KABUL: US Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, and NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg renewed their commitment to Afghanistan during their visit to Kabul on Wednesday. During joint press conference with President Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace, Mattis and Stoltenberg pledged the support of US and NATO allies to the ongoing conflict in the country. They expressed determination to stop ...

KABUL: An Afghan film “A letter to the President” depicting the life of a woman has been nominated for the Oscar Award. The Roya Film House President Roya Sadat said “We are happy to announce that “A Letter to the President” has been nominated as representative movie from Afghanistan to Oscar Academy Awards by country – Afghanistan selection committee.” She said the film had its first ...

The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg said the Taliban group cannot win on the battlefield. Speaking during a press conference with US Defense Secretary James Mattis and President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the Secretary General said there is much the group can gain around the negotiating table. Stoltenberg further added that the alliance does not ...

US: President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani says the Taliban group has two options as the country is going through a decisive moment. Speaking during a press conference with the US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, President Ghani said the Taliban group has an option to serve for the outsiders and join the international terrorism or ...

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s new Afghan policy is based on the assumption that Pakistan cannot be a terrorist safe haven for and as such it is important for the plan to succeed, a top American general said on Tuesday. “There’s a key assumption in our — in the president’s South Asia strategy, that Pakistan cannot continue to be a sanctuary for Haqqanis, Taliban and ...

KABUL: New Delhi on Tuesday said it would not deploy troops to Afghanistan, pledging to ramp up development cooperation with the conflict-devastated country. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, addressing a joint news briefing with his US counterpart James Mattis in New Delhi, made clear there would not be any Indian boots on the ground in Afghanistan. Following talks with the visiting defence ...

NEW YORK: The US President Donald Trump has stepped up efforts and pressures on President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani for the closure of the Taliban office in Qatar, a move which is apparently aimed at increasing pressures on the group as part of the new US strategy to combat terrorism and eliminate their sanctuaries from the region. Sources privy of the ...

Afghanistan today didn’t mince words in declaring at the UN that terror in Afghanistan is the “product of (a) long-standing policy” of Pakistan. Afghanistan also said that that terror’s “roots are located in terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens outside” its borders. With its unequivocal declarations, Afghanistan today joined US President Donald Trump, the BRICS countries, Japan and India in naming ...

WASHINGTON: President Ashraf Ghani has warned Pakistan of having to pay “a heavy price’ if the country did not avail his offer of a comprehensive dialogue. “What I’m offering the Pakistan government, the Pakistan security apparatus, is the invitation to a comprehensive dialogue,” Ghani told CNN in an interview.  Afghans, he said, are determined to fight. “No one should underestimate our wish ...

KABUL: The former Afghan President Hamid Karzai reaffirmed his opposition to the new US strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia as he expressed doubts regarding the latest stance Washington has adopted against Pakistan. Speaking to Foreign Policy in his office in Kabul, Karzai said the new US strategy has not been announced with an aim to end the ongoing conflict ...