Washington: The United States and the Taliban raised hopes on Tuesday for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan with commitments to meet this week after 12 years of bloody and costly war between American-led forces and the insurgents.
The Taliban opened an office in Doha, the Qatari capital, on Tuesday to help restart talks and said it wanted a political solution that would bring about a just government and end foreign occupation of Afghanistan.
US officials said the talks would start in Doha on Thursday but cautioned that the on-again, off-again peace process would likely be messy and has no guarantee of success.
"It's going to be a long, hard process if indeed it advances significantly at all," a senior US official said....
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06:17 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Washington: In a major breakthrough, the Taliban on Tuesday announced the opening of its office in Doha, which would hold peace talks with the Afghan government and separate direct parleys with US that could boost Afghan reconciliation process after 12 years of war. The Obama Administration, however, adopted a cautious approach, given its bitter past experience and well aware of the tough negotiations and the "long road" that lies ahead,...
08:30 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Kabul: Seven Taliban insurgents including suicide bombers attacked the main airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, early on Monday, with explosions and gunfire heard near an area that also houses major foreign military bases. The attackers took up positions inside a partially constructed building next to the international airport, interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said, and fought Afghan security forces for about four hours before the raid ended. The Taliban...
11:59 AM, Jun 10, 2013
Kabul: Explosions were heard by Reuters witnesses and there were reports of gunfire near Afghanistan's main international airport in the capital, Kabul, early on Monday, and a police spokesman said insurgents had launched an attack. The attack on the airport, which is also home to a large NATO-led military base, began shortly before 5 am (0030 GMT), Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said. Explosions could still be heard several minutes...
07:32 AM, Jun 10, 2013
Los Angeles: A US Army sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in cold blood in 2012 pleaded guilty on Wednesday to premeditated murder and other charges under a deal with military prosecutors to avoid the death penalty. Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is accused of roaming off his Army post in the Afghan province of Kandahar last March and...
01:46 AM, Jun 06, 2013
Kabul: Afghan Police say a suicide bomber has killed nine school students and a policeman outside a market in the country's east. They say the attacker was targeting a passing US military patrol but it was unclear if there were any American casualties. General Zelmia Oryakhail, provincial police chief of Paktia province, said the bomber was on a motorbike and detonated his explosives at midday on Monday outside the market...
02:02 PM, Jun 03, 2013
Geneva: The United Nations torture watchdog called on Britain on Friday to widen and speed up investigations into allegations that British forces tortured detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan and prosecute those responsible. British inquiries into alleged abuses by its forces in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003 have been slow and there have been no prosecutions for torture or complicity in abuse, although there have been courts martial, the...
07:41 AM, Jun 01, 2013
Seattle: The Army staff sergeant charged with slaughtering 16 villagers in one of the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan war will plead guilty to avoid the death penalty in a deal that requires him to recount the horrific attack for the first time, his attorney told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Staff sergeant Robert Bales was "crazed" and "broken" when he slipped away from his remote southern Afghanistan outpost and...
05:03 AM, May 30, 2013
Jalalabad: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad came under attack on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Geneva-based organisation said. A large explosion was heard near the ICRC office in Nangarhar province and heavy gunfire was ongoing, a witness said. Black smoke billowed out of the building after the blast at 5:30 pm. (1300 GMT). No further details were immediately available....
10:59 PM, May 29, 2013
Arlington: President Barack Obama payed tribute on Monday to fallen men and women of the US armed services during a Memorial Day ceremony in which he reminded Americans that the country was still at war. During a solemn visit to Arlington National Ceremony, the resting ground for many military casualties, Obama noted in remarks to visitors that next year would mark the last Memorial Day of the US war in...
07:01 AM, May 28, 2013
Kabul: Several large explosions rocked a busy area in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Friday with Reuters witnesses describing shooting in the area. There were at least four blasts interspersed by heavy shooting, a Reuters witness said. The first blast was a suicide car bomb and occurred at about 4 pm (1130 GMT) near an intersection in the district of Borj-e Sharahah, said Hashmatullah Stanikzai, a spokesman...
05:56 PM, May 24, 2013
New Delhi: In the backdrop of NATO troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is keen to enhance defence cooperation with India and get supply of 'lethal and non-lethal' weapons. Karzai held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday night and gave him a wishlist for military supplies. Karzai's other problem is Pakistan which has influence over elements of the Afghan Taliba, that is where Delhi's...
02:10 PM, May 22, 2013
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit strategically very important for India, says CNN-IBN's Foriegn Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar. ...
01:43 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: India is prepared to increase bilateral contribution to Afghanistan's institution-building, training and equipment to the extent possible and would stand by that country during its critical period of transition, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday. During a meeting with visiting Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, Mukherjee said India is proud to partner the government and people of Afghanistan in their efforts towards reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. The President...
08:50 PM, May 21, 2013
New Delhi: Afghan President Hamid Karzai held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday night discussing the situation in the region in the backdrop of Afghanistan's keenness to enhance defence cooperation with India and get supply of "lethal and non-lethal" weapons. Karzai, who arrived in Chandigarh on Monday to receive a a 'Doctorate Honoris Causa' by a private university, held talks on various key bilateral and regional issues with...
08:34 PM, May 21, 2013
Washington: The US on Monday welcomed India's generous bilateral assistance to Afghanistan but remained non-committal on reports about Kabul seeking supply of military equipment from New Delhi. "We welcome efforts by Afghanistan's neighbours and other regional actors to promote Afghanistan's stability and economic development," State Department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell told reporters. He was responding to questions on the India visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai during which according to media...
09:56 AM, May 21, 2013
New Delhi: Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, who arrived in country on Monday on a three-day visit, is set to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later on Tuesday. Karzai is expected to seek increased military aid for his country. Karzai on Monday was conferred an honorary degree at a professional university in Phagwara in Chandigarh. "We will ask for assistance for the strengthening of our security forces," Karzai's spokesman had said...
07:15 AM, May 21, 2013
New Delhi: Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai arrived in the country on Monday on a three-day visit during which he will seek increased military aid from India and discuss recent cross-border clashes with Pakistan. "We will ask for assistance for the strengthening of our security forces," Karzai's spokesman had said in a briefing on Saturday in Kabul ahead of the trip. Karzai, who arrived in Punjab on the first leg of...
10:49 PM, May 20, 2013
New Delhi: Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai will arrive in India on Monday. Karzai is set to receive an honorary doctorate from a Chandigarh university, after which he will visit the national capital. Hamid Karzai, who is not on an official visit to India, may seek increased military aid from India during and discuss recent cross-border clashes with Pakistan, an aide said. The comments follow a weekend report by the Times...
09:59 AM, May 20, 2013
Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek increased military aid from India during a three-day visit starting Monday and will discuss recent cross-border clashes with Pakistan, an aide said. The comments follow a weekend report by the Times of India that said Afghanistan's ambassador to India had said the country needs India's help with "equipment and weapons to fight." The Press Trust of India later quoted a spokesman for India's...
07:35 PM, May 19, 2013
