The writer is a freelance columnist. The war rages on in Afghanistan. At the end of last week, the daily Afghanistan Times reported the deaths of at least 14 Taliban rebels and their commander in Kunduz. Police officials claimed that the Afghan National Army’s operation was a success, with another 20 rebels wounded and Taliban forces fleeing to a neighbouring village. Civilian voices have, however, rejected this portrayal of a clean and efficient military wrap…
Posts published in “Day: March 8, 2016”
The writer is an Islamabad based freelance columnist. After a much-hyped series of high-level meetings of Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), Afghan Taliban came with an expected rejection of peace talks last Saturday. The Murree Process was busted in the wake of Mullah Omar’s death reports last year. The peace agenda was subsequently taken up by the quadrangular of Pakistan, Afghanistan, USA and China. It is rather surprising that despite having an institutional memory of more…
The writer is a foreign policy expert based in Washington, DC. IT has been an interesting two weeks for the Afghan reconciliation process. First, Pakistan stuck its neck out to publicly accept that it has potent levers to pressure the Afghan Taliban. Then, the latter poured cold water over the optimism this generated by declining to join formal talks. Pakistan’s confession came courtesy Sartaj Aziz’s remarks to a Washington policy audience whereby he accepted that…
The writer is the author of The Prospect of Nuclear Jihad in Pakistan In February 2016, the US intelligence chief claimed that Afghanistan is on the verge of a political breakdown. However, former intelligence advisor to President Obama, James Clapper also told the US Senate that the war-hit country was at serious risk. “Waning political cohesion, increasingly assertive local powerbrokers, financial shortfalls, and sustained countrywide Taliban attacks are eroding stability,” Clapper said. In 2015, due…
The writer is a freelance columnist The Taliban’s refusal to participate in the dialogue with the Afghan government till its conditions are met is a blow to international efforts to bring peace to the war-ravaged country. The conditions are withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, reversal of sanctions by the UN on Taliban leaders and release of prisoners. The Taliban spokesman further said that talks could not be held while Afghan forces continue their attacks.…
There has been a steep rise in Afghan National Army (ANA) forces casualties during the recent days as the Ministry of Defense (MoD) reported at least 26 deaths in the past 3 days. In the latest Operational Update, the Ministry of Defense (MoD), said Monday that 13 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) lost their lives during counter-terrorism operations in the past 24 hours. In another Operational Update on Sunday, the Ministry of Defense…
The fighting season in Afghanistan is gearing up and it is at least possible that the Taliban are going to complete their takeover of the province of Helmand. There was little let-up in the fighting over the winter months and the Taliban remain active across much of the country. Suicide attacks, particularly in Kabul, keep up the pressure on the government of President Ashraf Ghani and the peace process, such as it is, stumbles along.…
At least 33 anti-government armed militants were killed after attacking the Afghan army posts in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said. A statement by MoD said at least 14 militants were killed and 17 others were wounded after attacking the army posts in Kajaki district on Sunday. The statement further added that 19 militants were killed and 5 others were wounded in a separate attack on army posts in the…
National Directorate of Security (NDS) – Afghanistan’s intelligence agency has seized drugs and a weapon depot of militants during a raid in central Logar province of Afghanistan. Officials said on Sunday that the operation was carried out in Dobandi area of Khwakhai district and that the seized materials include 680 kilograms of opium, seven bags of ammonium nitrate, four bags of potassium, 12 kilograms of explosives, 13 anti-tank mines, Kalashnikov, and seven vehicles. One suspect…
At least 19 anti-government armed militants including loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed in the latest counter-terrorism operations. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the operations were jointly conducted by Afghan army and security personnel from the other security institutions in the past 24 hours. A statement by MoD said at least 17 militants were also injured during the operations and several weapons, ammunition and explosives were…
There has been a steep rise in Afghan National Army (ANA) forces casualties during the recent days as the Ministry of Defense (MoD) reported at least 26 deaths in the past 3 days. In the latest Operational Update, the Ministry of Defense (MoD), said Monday that 13 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) lost their lives during counter-terrorism operations in the past 24 hours. In another Operational Update on Sunday, the Ministry of Defense…