Home » Afghanistan
Obama, Medvedev Discuss Iran, Afghanistan, Syria
November, 14 2011
HONOLULU - President Barack Obama said he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discussed Afghanistan, Iran and Syria, among other topics, in their meeting on Saturday.
Obama said he and Medvedev "reaffirmed our intention to work and shape a common response so we can move Iran to follow its international ...
Ministers to Discuss Strategy for Afghanistan
November, 14 2011
KABUL - National foreign ministers will discuss Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and the Horn of Africa when they meet in Brussels on Monday (14 ...
US-Afghan Strategic Partnership A Binding Agreement: Allen
November, 14 2011
KABUL - The post-2014 US presence in Afghanistan would be limited to intelligence gathering, special operations capabilities and training of the Afghan forces, the top US commander in Afghanistan said.
In an exclusive interview with Tolo news, Gen. John Allen, the commander of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) ...
Senators Doubt on Loya Jirga’s Success
November, 14 2011
KABUL - Meshrano Jirga, or upper house of parliament, members on Sunday said that participants of the traditional Loya Jirga should have been provided with enough information on the proposed strategic agreement with the US ahead of holding the grand assembly. The jirga is called into session on Wednesday (November 16) to ...
Afghanistan Wants Indian Investments: Singh
November, 14 2011
NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has sought Indian investment in his country's mine sector, especially in the iron ore mines.
Singh and Karzai held talks on the sidelines of the just concluded SAARC summit in the Maldives.
Speaking to journalists on his way back to New Delhi, Singh said on ...
India, Pakistan Trust Each Other Completely: Khar
November, 14 2011
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar Sunday struck a positive note on the future of Indo-Pak relations, saying the "trust deficit is zero or it has shrunk to a large extent" after the meeting between two Prime Ministers in Maldives. When Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart ...
Afghan Air Force Grows
November, 14 2011
WASHINGTON - The Afghan Army Air Force continues to grow. In the last year it has gained a thousand personnel (for a total of 5,000), and 26 aircraft (for a total of 66, mostly Mi-17 transports and Mi-35 gunships helicopters). In addition to the helicopters there are also Russian transports abd Italian transports and some ...
Hundreds of UK Troops to Remain: Defence Chief
November, 14 2011
LONDON - Hundreds of British soldiers will remain in Afghanistan after the UK pulls troops out of fighting roles, the British Chief of the Defence Staff said. The Government wants combat soldiers to leave the war-zone by 2015, but has said some troops will remain to support and train Afghan ...
Loya Jirga Not Postponed: Safya Saddiqui
November, 13 2011
KABUL - A spokesperson for the Loya Jirga on Saturday said the grand assembly would take place as planned, brushing aside the rumors that the event had been postponed.
More than 2,000 government officials and elders are scheduled to meet on November 16 in Kabul to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed US-Afghanistan strategic partnership agreement. The gathering will also confer on a mechanism for peace negotiations with Afghan ...
Registration for Traditional Loya Jirga Begins
November, 13 2011
>KABUL - Registration has commenced for the participants of the traditional Loya Jirga scheduled to be convened on Wednesday to discuss the pros and cons of a proposed strategic partnership agreement between Afghanistan and the US and peace mechanism, officials said. Afghan influential figures from across the country, Canada, Norway ...
U.S. Must ‘Get Tough’ with Pakistan: Envoy
November, 13 2011
SYDENY - The international community should work to reestablish Afghanistan as a buffer state, former U.S. Ambassador Peter Tomsen told an audience at the World Affairs Council on Wednesday in Seattle. However, Tomsen also made clear that peace will remain elusive as long as Pakistan provides sanctuary for insurgent groups. As he promoted his new book The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic ...
Karzai for Loya Jirga as Scheduled
November, 13 2011
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday the upcoming Loya Jirga should be held as scheduled, his office said. In a meeting with political figures and high ranking government officials at the Presidential Palace, the President discussed in detail preparations for the November 16 grand assembly, which has been called ...
