KABUL (Pajhwok): Civil society activists on Sunday slammed the High Peace Council (HPC) for giving them no representation on the panel, saying its work would not be fruitful in the absence of social workers.
Azizullah Rafiee, the Afghanistan Civil Society Association head, accused the government of sidelining civil society organisations and being indifferent toward them.
KABUL (Pajhwok): Discussions in the media on the fate of the five Taliban leaders, who were freed from the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention facility a year ago in exchange for US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, have intensified.
Bergdahl was released after nearly five years of captivity in eastern Afghanistan, paving the way for the transfer of Khairullah Said Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazil Mazloom, Mullah Noorullah Noori, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammad Nabi Omari to Qatar on May 31.
KABUL (Pajhwok): Discussions in the media on the fate of the five Taliban leaders, who were freed from the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention facility a year ago in exchange for US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, have intensified.
Bergdahl was released after nearly five years of captivity in eastern Afghanistan, paving the way for the transfer of Khairullah Said Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazil Mazloom, Mullah Noorullah Noori, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammad Nabi Omari to Qatar on May 31.
KABUL (Pajhwok): The continued international military presence, foreign meddling, proxy wars, the absence of an impartial peace body, lack of an effective strategy, widespread corruption, unemployment and drugs are seen as major impediments to the reconciliation drive in Afghanistan.
KABUL (Pajhwok): Some political analysts on Tuesday doubted Pakistan’s ability to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, calling expectations from Islamabad about the peace process as illusion.
Since the unity government’s formation in late September, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has repeatedly insisted that bringing peace is his top priority. Pakistan has promised to help Afghanistan advance the peace process, but no practical steps have been taken so far.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, American and Afghan leaders repeated the same mistake at the Bonn Conference as Mujahidin had committed after the withdrawal of Soviet occupation forces.
Two groups -- Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan fighters who resorted to an armed insurgency after the invasion of Afghanistan by US and allied forces -- were not invited to the Bonn Conference. They were also denied a share in the government.
KABUL (Pajhwok): As two days of “reconciliation talks” began in Qatar on Saturday, some Afghan political analysts said it was an opportunity for the warring parties to reveal their respective stance on peace in Afghanistan.
The Gulf nation's state news agency reported Saturday that Afghan and Taliban officials would hold two days of "reconciliation" talks in Qatar.
QNA did not identify the officials taking part in the talks, which it said began Saturday, citing Foreign Ministry official Yousif Al Sada.
KABUL (Pajhwok): Even though we hadn’t seen each other in years, the Taliban official remembered me when I called. I’d heard he was living in the Gulf emirate of Qatar, and I was planning to travel there soon. Good, he said, let’s meet for lunch or dinner.
As I flew to Doha recently, I looked forward to seeing him. But by the time I landed in this futuristic city beside the sea, he wasn’t so welcoming. He arrived at my hotel room looking tense and uncomfortable. “Don’t use my name,” he said immediately. “Don’t tell anyone you’ve seen me. No photos. No camera. No nothing.”
KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghan government is pessimistic about Pakistan’s lukewarm approach to restart a stalled peace process with the Taliban, sources said.
President Ashraf Ghani visited Pakistan soon after he sworn-in as president of the country, which led to normalization of bilateral relations.
His visit to Islamabad led to series of contacts between Kabul-Islamabad. Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) visited Kabul four times since then.