5,500 troops beyond 2016 in Afghanistan enough to curtail insurgency: Carter  AT-KABUL: The US President Barack Obama has decided to keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through 2016 and 5,500 troops beyond to train and help the Afghan security forces. Responding to the increasing insurgency in Afghanistan, Obama said on Thursday …

AT-KABUL: After threatening the two well-known local news channels, the Taliban insurgents have included almost 99 percent of the Afghan media outlets in their hit-list. The militant group’s so-called military commission has recently included all those print and electronic media organizations that have highlighted and condemned brutality of the Taliban …

AT-KABUL: The Taliban militants have stolen four vehicles on Kabul-Kandahar highway in Maidan Wardak province, said an official source. A press statement issued by the provincial governor office said that after stopping a number of vehicles on Kabul-Kandahar highway, the Taliban insurgents stole three 303 buses and a corolla car. …

Abu Dhabi: Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan, praised the UAE as a model of an inclusive society and a source of inspiration for its guiding principles of tolerance and innovation. Karzai told Gulf News late on Monday that he was appreciative of the role played by the UAE in …

“It seems that some quarters [in Pakistan] have re-adopted their previous policies regarding Afghanistan. Peace in Afghanistan is inevitable for peace and prosperity in Pakistan. Afghanistan had changed and that the time had gone when the Taliban or any other force was imposed on Afghan people,” says Asfandyar Wali Khan. …

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will keep 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017, according to senior administration officials, casting aside his promise to end the war on his watch and instead ensuring he hands the conflict off to his successor. Obama had originally planned to …

Mullah Omar’s death reports implicated the peace negotiations. Now almost all of those who had been part of negotiations agree that stalled peace talks are making it more troublesome to figure out a peaceful solution to the Afghan conundrum. When the government looks floundered and the Taliban are hell-bent on …

AT-KABUL: Three civilians on Thursday were injured in a magnet-bomb blast in third jurisdiction of Kabul city, said police. Spokesman to Kabul police, Baseer Mujahid, told Afghanistan Times that the blast took place on Thursday morning in third jurisdiction of the capital city. The injured men were civilians and had …

“Though challenges are there, yet we are still hopeful that Pakistan will play its proactive role in peace mediation, say Afghan embassy officials in Islamabad” AT-KABUL: Afghan media delegation visited Pakistan this week. The media exchange program, organized by Equal Access Afghanistan and Equal Access Pakistan, turned out to be …

AT-KABUL: At least 217 Taliban militants have been killed in military offensives conducted by Afghan security forces in different parts of the country over the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) in a statement issued on Wednesday said that security forces conducted military operations against the Taliban insurgents …