KABUL – US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John F. Sopko on Wednesday emphasized the importance of the United States’ support to Afghan women and said inattention to women in Afghanistan can lead to a tragedy for them. Explaining his new report, Support for Gender Equality: Lessons from the …
Read More »Gen. McKenzie: Taliban Continue Extreme Violence
KABUL – Commander of the U.S Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie in conversation with the Middle East Institute said violence in Afghanistan remains high. In his conversation, he said “The Taliban continue to resort to extreme violence and targeted killings across the country and frequent attacks on the Afghan forces. …
Read More »German FM Suggests Troops Withdrawal be Linked with Progress in Talks
KABUL – Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Tuesday the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan should be tied to progress in intra-Afghan negotiations rather than “slavishly” bound to the end-of-April deadline as per the US-Taliban agreement. Speaking at an event organized by Die Zeit and three other German newspapers, …
Read More »NATO: No Full Withdrawal After May
KABUL – International troops plan to stay in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline envisaged by the insurgent Taliban’s deal with the United States, Reuters quoted four senior NATO officials. The move could however escalate tensions with the Taliban which is demanding a full withdrawal. “There will be no full withdrawal …
Read More »Antony Blinken: Will Thoroughly Assess US-Taliban Deal
KABUL – President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state Antony Blinken said that the Biden administration will review the peace agreement with the Taliban. “We want to end this so-called forever war. We want to bring our forces home. We want to retain some capacity to deal with any …
Read More »ILO Calls for Greater Protection of Homeworkers
GENEVA – The International Labor Organization (ILO) has called for greater protection of homeworkers, who have increased in the face of the impact for Covid-19. In its report “Working from home from invisibility to decent work”, UN agency shows that this group does not have the same level of protection …
Read More »U.S. is UN’s Defaulter, not Contributor: China
BEIJING – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said that the international community clearly knows if the United States is the biggest contributor to the UN. This was the response of Zhao Lijian to US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo’s, assertion that the United States is the largest contributor to …
Read More »Ross Wilson: US Is Not Advocating for Interim Govt in Afghanistan
KABUL – Ross Wilson, the US ambassador to Afghanistan said that the interim government is not advocated for Afghanistan and that the Afghans need to accelerate the peace negotiations in Doha, Qatar. The US Chargé d’Affaires tweeted on Wednesday: “We have not advocated, and the United States is not advocating, …
Read More »US ‘Expects’ Kabul to Prioritize Fight Against Corruption
KABUL – US Chargé d’Affaires Ross Wilson said Wednesday that Washington expects the Afghan government to strengthen its commitment to fight corruption and to address the issue of impunity against powerful people in this regard. Marking International Anti-Corruption Day, Wilson said in a series of tweets: “I want to emphasize …
Read More »Wilson: Taliban Expect Release of Their 7,000 Prisoners by Mid-December
KABUL – US Chargé d’Affaires Ross Wilson in a chat with reporters Sunday said the Taliban are expecting release of thousands of their prisoners by mid-December under an agreement signed with the United States. “The specific provision relating to another 7,000 Taliban prisoners is contained in the US-Taliban agreement,” Wilson …
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