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High Council claims all obstacles in way of peace talks ‘have been removed’
Faraidoon Khawzon, a spokesman for the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), said on Wednesday that as soon as the prisoner release process has been completed a team will travel to Doha, Qatar, to start intra-Afghan negotiations.
According to Khawzon: “All obstacles ahead of the intra-Afghan talks have been removed. The prisoner swap process will be completed soon. After the completion of the process, the talks will start.”
Other HCNR officials meanwhile said that if the remaining 120 prisoners are released on Wednesday a negotiating team could leave for Doha on Thursday.
This latest development comes a day after the Afghan government released 200 of the 320 hardcore Taliban prisoners, which has been a stumbling block in the way of peace talks.
In addition, President Ashraf Ghani met with the peace talks team in Kabul on Wednesday morning.
HCNR Chairman Abdullah Abdullah, and Head of Negotiating Team Masoom Stanekzai were also in attendance.
Ghani told the team: “I am pleased that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has reached this critical stage of peace as a result of its continuous efforts and you, as a united and cohesive team, on behalf of the people and government of Afghanistan, are beginning peace talks with the Taliban.”
Ghani assured them that they had the full support of government and the people of Afghanistan and said the team’s “strength in diversity, unity and coordination,” was testimony to the strength of the country’s democracy and diversity.
“Our national charter, which is the constitution, sets the boundaries for all of us,” he added.
“Our ulema, women and youth each have their own national and political weight in the composition of the peace negotiating team and they will represent each and every section of our society well, because it is an absolute civic and national team,” he said.
Ghani also thanked Abdullah for having successfully led the recent Peace Consultative Loya Jirga.
“In the presence of national, regional and international consensus, our goal is a prosperous, free, united, independent and peaceful Afghanistan,” he said.
“The main goal of our delegation is to end the violence, because the people want lasting peace and the preservation of the values of the new society,” he added.
Ghani stressed that government had fulfilled all its commitments in the peace process that the international community had hoped for and that the release of Taliban prisoners was a clear demonstration of the government’s commitment to peace.
Abdullah meanwhile said: “You have the strong support of the Government and people of Afghanistan and will continue to work for national sovereignty, national values and national interests during the negotiations.”
He also pointed out that the team’s composition represented the diversity of the people of Afghanistan.
Abdullah said the Afghan government has shown its commitment to the peace process, because the release of Taliban prisoners had not been an easy decision to make.
“You have a difficult task and we are all united to achieve a dignified and lasting peace,” he told the negotiating team.
However, he made it clear that government is strongly committed to peace and that the Taliban must also show its commitment in this regard.
In conclusion, Ghani said the people of Afghanistan hoped an agreement would bring a reduction in violence and a permanent ceasefire so that lasting and dignified peace can be achieved as soon as possible.
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Tajik foreign minister urges international community to help Afghanistan address its challenges
Tajikistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sirodjiddin Mukhriddin, has called on the international community to step up assistance for Afghanistan as the country continues to face challenges.
Speaking at a press conference, Mukhriddin said Tajikistan and Afghanistan maintain active coordination between their law enforcement agencies to prevent security incidents along their shared border. He noted that this cooperation remains essential, as the frequency of armed attacks and criminal activity in border regions has increased in recent months.
He said that Afghan authorities had assured Tajikistan they would take necessary measures to stop further incidents and would conduct thorough investigations into any violations.
Mukhriddin emphasized that Tajikistan supports constructive international engagement aimed at improving Afghanistan’s socio-economic conditions. He highlighted that Tajikistan has provided more than 6,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, including food and essential supplies delivered in 2025 to assist communities affected by devastating earthquakes.
The minister also pointed to growing economic cooperation between the two neighbors. Tajikistan has reopened border markets and continues to supply electricity to Afghanistan.
Tajikistan and Afghanistan share a border of more than 1,300 kilometers—over 1,100 km of which consists of waterways and about 190 km of land boundaries.
Meanwhile, Zafar Samad Director of the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, has said that last year, 17 incidents of clashes happened with drug smugglers along the border with Afghanistan. As a result, two Tajik forces and 10 Afghan nationals have been killed, he added.
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Baradar: Afghanistan is not an easy target, but a ‘bitter tree’
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, warned during a graduation ceremony for soldiers of the Ministry of National Defense that the Islamic Emirate will respond decisively to anyone with ill intentions toward Afghanistan.
He said the country is “not an easy target, but a bitter tree that has made the throats of empires bitter and newborns can never digest.”
Baradar also announced that in the coming days, the Islamic Emirate will introduce tax exemptions of one to five years for domestic and foreign investors, based on the level of investment in new sectors. He also said that the process of distribution of land to manufacturers will be accelerated.
Baradar called on countries to engage in political and economic relations according to the values and principles of the Islamic Emirate, emphasizing that energy and resources spent on conflict would be better used to support one another and strengthen common interests.
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Fourteen former Afghan government forces killed in last three months of 2025: UNAMA
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in its latest report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, stated that 14 members of the former Afghan government forces were killed in the last three months of 2025.
The report noted that during this period, there were 28 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, and at least seven cases of torture and ill-treatment targeting officials and personnel of the former Afghan government.
According to the report, some of the officials and forces who had recently returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan were among those subjected to extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and detentions.
The report also highlighted restrictions on women’s work and movement, executions and flogging of individuals, and disruptions to internet and telecommunications services.
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