Muqbil Wants Pace of Anti-Poppy Drive Accelerated
November, 13 2011
FAIZABAD - Counternarcotics Minister on Saturday said poppy crops grown over about 1,279 hectares of land in two districts of northeastern Badakhshan province were yet to be eradicated.
Zrar Ahmad Muqbil, during a visit to the mountainous province, told local officials that 617 hectares of land was cultivated with poppy ...
Militants Pasting Night Letters Held in Nangarhar
November, 13 2011
>JALALABAD - Three armed militants pasting night letters on walls were detained in eastern Nangarhar province, an official said on Saturday. The three were detained in Rodat district on Friday night by police during a patrol, the town's administrative head, Hazrat Khan Khaksar, told ...
Chamkani Remains Paralysed for Second Day
November, 13 2011
GARDEZ - Government offices and the bazaar in Chamkani district of southeastern Paktia province remained closed for a second day after a brazen suicide and gun attack on a government building.
Three policemen were killed when a group of five Taliban suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of Samkani district on Thursday near ...
100 Hectares of Kunduz Forests Lost in 3 Years
November, 13 2011
KUNDUZ CITY - Agriculture officials say forest spread over more than 100 hectares of land in northern Kunduz province has been lost in just past three years due to illegal cutting of trees by residents and gunmen.
Kunduz has around 40,000 hectares of forests containing fruit and non-fruit bearing trees in Imam Sahib, Qala-i-Zal, Chahar Dara and ...
Bamyan Inmates Complain About Overcrowding
November, 13 2011
BAMYAN CITY- Prisoners at an overcrowded jail in central Bamyan province complain they are unable to sleep well at night due to a lack of space. Nearly 200 men are held at the facility housed in a rented building in the Sar-Asiab area of Bamyan city. Hailing from Bamyan, Daikundi and Maidan Wardak provinces, the inmates are serving their jail terms for committing crimes such as ...
US, Pak Militaries Agree on Terms to Control Afghan Cross Border Attacks
November, 13 2011
ISLAMABAD - Military chiefs of the US and Pakistan met on Friday and agreed to increase cooperation to curtail cross-border movement of terrorists on the Pak-Afghan border.
A statement issued after a meeting between Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and General James N Mattis, Commander US ...
loca-Jirgathumb.jpg
November, 13 2011
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan removed restrictions on the import of 12 goods from India as part of measures to normalize trade between the nuclear-armed rivals, Pakistani officials said on Saturday.
Pakistan has long been reluctant to open up trade with its neighbor ...
171 MPs Intend to Attend Loya Jirga
November, 13 2011
KABUL - The number of Wolesi Jirga members, intending to take part in this month's Loya Jirga, has reached 171, but still others MPs stand firm on their previous decision of staying away from the event.
More than 2,000 government officials and elders are scheduled to meet on November 16 in Kabul to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed ...
New Coalition; National Front Comes into Being
November, 12 2011
Kabul, November 11, 2011 : A new political coalition consists of strong parties and figures announced its presence among the hundred of its supporters. Yesterday, Ahamd Zia Massoud, the ex senior vice president and the brother of legendary commander of anti soviet and Taliban commander, Hahi Mohammad Mohaqiq, the leader of People's Unity Party of Afghanistan, General Abdur Rashid Dostum, the founder of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan (Junbish), Amrullah saleh, the ...
Obama Seeks to Hitch U.S. Economy to Asian Growth
November, 12 2011
WASHINGTON - With Europe mired in crisis, President Barack Obama is launching a charm offensive this week to hitch the U.S. economy to growth opportunities in Asia that he hopes can help power the recovery he needs for re-election. Obama, who was born in Hawaii and spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, will host Asian leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in Honolulu this ...
Deals with India, US Pose No Threat to Neighbours: Karzai
November, 12 2011
>KABUL - President Hamid Karzai has said a strategic partnership with India and talks for a similar deal with the United States posed no threat to his country's neighbours. Karzai told leaders of South Asian nations at a regional summit in Addu, the Maldives, that the India agreement along with talks it was ...
