Diplomatic Cross

KABUL: The top US general in Afghanistan told NATO troops on Tuesday to prepare themselves to deal with “positive processes or negative consequences” as peace talks between the US and the Taliban to end a 17-year war gain momentum. General Scott Miller, who commands US forces and the NATO-led non-combat Resolution Support (RS) mission in Afghanistan reiterated the need for a political settlement to end the conflict. “Peace talks (are) out there, regional players pressing for peace, the Taliban talking about peace, the Afghan government is talking about peace,” Miller told dozens of NATO soldiers who had gathered at RS headquarters in Kabul for an exercise session. Dressed in gym gear, Miller participated in a 60-minute open-air morning workout of sprints, squats, burpees and push-ups. He did not comment on reports that the United States was considering pulling out almost half of the 14,000-strong force currently deployed in Afghanistan. A White House spokesman s...

By Salahuddin Salarzai Influential religious scholar and former senator Maulana Samiul Haq have been assassinated at his residence in Rawalpindi, on Friday. Many independent observer and Media linking the murder of JUI-S chief Maulana Sami-Ul-Haq with recent meeting with Afghan officials, A high level delegation from Afghanistan comprising former Jihadi commanders, religious figures and tribal chieftains meet with Mulana Sami Ulhaq last month, the delegates remained for over two hours with Maulana Sami Ul Haq and exchanged views with him on current situation of Afghanistan and requested him to help in the reconciliation process. Afghan diplomats serving in Pakistan also attended the meeting. In connection with reconciliation process between the Afghan government and Tehrik Taliban Afghanistan, the delegates recommended Maulana Sami Ul Haq become arbitrator (mediator) and assured him of accepting each and every one of his decisions. The delegates appreciated Maulana Sami U...

President Ashraf Ghani  Image: DOD/US Air Force Staff Sgt. Jette Carr Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani declared a provisional three-month ceasefire with the Taliban in a televised broadcast. Kabul-Anticipation had been mounting ahead of Ghani’s speech following mixed signals from the presidential palace over whether the government would offer a fresh truce – following a brief ceasefire in June. Pakistan Fully support, recent peace initiatives in Afghanistan “The conditional ceasefire will start tomorrow and it will continue as long as the Taliban preserves and respects it,” Ghani said on Sunday, August 19, Reuters reported. Ghani said the ceasefire, which begins on the Eid al-Adha holiday, would continue until the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday which Afghanistan celebrates on November 21, AFP reported. Ghani said his administration removed “all obstacles” to peace with the announcement following consultations with religious scholars, political parties and...

Kabul-Afghanistan announced Thursday a week-long ceasefire with the Taliban for Eid though operations against other groups including Daesh will continue. The ceasefire will last "from the 27th of Ramazan until the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr," President Ashraf Ghani tweeted from an official account, indicating it could run from June 12-19. It was not immediately clear if the Taliban had agreed to the ceasefire, which would be the first for Eid since the US invasion in 2001. "We are checking with our officials regarding the ceasefire announcement," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP. The surprise move comes days after a gathering of Afghanistan's top clerics in the capital Kabul called for a ceasefire and issued a fatwa against suicide bombings and attacks. An hour after the fatwa was issued, a suicide bomber detonated outside the gathering, killing seven people. Ghani said his government supported the clerics' call. "The ...

The Taliban in Afghanistan regularly use captured US weapons to attack government outposts, the US media reported on Wednesday. Islamabad-Recently, American warplanes destroyed about 40 US-supplied Humvees that the Taliban had captured from Afghanistan’s military over the past several years, the USA TODAY newspaper reported. It claimed that the report about this “recurring problem” was based on official statistics collected by the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan. According to these statistics, Taliban fighters frequently capture US-supplied equipment and then disappear into the countryside. “The Humvees struck by American aircraft may only represent a fraction of the equipment now in Taliban hands,” the paper claimed. While accounting for the US-supplied equipment, American investigators found that the militants not only capture the weapons they use but also buy these from the Afghan military. Because of widespread corruption in Afghanistan’s defence establishme...