Afghanistan Times

KABUL: The Lapis Lazuli Corridor is serving as an outstanding alternative to Pakistan’s Karachi transit route, helping connecting Afghanistan to Europe, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said on Sunday. As the first cargo of Afghan merchandise just reached Turkey en route to Europe, the government will be talking to …

KABUL: No candidate has ever registered to presidential elections so far, the Independent Election Commission said on Sunday, as the time window is winding up for the registration of presidential candidates with three days remaining to deadline. The candidate registration process, according to the presidential election schedule, began on December …

KABUL: Peace is government’s priority, but under no circumstance can freedom of speech be sacrificed in the ongoing peace process, the Second Vice President Sarwar Danish said on Sunday. “If free speech becomes subdued, a dictatorship-like situation will arise, thereby isolating peace efforts,” he said. At a ceremony marking the …

KABUL: Four senior commanders of the militant Taliban group have reportedly been killed in an airstrike in western Herat province, authorities said. The interior ministry said in a statement that four senior commanders of Taliban militants were killed after Afghan Air Forces targeted militants’ hideouts in Ghash and Chamghagh villages, …

KABUL: In clashes between commanders of Hezb-e-Islami and Jamiat Islami parties in the northeastern province of Takhar, six people were killed, witnesses said. The incident took place Sunday in the Chah Aab district between fighters loyal to commander Bashir Qanet from Hezb-e-Islami and commander Maulavi Mahfooz of Jamiat party. Witnesses …

AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: The Taliban have rejected Kabul’s offer of talks next month in Saudi Arabia where the militants, fighting to restore strict Islamic law in Afghanistan, will meet U.S. officials to further peace efforts, a Taliban leader said on Sunday. Representatives from the Taliban, the United States and regional …

AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday arrived in Qatar following his 4-nation visits, where he would discuss Afghan reconciliation process and other regional issues. During his one-day official visit, Qureshi will hold meeting with Qatari leaders, Pakistani media reported. The officials are expected to exchange …

Peace talks are gaining momentum as the Taliban group showed willingness to hold talks with the US officials in Saudi Arabia in January next year to restore talks that remained incomplete in Abu Dhabi. However, the obscurity is that they dismissed Afghanistan’s peace talk’s offer. Once again the Taliban insurgents …

The Ground-breaking Ceremony for the KOICA Drinking Water Supply Systems Improvement Project was held at the project site in Barchi area of Kabul City recently. Rooshan Wulsmal Deputy Minister of Urban Development Affairs, Ministry of Urban Development and Land, Rhee Zha-Hyoung, Ambassador of the Embassy of Republic of Korea in Afghanistan, …

Speaking for the first time since missing their flight home in October, six Afghan men who live with disabilities after being wounded in the war say they are owed protection in Australia. After his father’s death, Aminullah Arsalan joined the Afghan National Army at 18 so he could put food …