSHANBE - As Afghanistan's transition picks up pace, regional engagement becomes even more important ,UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday as the country's partners met in neighboring Tajikistan. Afghan authorities are working with the international community so that by 2014 they can assume full responsibility for security ...
17 Key Projects to be Executed in Afghanistan
March 28, 2012
DUSHANBE - Pakistan, Tajikistan and Iran signed contracts for 17 mega development projects in Afghanistan at the conclusion of the 5th Regional Economic Conference in Dushanbe on Tuesday. Agreements on the infrastructure development projects, including railway lines and the Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) ...
International Crisis Group:
Karzai, Poorly Positioned to Cut Deal with Insurgency
March 27, 2012
The current political system is fundamentally out of step with the diverse nature of Afghan society
KABUL/BRUSSELS - A major course correction is needed if talks with the Taliban are to have any chance of delivering sustainable peace in Afghanistan. The current talks with the Taliban are unlikely to result in a sustainable peace. There is a risk that negotiations under present conditions could further destabilize the ...
Pak, Afghan, Iran, Tajikistan Vow to Promote, Strengthen Regional Trade
March 27, 2012
DUSHANBE - Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan on Sunday reiterated their resolve to promote and strengthen trade and economic cooperation in the region besides joining hand s to fight the menace of terrorism, militancy and drug trafficking for a win-win situation. This was agreed during a quadrilateral meeting among President Asif
Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan Agree on Mega Projects
March 27, 2012
In a landmark deal, Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan inked a key infrastructure pact on the development of railway, energy and water pipeline projects. The accord was signed by the three presidents late on Sunday in Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital, during a trilateral meeting, Aimal Faizi, the presidential spokesman, told ...
Karzai Urges Visa-Free Regime for Traders
March 27, 2012
President Hamid Karzai, urging a visa-free regime for traders to enhance business ties among regional countries, on Monday called for connecting Afghanistan with the region through railway lines and gas pipelines. Speaking at the 5th Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan in Dushanbe, Karzai said his landlocked ...
Etisalat Launches 3G Services
March 27, 2012
KABUL - The 3G services launch by Etisalat Afghanistan, the fastest growing telecommunications company in Afghanistan and part of Etisalat telecommunications Group of United Arab Emirates, is attracting a lot of attention and interest among the customers here in ...
Taliban Govt. is Not in Pakistan's Interest: Allen
March 26, 2012
KABUL - NATO's top commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, said he believes the resurgence of the Taliban and the overthrow of the Afghan government by the militant group is not in the interests of Pakistan.
He acknowledged that the Pakistani military is fighting the group in tribal areas.
"My guess is that their interests aren't served by a Taliban government ultimately reasserting itself in Kabul," Allen said in an interview with the PBS news network on Friday.
"The Taliban have not made any ...
UK Backs Afghan Govt’s Stance on Taliban Talks
March 26, 2012
KABUL - The United Kingdom on Sunday urged the global fraternity to facilitate peace negotiations between the Taliban and the government of President Hamid Karzai.
At a news conference in Kabul, the outgoing British ambassador to Afghanistan asked the insurgents to renounce the decade-long conflict ...
Gilani, Obama to Discuss Afghanistan
March 26, 2012
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Prime Minster Yusuf Raza Gilani, confirming his meeting with US President Barak Obama in South Korea, said on Sunday discussions on the situation in Afghanistan would take place in Monday’s meeting on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in Seoul.
Before departing for Seoul, Gilani told journalists at the Islamabad ...
Justice will be Done in Civilian Murders: Grossman
March 26, 2012
BRUSSELS - Justice will be served in the case of the U.S. soldier charged with the killing of 17 civilians in Afghanistan, a U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, said Saturday.
"I'm sure there will be justice," Grossman said at the Brussels Forum, an annual think tank event in the Belgian ...
MPs Call for Removal of AG, Top Judge
March 25, 2012
KABUL - Some Wolesi Jirga members on Saturday asked the government to implement a house decision on the removal of the attorney-general, the chief justice and five Supreme Court judges, an official said.
Last year, the lawmakers refused to repose confidence in AG Mohammad Ishaq Aloko, Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi and five other judges -- Bahaudin Baha, Abdur Rashed Rashid, Zaman Ali Behsudi, Omar Babrakzai and Maulvi Abdul ...
Finance Ministry Adds US$4m to National Budget
March 25, 2012
KABUL - Ministry of Finance has redrafted the federal budget for the new year 1391 with an increase of 200 million Afghani (US$4.15 million) after the previous draft was rejected by Parliament two weeks ago.
Ministry of Finance spokesman Aziz Shams told TOLOnews on Saturday the updated budget has been sent to the House of Representatives for ...
