Connect with us

Latest News

US and Taliban discuss pause in airstrikes to spur peace talks

Published

on

American and Taliban negotiators are discussing a pause in U.S. airstrikes and drone flights in Afghanistan in order to revive stalled peace talks, Stars and Stripes reported Wednesday.

According to Stripes, a temporary bombing halt is one of several ideas Biden administration officials are discussing if Taliban militants agree to sharply reduce attacks and assassinations ahead of high-level peace talks planned for early next month in Istanbul.

But the idea remains a concept on paper only, dependent on steps by the Taliban to reduce violence first, several U.S. officials told Stripes.

A halt to U.S. air operations worries the Afghan government and its military, which still relies on U.S. airstrikes and aerial surveillance video from drones to help hold back the Taliban.

The move has also caused alarm among some in the Pentagon who are skeptical that concessions to the Taliban will make the militants more likely to make peace with the Afghan government, Stripes reported.

This comes ahead of the May 1 troop withdrawal deadline in accordance with the US-Taliban deal signed in February last year by former President Donald Trump’s administration.

However, the deal has been under review for the past few weeks but no decision has yet been made.

In an interview with NBC earlier this month, President Joe Biden signaled that a withdrawal by May 1 would be “tough” for U.S. troops.

He added, though, that if the deadline for the U.S. exit was extended, it would not be by “a lot longer.”

Stripes report that among the options being considered, one approach is for a 48-hour halt in U.S. military air operations after the Taliban reduces attacks, a sequencing meant to demonstrate to the group’s leadership that the U.S. is open to military concessions if Taliban fighters reduce their attacks, according to officials involved in the deliberations.

If that initial reduction in violence holds, the bombing pause could be extended.

Stripes also reported that better security across Afghanistan, in turn, is seen by U.S. officials as a prerequisite to getting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to pursue serious talks with the Taliban on a lasting cease-fire and on forming a transitional government.

Latest News

India sends over 63,000 vaccine doses to boost Afghanistan’s public health system

New Delhi has reiterated that it remains committed to supporting the Afghan people through sustained humanitarian and medical assistance.

Published

on

India has reinforced its support for Afghanistan’s public health sector with the delivery of a new batch of essential vaccines to Kabul.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi has supplied 63,734 doses of influenza and meningitis vaccines to Afghan health authorities as part of its ongoing humanitarian assistance program.

Afghan health officials noted that the vaccines will be integrated into national preventive healthcare efforts and will help curb seasonal illnesses while reducing the risk of meningitis outbreaks, especially during periods of heightened vulnerability.

They said the shipment arrives at a time when Afghanistan’s medical resources remain under significant strain.

India has served as a key health partner to Afghanistan in recent years, providing medical supplies, essential medicines, and several rounds of vaccines to help strengthen the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

New Delhi has reiterated that it remains committed to supporting the Afghan people through sustained humanitarian and medical assistance.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Deputy interior minister for counter-narcotics travels to Uzbekistan

Published

on

Abdul Rahman Munir, the Deputy Minister for Counter-Narcotics at the Ministry of Interior, traveled to Uzbekistan this afternoon along with his accompanying delegation.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, the purpose of the trip is to participate in a meeting of member countries of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for Combating Drugs (CARICC).

The statement added that the meeting will be held on December 5 of this year in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Imran Khan accuses Army Chief of ‘igniting’ Pakistan–Afghanistan tensions

In his post, written in Urdu, Khan said: “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. Because of his policies, terrorism has spiralled out of control, which grieves me deeply.”

Published

on

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has accused Army Chief Asim Munir of deliberately “igniting tensions” with Afghanistan, calling his policies “disastrous” for Pakistan.

The 73-year-old former cricketer, who has been imprisoned since 2023, issued the remarks through his official account on the social media platform X. His statement was shared a day after his sister, Uzma Khan, met him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail following “special permission” granted by the government led by Shehbaz Sharif.

In his post, written in Urdu, Khan said: “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. Because of his policies, terrorism has spiralled out of control, which grieves me deeply.”

He further alleged that the army chief’s actions were motivated by a desire to please Western governments, saying Munir had “deliberately ignited tensions with Afghanistan so he could be seen internationally as a so-called ‘mujahid’.”

The founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf added that he had long opposed “drone attacks and military operations against our own people,” arguing such tactics would only worsen militancy. Khan claimed Munir first “threatened Afghans,” then oversaw the expulsion of refugees and the launching of drone strikes, the consequences of which he said were now visible in rising violence.

Khan also launched a personal attack on the army chief, calling him “mentally unstable” and accusing him of presiding over the “collapse of the Constitution and rule of law in Pakistan.”

He alleged that, on Munir’s orders, he and his wife had been imprisoned on fabricated charges and subjected to “the worst form of psychological torture.”

Khan said he had been held in solitary confinement for four weeks, with no human contact and without basic entitlements provided under the jail manual. He added that despite court directions, access to political colleagues, lawyers and family members had been blocked.

Referring to an incident involving another sister, Noreen Niazi, he said she was “dragged on the road” while trying to meet him.

Khan praised Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi for choosing “resistance over compromise” and urged him to “continue to play on the front foot.” He added that those threatening to impose governor’s rule in the province should “do it today rather than tomorrow and then watch what happens.”

An undeclared ban on meetings with Khan had fuelled speculation about his health. After visiting him, Uzma Khan said he was “perfectly fine” physically but was being subjected to “mental torture” in solitary confinement.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025 Ariana News. All rights reserved!