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Haqqani Behind Afghan Attacks that Left 47 Dead: Official
April 17, 2012
KABUL - A militant arrested in the attacks on the Afghan capital and three other cities has confessed that the 18-hour assault was carried out by the Haqqani network, a lethal group of fighters with ties to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, a top Afghan security official said Monday.
Thirty-six insurgents were killed during the brazen attacks that also ...
Taliban have No Intention for Peace: Speaker
April 17, 2012
KABUL - An extraordinary session of the Wolesi Jirga, denouncing yesterday's daring attacks, said on Monday the militants were taking advantage of the government's indistinct peace policy and safe haven in neighboring countries.
Forty-seven people, including militants, were killed and 65 others wounded during the coordinated group assaults in ...
Clinton, Crocker Talk Afghan Security
April 17, 2012
WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday called her top diplomat in Afghanistan to know about Afghanistan's security situation after Taliban militants launched a series of attacks across the country, including in the capital Kabul.
Clinton asked Ambassador Ryan Crocker to convey to President Hamid ...
Taliban Rehearsed Afghan Attack for Two Months
April 17, 2012
KABUL - The insurgents who mounted weekend attacks in central Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan carefully rehearsed for months, even building small military-style models and pre-positioning weapons, a Taliban spokesman said on Monday.
Zabihullah Mujahid provided Reuters with a rare insight into how the ...
Britain Praises Afghan Forces’ Response to Attacks
April 17, 2012
KABUL - The new British ambassador to Afghanistan on Monday praised local security forces' response to yesterday's coordinated Taliban attacks in Kabul and other parts of the country.
Afghan security personnel took the lead, contained and removed the threat in a highly professional and successful operation, said ...
Moon Urges Beefed-Up Security in Afghanistan
April 17, 2012
BRUSSELS - United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday strongly condemned coordinated attacks by Taliban across Afghanistan, saying this showed the need to beef up Afghan security forces.
Ban decried "in the strongest possible terms" the attacks so far responsible for at least 47 deaths, warning: "We need to ...
Gunmen Attack Embassies, Parliament in Kabul
April 16, 2012
KABUL - Several Western diplomatic missions and other high-security offices in Kabul and three other provinces came under well-coordinated rebel attacks on Sunday, officials and witnesses said.
Seventeen attackers were killed, while 14 policemen and nine civilians were wounded in the near-simultaneous strikes in Kabul, Logar, Nangarhar and Paktia, an interior ministry spokesman told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Ghulam Siddiue Sadiq said security personnel and civilians had suffered no fatalities, contradicting statements from other officials ...
Attacks are the Start of ‘Spring Offensive’: Taliban
April 16, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan's Taliban said they launched a spring offensive on Sunday with multiple attacks against Western embassies in the central diplomatic area and at parliament in Kabul, with heavy explosions, rockets and gunfire rattling the city.
The assault, one of the most serious on the capital since U.S.-backed ...
Karzai Meets Pakistani Women MPs
April 16, 2012
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai on Sunday stressed the need for the creation of a joint group of women parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
At a meeting with a delegation of Pakistan's lawmakers, the president called for enhanced contacts between women MPs of the two ...
Karzai Under Lockdown in Kabul Attacks: Aide
April 16, 2012
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai was moved to a safe area and his palace went into lockdown as Kabul was hit on Sunday by a wave of attacks including a failed attempt to target one of his deputies, officials said.
The embattled president was discussing the budget with a group of ...
Rassoul Vows Women’s Rights Protection
April 16, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Zalmai Rassoul assured women's rights in the country will be safeguarded even as the nation is undergoing a peace transition.
"Our commitment that the country's achievements of the past decade, including women's rights, should not be harmed in the peace ...
Khar Expresses Concern on Attacks in Kabul
April 16, 2012
LAHORE – Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Sunday expressed Pakistan's deep concerns over reports of attacks in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan.
"Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism in all forms and has consistently encouraged dialogue to resolve issues in ...
U.S. Embassy Condemns Kabul Attacks
April 16, 2012
>KABUL - The U.S. Embassy condemns the attacks that took place today in Kabul and in other locations in Afghanistan. We offer our deepest condolences to all the victims of today's attacks and their families.
These attacks demonstrate again that insurgents are continuing their ...
Analysts Call Karzai Remarks on Polls Illegal
April 16, 2012
KABUL - Kabul-based political analysts on Saturday said any change to the timetable for the next presidential election was impossible without constitutional amendments, believing an early pullout of foreign troops could challenge the vote.
Last week, President Karzai said he was mulling over changes either ...
The Killing of Hazaras in Quetta Remains Unabated
April 15, 2012
KABUL - The Killing of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan has now become order of the day. In a matter of few weeks about 30 Hazaras have been shot dead and many have been wounded.
On Saturday, April 14th, 2012, in three different incidents 8 Hazaras have been killed and some others injured.
In the first incident the assailants opened fire on a car, killing six people. The incident happened on Brewery Road in the Killi Ibrahim Zai area of the city.
The victim's bodies were shifted to Bolan Medical College hospital ...
Afghan Face to Defend Afghanistan: Rasmussen
April 15, 2012
KABUL - NATO's chief said that it is good to give Afghanistan's defense "an Afghan face" by handing over the security responsibilities to the Afghan forces, pointing out it also cost less money.
Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen said it was less expensive to ...
Peace Council Enters Parleys with HIA Team
April 15, 2012
KABUL - The High Peace Council entered negotiations with Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) representatives in Kabul on Saturday, resuming a delicate process that was placed on ice last month.
The five-member delegation was in the capital in response to an invitation from the peace panel, the leader of the HIA team told Pajhwok Afghan News during an exclusive ...
Mohaqiq Demands Stern Steps against the Killings of Hazaras
April 15, 2012
KABUL - Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, the member of Afghanistan's lower house of parliament and the leader of People's Unity Party of Afghanistan has severely condemned the systematic killing of Hazaras in Quetta city of Pakistan.
The killing of Hazaras in Quetta city of Pakistan has been accelerated recently with the death of almost 30 innocent people within ...
Salahuddin Rabbani New Head of High Peace Council
April 15, 2012
KABUL - Salahuddin Rabban is the new head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, replacing his father Burhanuddin Rabbani who was head of the council when he was assassinated by the Taliban last year.
The appointment was confirmed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai on ...
HIA Hopes Salahuddin to Succeed in His Mission
April 15, 2012
KABUL - The 'Hezb-i-Islami of Afghanistan (HIA), led by former prime minister Gulbadin Hekmatyar, on Saturday extended good wishes to new High Peace Council Chairman Salahuddin Rabbani.
Hours earlier, Rabbani was appointed as head of the council to replace his father, Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was assassinated in ...
Fawzia Koofi Eyeing Presidency in 2014
April 15, 2012
KABUL - Condemned to die shortly after birth for being a girl, outspoken Afghan member of parliament Fawzia Koofi lived to become a champion of women's rights and is now eyeing the presidency in 2014, Reuters reported.
The 36-year-old expects harsh opposition, threats of violence and ...
G8 Wants Kabul to Combat Corruption
April 14, 2012
WASHINGTON - Reiterating their strong commitment to Afghanistan's sovereignty and national unity, foreign ministers of G8 countries on Thursday urged the Karzai administration to address the issue of corruption and work on improving governance.
Following their meeting in Washington, in preparation of the G-8 Summit in Camp David next month, the world's eighth largest economies renewed their support for an Afghan-led reconciliation process and ...
Australia-Afghan Strategic Agreement Drafted for NATO Summit
April 14, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan is on the cusp of signing a strategic agreement with Australia following the visit of Australia's Defense Minister to Kabul on Wednesday. Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith said Australia is interested in forging a strategic partnership with Afghanistan during his meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at ...