Karzai Calls for More Girls’ Education
March 25, 2012
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai called Saturday on tribal and religious leaders to encourage the education of girls, a right which was denied to them under Taliban rule.
Afghanistan's leader, speaking at a ceremony marking the start of the country's school year, also urged insurgent groups not to attack ...
Karzai Committed to Wiping Out Graft: Gen. Allen
March 25, 2012
WASHINGTON - President Hamid Karzai is committed to eliminating corruption from the government, a top American commander said on Friday, acknowledging the deep-rooted menace could not be resolved in a day.
“I believe that President Karzai is committed to cleaning up corruption,” General John Allen, commander of US and NATO forces in ...
Strategic Deal Being Scrutinized: Karzai
March 24, 2012
KABUL - Afghan security personnel would independently conduct all operations across the country in 2013, President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday.
“When foreign troops withdraw, the country’s defense will be your responsibility,” the president told a graduation ceremony at the National Military Academy in Kabul. Afghan security forces might not be currently capable of defending their country, but after two or three decades, they would have the ability, Karzai told the gathering.
“Afghanistan can buy mortars, tanks and helicopters on credit, but there is a need for experts to use this ...
Afghan Mission on Track: Kubis
March 24, 2012
KABUL - Anti-American violence and growing unrest does little to disrupt the overall mission in Afghanistan, the U.N. special envoy to the country said.
A U.S. Army staff sergeant allegedly left his base in Kandahar province March 11 before dawn, walked to two neighboring villages and ...
No Peace in Afghanistan without Women: Clinton
March 24, 2012
WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed Wednesday never to accept a peace agreement in Afghanistan that rolls back women's rights, despite reaching out to the Taliban for talks.
The United States is seeking a political settlement that would allow NATO forces to leave by the end of 2014, ending the longest-ever US war ...
Funding ANA a Shared Responsibility: US
March 24, 2012
WASHINGTON - Funding the Afghan security forces post 2014, when the international forces are scheduled to withdraw from the country, is going to be a shared international responsibility, a Obama administration official said on Thursday. Details of financing Afghan forces would be worked at the forthcoming ...
Taliban Not Keen on Peace Parleys: Abdullah
March 19, 2012
KABUL - The National Coalition of Afghanistan (NCA) chief on Sunday said Taliban fighters had no intention of peace negotiations and the suspension of the proposed talks in Qatar meant the militants had their own agenda.
Abdullah Abdullah, also a former foreign minister, said the NCA had predicted the peace process and negotiations in Qatar would fizzle out and the opening of the Taliban's political bureau in Doha was merely to promote their own goals.
"The question is whether the Taliban want to take part in the ...
Obama Has Failed in Afghanistan: Romney
March 19, 2012
WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama has failed in Afghanistan.
The Republican presidential hopeful told "Fox News Sunday" that the president is partly to blame for the chaos there and should have been "more engaged" with military commanders and Afghan President 11Hamid Karzai.
Romney has emerged as the only GOP candidate not to question the U.S. ...
WJ Rejects Budget
March 19, 2012
KABUL - Wolesi Jirga on Sunday rejected the proposed annual budget due to uneven allocations to provinces and a hefty $80 million bailout package for the ailing Kabul Bank.
Of the 126 lawmakers who attended the lower house session, only one raised the green card for the budget approval, while the rest ...
Etisalat Launches 3G Services in Afghanistan
March 19, 2012
KABUL – Etisalat Afghanistan, The fastest growing telecommunication company in the country and part of Etisalat group, on Sunday announced the launch of 3G services in Afghanistan.
Etisalat is the first mobile operator to launch 3G services in country. Chairman Afghanistan telecommunication regulatory authority, Mr. Abdulul wakil shergul and CEO Etisalat Afghanistan, MR. Ahmaed ...
Owner of Gulbahar Sentenced for Corruption
March 19, 2012
KABUL - The business owner of Gulbahar Center and Towers, Gulbahar Habibi, and two of his associates were sentenced to six years in prison, while the head of a group of forgers was sentenced to 18 years, head of the Anti Corruption Tribunal, General Abu Bakar, told Tolo news.
Habibi was charged with paying US$150,000 for a forger to sign the ...
Govt. Lacks Legitimacy to Sign Strategic Agreement with the US: ANF
March 18, 2012
KABUL – Afghanistan National Front (ANF) has said the current government has lack of credibility and political legitimacy to sign the Strategic Partnership Document with the United States and it should be postponed until the next Presidential elections to be held in 2014.
Talking in a press conference on Saturday, March 17, 2012 National Front spokesman Faizullah Zaki said that they support the Strategic Partnership agreement with the United States. He added that the current Government has failed ...