Latest Updates

India says it conducted “surgical strikes” along de facto border, but Pakistan calls incident “cross-border fire”. India’s military says it has conducted “surgical strikes” on suspected rebels in Pakistan it suspects of preparing to infiltrate into the part of Kashmir it controls, a claim denounced by the Pakistani army as …

By Mansoor Faizy-KABUL: After India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, Afghanistan also come up to the fore and boycotted the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit to be hosted by Pakistan in November. The Presidential Palace Spokesman, Haroon Chakhansuri, confirmed to Afghanistan Times that no Afghan official would attend …

“Afghan government shall accept 80,000 deported asylum seekers or lose aid,” secret EU memo reveals AT-KABUL:  The European Union’s memo regarding Afghanistan has been leaked ahead of the Brussels summit making the aid to Afghanistan conditional on acceptance of at least 80,000 deported asylum seekers. Based on the leaked restricted …

As the Afghan authorities have geared up for two-day summit in Brussels to secure the targeted aid of $4 billion, the European Union is secretly planning to make the aid conditional. As per a leaked restricted memo, the EU will ask Afghanistan to accept 80,000 deported asylum seekers in return …

AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: Fifty-two inmates including women were released following a presidential decree in the western Herat province, an official said on Wednesday. Gen. Abdullah Aziz, in charge of the prison, told Pajhwok Afghan News the release orders were issued International Women’s Day, Eid festival and the advent of Ramadan. …

AT-KABUL: The Taliban insurgents are recruiting children as soldiers to fight for the group in the north-western province of Ghor, local officials said Wednesday. The provincial human rights chief Zabiulalh Jawad has told the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the organization had credible evidences and documents to prove that Taliban …

AT-KABUL: Extra police forces are needed to be deployed along the Kandahar-Uruzgan highway, a senior police officer has said, in a reference to the recent Taliban attacks that deteriorated the situation in Uruzgan province and the road linking the province to the adjacent Kandahar. A military operation was launched by …

By Farhad Naibkhel-KABUL: The Alokozay Group of Companies, a private enterprise announced Wednesday to build six factories in Kabul by laying down the foundation stones. The company’s newly-run project costs $350 million, and the factories would produce napkins, food-stuff and cans for beverages. “Political independency without economic independency will be …

AT-KABUL: Scores of civilians were allegedly killed in a US airstrike that had targeted the Daesh terrorists in the eastern Nangarhar province, local officials said. A US drone targeted the hideouts of the Daesh terrorists on Wednesday’s pre-dawn in the Achin district. “A number of civilians were killed beside the …

AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: Former Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul, Rustum Shah Mohmand, said that Islamabad wants to counter Indian influence in Afghanistan through Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. In an interview with the VOA, the ex-envoy said that it would be difficult for Pakistan to see its hopes turned into reality. Mohmand said the …