Clinton Declares "America's Pacific Century"
November, 12 2011
HONOLULU - With the United States facing a multipronged challenge from China, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared Thursday that the 21st century will be "America's Pacific century" and said the region's problems require U.S. leadership. While stressing that the Obama administration will seek improved tie
SCO Prepares for Afghan Reconstruction
November, 10 2011
BEIJING - The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's role in Afghanistan will only become more important as time goes on, especially after most of NATO's combat forces exit the country, analysts say.
The organization, which advocates fighting against the "Three Evil Forces"- terrorism, religious extremism and regional separatism - held its 10th annual prime ministers' meeting on Monday.
"It is evidently in the US' strategy in the run up to its exit ...
President Karzai Leaves for Maldivesto Attend SAARC Summit
November, 10 2011
KABUL - Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan left Wednesday for a two-day visit to Maldives to attend the 17th SAARC Summit of the Heads of State.
The President is scheduled to deliver a speech in the Summit where he would highlight Afghanistan's vision for expanded political, economic, cultural and social interaction and cooperation in South Asia. Enhanced ...
Kazakhstan, US to Enhance Cooperation in Restoration of Afghan Economy
November, 10 2011
KABUL - Kazakhstan and the United States plan to enhance interaction to guarantee international security and restoration of the Afghan economy, an official at the Kazakhstani Foreign Ministry said, summing up results of Tuesday's talks between Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov and the US Ambassador to the republic, Kenneth ...
Australian Prime Minister Visits Afghanistan
November, 10 2011
KABUL - Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard on Sunday made a surprise visit to Afghanistan and met with Australian troops stationed here.
The Australian Premier also met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
She flew into Trinkowt of Kandahar province to share a barbecue lunch with some of the 1,550 Australian soldiers stationed in the southern ...
Security Arrangements in Place Ahead of Loya Jirga
November, 10 2011
KABUL - The Ministry of Interior officials say special security arrangements have been carried out ahead of the November 16 tradition consultative Loya Jirga discussing the proposed strategic cooperation agreement between Afghanistan and the US. The four-day assembly is expected to be attended by more than 2,000 ...
Helmand Ready for Second Round of Transition: Officials
November, 10 2011
KABUL - Security forces are ready for the second phase of security switch in southern Helmand province, officials said on Wednesday.
The second phase of the transition is said to target some districts in Badakhshan, Badghis, Ghazni, Helmand, Herat, Kabul, Ghor, Laghman, Maidan Wardak and Nangarhar.
In Badakhshan, the provincial capital, Faizabad, Shahr-i-Buzurg ...
Obama, Rasmussen Discuss Afghanistan
November, 10 2011
WASHINGTONM - US president Barack Obama met NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen at his Oval Office and discussed with him the current situation in Afghanistan, the White House said on Monday.
The President and the Secretary General discussed the important ...
Russia Offers to Invest $500 Million in Pak-Afghan Electricity
November, 10 2011
KABUL - The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin has offered to invest "at least $500 million" in a Central Asian electricity project that will provide energy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Premier made the offer at a one-day meeting of Prime Ministers of ...
No Change in US Afghan Strategy: Pentagon
November, 05 2011
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has ruled out any change in the US strategy in Afghanistan and said it is currently focused on successful security transition in the war-torn country.
"The role of the US military has not shifted or changed. The only firm plans that we have at this point is to drawdown some of the surge forces by the end of this year and additional tranche of surge forces by summer of next year. Beyond that any change that may be done ...
Afghan Gas Pipe Deal Imminent: Nedirov
November, 05 2011
ASHGABAT - Turkmenistan expects soon to sign a long-delayed agreement to sell natural gas to Pakistan and India and has "no doubts" that an ambitious project to build a pipeline through Afghanistan will be realised, a senior energy official said on Friday. Oil and Gas Minister Bayramgeldy Nedirov said the proposed ...
US Won’t Abandon Afghanistan: Crocker
November, 05 2011
KUNDUZ CITY - The United States would never repeat the mistake it had committed after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in the late '80s, the American ambassador said on Thursday.
Even after the pullout of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops by the end of 2014, American financial support to ...