US president to discuss troop withdrawal with his Afghan counterpart amid a surge in fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban across the country.
Jun 21 - ...The Taliban said the visit would be “useless”.
“They (Ghani and Abdullah) will talk with the US officials for preservation of their power and personal interest,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. “It won’t benefit Afghanistan.”
There was no immediate reaction from Ghani’s office but a senior Afghan official said the Afghan president would be seeking assurances from the US over its continued support for Afghan security forces in the aftermath of the withdrawal.
The visit would also come in the face of slow progress in talks between the Taliban and Afghan government representatives in Qatar.
Officials have raised concerns over the stalling negotiations and have said the Taliban has not yet submitted a written peace proposal that could be used as a starting point for substantive talks... quoted from
During his tenure, Ghani has strengthened ties with Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, with which it has made deals to increase mutual trading.[25][26] New trade routes have also been launched within the wider region. The Chabahar Port in Iran allows increased trading with India whilst avoiding Pakistani territory.[27] A railway line from Khaf in Iran to Herat in Afghanistan is set to be opened in late 2018.[28][29] In 2017, a railway line from Turkmenistan was extended to Aqina in Afghanistan, the precursor of the "Lapis Lazuli" transport corridor that was signed by Ghani that same year and would link Afghanistan to the Caucasus and the Black Sea.[30] Other regional projects include the CASA-1000 hydroelectricity transmission from Central Asia, and the TAPI gas pipeline, expected to be completed by 2018 and 2019 respectively.[31] In January 2018 at the inauguration of the Khan Steel iron smelting plant in Kabul, Ghani said that he is aiming for Afghanistan to become a steel exporter. source from
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has replaced two top ministers charged with managing the country's faltering security
Jun. 21 - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has sacked his defense and interior ministers. On Saturday, the Taliban seized at least six more districts across Afghanistan.
Jun. 21 - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has opted to replace his defense and interior ministers Saturday amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation across Afghanistan. With foreign forces withdrawing and the Taliban's reach expanding,the deteriorating situation has forced the president to act.
Who are the incoming defense and interior ministers in Afghanistan?Ghani has named General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi as his new defense minister. He will replace Asadullah Khalid, who has served in the role since 2018 but previously suffered severe injuries in a 2012 suicide bombing, forcing repeated treatments abroad.
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi previously fought under the late Ahmad Shah Massoud during the country's civil war in the 1990s. Massoud was murdered by the Taliban just two days before the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the US.
President Ghani also named General Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal, who previously held several regional posts, as the country's new interior minister.
Cabinet changes must be approved by parliament so both men will serve in an acting role until then... more
President Biden looks forward to welcoming Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, to the White House on June 25, 2021. The visit by President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah will highlight the enduring partnership between the United States and Afghanistan as the military drawdown continues. The United States is committed to supporting the Afghan people by providing diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian assistance to support the Afghan people, including Afghan women, girls and minorities. The United States will remain deeply engaged with the Government of Afghanistan to ensure the country never again becomes a safe haven for terrorist groups who pose a threat to the U.S. homeland. The United States continues to fully support the ongoing peace process and encourages all Afghan parties to participate meaningfully in negotiations to bring an end to the conflict. source from
Bangi and Khwaja Ghar districts in the northern Takhar province were retaken from the Taliban in an operation by government and public uprising forces on Monday morning, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Jun. 21 - The operation was launched on Sunday night with Air Force support and “the districts were cleared of Taliban this morning,” the ministry said. “The Taliban escaped from the district after suffering heavy casualties,” the Defense Ministry said.
The statement also mentioned that Abdal and Qara Parcho villages on the outskirts of the Taluqan city, capital of the province, were also cleared of the Taliban.
Taliban has not yet commented on the operation.
The situation has been fragile in the northeastern province of Takhar over the last two weeks. Eight districts of the province, including Chal, Baharak, Ishkamish, Namak Ab, Yangi Qala, Khwaja Ghar and Hazar Samooch, have either fallen to the Taliban or have been evacuated by security forces within a week's time.
Jun. 20 - Afghanistan's former president has said the United States came to his country to fight extremism and bring stability to his war-tortured nation and is leaving nearly 20 years later having failed at both.
In an interview with The Associated Press just weeks before the last US and Nato troops leave Afghanistan, ending their "forever war", Hamid Karzai said extremism is at its "highest point" and the departing troops are leaving behind a disaster.
"The international community came here 20 years ago with this clear objective of fighting extremism and bringing stability ... but extremism is at the highest point today. So they have failed," he said. Their legacy is a war-ravaged nation in "total disgrace and disaster".
"We recognise as Afghans all our failures, but what about the bigger forces and powers who came here for exactly that purpose? Where are they leaving us now?" he asked and answered: "In total disgrace and disaster"... more
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai gives an interview to the Associated Press at his house, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
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