Afghanistan Times

AT News KABUL: 12 countries have expressed readiness to host the peace negotiations between the government of Afghanistan and Taliban insurgents, foreign ministry says. Hanif Atmar, acting foreign minister said Friday that 10 of the regional countries and two European states are keen to host the talks. Germany and Norway, …

Taliban reject change in prisoners’ list AT News KABUL: Afghan government rejected to release 600 Taliban prisoners, who are charged with big crimes including rape charges, asking Taliban to give another 600 prisoners name instead to go for intra-Afghan talks in earliest. But the Taliban has rejected change in their …

AT Monitoring Desk KABUL: A new migration system put in place through a bilateral agreement will enable more Afghan expatriates to become part of the UAE workforce, a top envoy said. Ahmad Sayer Daudzai, Charge d’Affaires, Afghanistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi, said that soon, workers from Afghanistan will have a …

AT Monitoring Desk KABUL: Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi in a meeting with top Afghan official assured his country’s support for peace talks in Afghanistan. He assured this in a meeting with Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of High Council for National Reconciliation in Kabul. The Iranian official emphasized regional …

There seems no willingness and compromise shown by the warring sides to resolve the major stumbling block in the Afghan peace process, which is the issue of prisoner release. The Afghan government has reportedly freed over 4000 Taliban prisoners so far and the remaining 600 are said to be not …

AT News KABUL: China has applauded resumption of trade relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan after both the countries overcame impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Hua Chunying at regular media briefing in Beijing said that China wants to see better relations between the two sides and economic growth …

AT News KABUL: The National Security Council has announced that 50 other Taliban prisoners were released, pushing the numbers to over 4,000. Intizar Khadim, an official at the council said the newly released inmates were among the 600 prisoners, whom the government didn’t intend to free due to their high …

AT News KABUL: Off 572 suspected patients, the ministry of public health said that 159 of them were tested positive for covid-19 within the past 24 hours. The ministry in a statement said on Friday that the total tally of the coronavirus patients in the country surpasses 35,229. At least …

AT Monitoring Desk KABUL: 10 more Georgian soldiers serving in Afghanistan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the country’s Ministry of Defense reported. Reportedly, the 10 soldiers who are participating in the NATO Resolute Support Mission on a rotational basis in Afghanistan tested positive for the virus together with 28 other servicemen.  They were transported …

By Neela Hassan As COVID-19 forces closure of schools all around the world, UNESCO and Plan International warn that girls in developing countries will be hit the worst as the pandemic will increase school dropout among girls, which will entrench the education gap in many countries. School closures in Afghanistan, ranking among …