Tag Archives: Afghanistan

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane carrying a handful of passengers touched down at Kabul airport Monday, the first international commercial flight to land since the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan on August 15. “There was hardly anyone on the plane, around 10 people… maybe more staff than passengers,” said …

The New York Times, analyzing security camera footage, said the US military may have been seeing the slain Ahmadi and a colleague loading canisters of water, which was in short supply after the collapse of the Western-backed government and picking up a laptop for his boss. The US carried out …

Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani held talks with the Taliban-appointed prime minister on Sunday, a Taliban spokesman said, in the highest level foreign visit to Kabul since the group seized the capital last month. Qatar is considered one of the countries with the most influence over the …

Anti-Taliban resistance leader Ahmad Massoud is still in Afghanistan, Iranian FARS news agency reported on Saturday, citing a source. The source reportedly said that rumors about Massoud leaving Afghanistan for Turkey or any other place were false and that 70 percent of Panjshir’s main streets had fallen to the control …

The Taliban saw “positive signs” pointing to the international community recognizing the group’s government “soon”, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Saturday. “Efforts are underway. Signs are positive… [Taliban government] will be recognized at the international level,” he said. Mujahid added that the demands of the international community have been met, …

Russia has sent armored vehicles and military equipment to Tajikistan, Afghanistan’s neighbor, against the backdrop of “growing instability” near the southern border, says the defense ministry. The ministry announced in a statement on Saturday it had transferred 12 armored vehicles and an array of military equipment, which includes close combat …

The Taliban killed Rohullah Azizi, brother of former Vice President of Afghanistan Amrullah Saleh, Aamaj News reported on Friday. Sources told Aamaj that Azizi was arrested and shot on Thursday in Rokha district in Panjshir. His brother Saleh did not flee from the country like former President Ashraf Ghani. He …

The first international commercial flight under Afghanistan’s new Taliban interim government departed Kabul on Thursday carrying more than 100 foreigners, including some U.S. citizens left behind after last month’s chaotic Western airlift. The flight marked an important step in the Taliban’s efforts to create a functioning state after they seized …

The UN rights office on Friday said that the Taliban response to peaceful marches in Afghanistan has been increasingly violent, with authorities using live ammunition, batons, and whips and causing the deaths of at least four protesters. Protests and demonstrations, often led by women, pose a challenge to the new …

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the Taliban and revealed that they were not allowing charter flights to evacuate US citizens and at-risk Afghans to depart the airport. The Taliban allowed a flight of foreigners, including American citizens, to finally depart Afghanistan on Thursday after the top …

Afghanistan’s Kabul Airport is about 90 percent ready for operations but its reopening is planned gradually, a Qatari official said speaking on the tarmac on Thursday. There would be a flight on Friday, another Qatari official said speaking to journalists, adding that a flight out from Kabul on Thursday was …

Two hundred Americans and other foreigners who remain in Afghanistan are set to depart the war-ravaged country on charter flights from Kabul on Thursday after the new Taliban government agreed to their evacuation, a U.S. official said. The departures will be among the first international flights to take off from …

Panjshiri leader Ahmad Shah Massoud and former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh have not fled Afghanistan and their resistance forces are still fighting the Taliban, the ousted Afghan government’s ambassador to Tajikistan said on Wednesday. Zahir Aghbar, envoy to Dushanbe under the government of ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, told …

The European Union on Wednesday said the “caretaker” government unveiled by the Taliban in Afghanistan failed to honor vows from the new rulers to include different groups. “Upon initial analysis of the names announced, it does not look like the inclusive and representative formation in terms of the rich ethnic …

Germany’s foreign minister has responded skeptically to the Taliban’s announcement of an interim government line-up for Afghanistan. Heiko Maas released a statement on Wednesday, a day after the Taliban announced an all-male interim government. The Cabinet is stacked with veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year …

Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has apologized, saying he regretted “how it ended,” according to a statement released. “Leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision of my life, but I believed it was the only way to keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her 6 million citizens. I …

Taliban gunmen fired into the air to disperse anti-Pakistan protestors in the capital of Afghanistan. Video clips on Tuesday showed people running as gunfire was heard. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Taliban forces open fire into a crowd during a peaceful demonstration protesting Taliban and Pakistani terrorism. https://t.co/WIRZ6XiK4n …

Republicans and Democrats have criticized the embarrassing manner in which the US abruptly vacated a key airbase and withdrew its military forces at the direction of Biden. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will appear in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week to testify and be questioned …

The Taliban announced Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund as the leader of their new government in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also told a press conference that Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar will be the deputy leader. Sarajuddin Haqqani, son of the founder of the Haqqani network, designated as …

Four Americans left Afghanistan by land on Monday with Taliban knowledge in the first departures arranged by the US government since its military pullout, a US official said. The four US citizens left by land and were greeted by American diplomats, said a senior official, without specifying to which country …