20-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies ISTANBUL/ WASHINGTON/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is travelling to New York City, knowing he has been dealt a promising hand for improving ties with the US thanks to developments in Afghanistan. At the start of the year, then …

18-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ UNITED NATIONS: General Frank McKenzie, the head of the US Central Command, acknowledged that a US drone raid in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, late in August killed 10 civilians, including children. McKenzie said on Friday that it was “unlikely” that …

17-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ KABUL: Interior Minister (IM) Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Thursday said that the Taliban should be given time to form a government in Afghanistan and run the country effectively. The minister expressed these views in a meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner …

16-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies NEW YORK/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national security adviser has called on the world to “engage” with the Taliban’s caretaker government in Afghanistan or risk a return to the instability that characterized the group’s last era in power three decades ago. In …

15-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies BRUSSELS/ WASHINGTON/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: The US has made it clear to Pakistan that it does not want Islamabad to recognise the Taliban government until it doesn’t give women their due rights and allows Afghans who want to leave the country, to …

14-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies GENEVA/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: The Taliban are breaking their promises on women’s rights and inclusivity in Afghanistan, the UN rights chief said on Monday, as she also criticised violence against protesters and alleged reprisal killings. Michelle Bachelet said there were “credible allegations” …

13-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ISLAMABAD: Women in Afghanistan can continue to study in universities, including at the postgraduate level, but classrooms will be gender-segregated and head coverings will be compulsory. Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani laid out the new policies at a news conference …

12-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ WASHINGTON/ SHANKSVILLE: The Taliban, who recently announced an interim government after taking control of Afghanistan, have cancelled the inauguration ceremony, according to a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission. “The new Afghan government’s inauguration ceremony had been cancelled a …

11-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ WASHINGTON: The UN has condemned the Taliban for what its “increasingly violent response” to dissent, weeks after the group’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan. Taliban fighters killed four people during recent protests, the UN said. Demonstrations have taken place across …

10-09-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ WASHINGTON: Journalists in Afghanistan say that they have been beaten, detained and flogged by the Taliban when attempting to cover protests. Photos circulating online, show two journalists from Etilaatroz newspaper with welts and bruises after their arrest in the …