Kabul Bank to Be Privatized in June: Delawari
April 14, 2012
KABUL - The country's largest private sector that the government took over after it came to the verge of collapse two years back as a result of issuing unauthorized loans to its owners will be privatized in the near future.
The central bank governor told Pajhwok Afghan News on Friday they ...
Karzai Considers Change in Election Timetable
April 14, 2012
KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday he was considering changes to either the 2014 timetable for a presidential election or the transition of security to Afghan forces that year to avoid overburdening the country.
Fear is mounting among Afghans and foreign governments alike that the ...
Govt. Trying to Delay Elections: Qanuni
April 14, 2012
KABUL - The National Coalition on Thursday voiced concern at the current political situation in the country, accusing the government of trying to postpone the presidential vote and bring the Taliban back into power.
Mohammad Yunus Qanuni, a senior member of the coalition, told a youth ...
HIA Team Due in Kabul for Peace Talks
April 14, 2012
KABUL - A delegation of the Hizbi-i-Islami of Afghanistan (HIA), the second largest insurgent group after the Taliban, is expected to arrive in Kabul on Friday for a new round of talks with the Karzai administration.
A knowledgeable source confided to Pajhwok Afghan News on Thursday the five-member HIA delegation would stay in the central capital for ...
Pak MPs Allow Non-Lethal ISAF Supplies
April 14, 2012
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani legislators, showing a hard-won consensus, approved recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) regarding new terms of engagement with the US and a resumption of non-lethal NATO supplies.
A joint sitting of Parliament urged the government late on Thursday ...
US Ready for Talks with Taliban: US Envoy
April 12, 2012
KABUL - The signing of agreements transferring the control of night raids and detention centers to the Afghan government were an important stride toward the country's sovereignty, a US diplomt said on Wednesday.
On Sunday, Afghanistan and the United States signed an accord on Afghanising nighttime operations across the country, a major irritant between the two sides.
Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak and International Security Assistance Force Commander Gen. John Allen inked the memorandum of ...
Kubis Pledges Clean Elections
April 12, 2012
KABUL - A top United Nations envoy to Afghanistan pledged to work with the country's electoral authorities to ensure the sustainability, integrity and inclusiveness of future polls.
Jan Kubis, the secretary-general's special representative held out the pledge at a meeting with ...
Afghans Appeal to Panetta for Security to Top Cost of Support
April 12, 2012
WASHINGTON - Afghanistan's defense and interior ministers said they urged Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to ensure that maintaining security takes precedence over cutting costs in determining U.S. support for their nation's army and police.
The U.S. has projected that the Afghanistan forces it is helping to ...
MPs Want Deputy Finance Minister Sacked
April 12, 2012
KABUL - Several infuriated lawmakers on Wednesday threatened that the house would summon the finance minister if he failed to sack his deputy by Sunday. They slammed deputy minister, Mustafa Mastoor, for saying that MPs had earlier rejected the national budget because the ministry did not raise their ...
Strategic Partnership with Australia Discussed
April 12, 2012
KABUL - Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul and visiting Australian Defence Minister on Wednesday expressed satisfaction over progress in bilateral discussions on a long-term strategic partnership.
Rassoul, who received Stephen Smith at the Foreign Ministry in Kabul, expressed the gratitude of the Afghan government and people for ...
Transition a Needed as Russia Interested in Stable Afghanistan: Putin
April 12, 2012
MOSCOW - A NATO transit point in Ulyanovsk is needed, as stability in Afghanistan is in Russia's national interests, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
"It's necessary to very pragmatically approach issue of defining what is to our advantage, whether it is consistent with our national ...
Ghazni to have First-Ever International Airport
April 12, 2012
GHAZNI CITY - Ghazni Governor Musa Khan Akbarzada on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of the first-ever international airport in the southern province.
Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony, the governor hoped the mega project would be completed by the end of the current ...