US President Joe Biden said on Monday he stood “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan despite searing images of chaos in Kabul that exposed the limits of US power and plunged him into the worst crisis of his presidency. Breaking his silence on the US pullout after scenes of bedlam dominated television news channels for days, ...

WASHINGTON: The Kabul Process scheduled for February 28 will serve as a platform for the international community to support Afghan efforts to achieve security, peace and reconciliation, and economic development, the US said. “We look forward to that process because we see it as a way to reiterate the US commitment toward the Kabul process to bring together so many of our ...

WASHINGTON: In his annual budget proposals, US President Donald Trump on Monday sought $5 billion for Afghan security forces and $630 million in civilian assistance to the war-torn country. The budget seeks to further the US goal of a stable South Asia by supporting the Afghan government and security forces in their fight against Taliban and jihadist organisations such as al Qaeda ...

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump Tuesday said American troops had new rules of engagement for chasing down terrorists in Afghanistan. “Along with their heroic Afghan partners, our military is no longer undermined by artificial timelines, and we no longer tell our enemies our plans,” Trump said in his first State of the Union address. He asked the Congress to ensure that, ...

US President Donald Trump on Monday ruled out quick talks with the Taliban, following a wave of bloody large-scale attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul. “I don’t think we are prepared to talk right now,” Trump said, throwing into question Washington’s strategy of pushing the group toward the negotiating table. “We don’t want to talk with the Taliban,” Trump said. “They are ...

STATE Department spokesperson Heather Nauert says suspension will remain in effect until Pakistan ‘takes decisive action’ against groups such as Taliban that are ‘destabilising the region and targeting US personnel’. WASHINGTON: The Trump administration announced on Thursday it is suspending its entire security assistance to Pakistan until it proves its commitment to fight all terrorist groups operating in the region. ...

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration on Tuesday accused Pakistan of playing a “double game” with the US for years, a behaviour that was no longer acceptable. “The administration is withholding USD255 million in assistance to Pakistan. There are clear reasons for this. Pakistan has played a double game for years,” US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley told reporters in New York. “They (Pakistanis) ...

Ahead of the US Defense Secretary James Mattis visit to Pakistan, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Mike Pompeo has warned that Washington will launch direct action, if Pakistan fails in shunning terror safe havens in its soil. While televising a new US strategy on Afghanistan and South Asia in August, President Donald Trump had asked Pakistan to shun terror ...

Washington has said the Taliban group and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network still retain the ability to operate from Pakistan. Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs and Acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Alice G. Wells told reporters on Friday that “We believe that the Taliban leadership and the Haqqani Network still retain an ability to ...

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has informed Congress that it too believes the China-Pakistan Econo­mic Corridor (CPEC) passes through a disputed territory — originally an India claim aimed at thwarting the development plan. The $56 billion CPEC passes through Pakis­t­an’s northern areas, which India claims is part of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir territory. “The One Belt, One Road also goes ...