Category: Afghanistan
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Obama supports new Afghan government
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US President Barack Obama has pledged to support the new Afghan government emerging from disagreements over the result of a presidential run-off. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was declared president-elect by the Afghan Independent Election Commission Sunday, while his rival Abdullah Abdullah was named chief executive of a unity government they agreed upon earlier in the day,…
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Ghani Ahmadzai declared as Afghan president-elect
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Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) Sunday declared Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the new president, an official said. “Since we Afghans do not have computerised ID card, we do not have the statistics of eligible voters. We still have security problems, therefore it is difficult to have a fair election,” Xinhua quoted IEC chief Ahmad Yousuf…
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Afghanistan to get unity government
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Afghan presidential candidates Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Abdullah Abdullah Saturday agreed to sign a deal on creation of national unity government, ending a weeks-long political deadlock. “Dr. Abdullah and Dr. Ghani agreed on formation of the national unity government during a meeting held in Presidential Palace,” Xinhua reported citing Tolo TV. The Afghan presidential election…
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Karzai optimistic about Afghan poll result
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed optimism over the progress in talks between the presidential runners and promised the country would soon hear “good news” about the election result. “With the announcement of the outcome of the mid-June presidential runoff election, people’s suffering, pain and uncertainty would come to an end,” Pajhwok Afghan News quoted Karzai…
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Afghan poll panel admits fraud
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Afghanistan’s June 14 presidential runoff was marred by large-scale fraud, the Independent Electoral Commission has said, announcing that it was invalidating 16 percent of the ballots cast. “There was massive fraud perpetrated by the security forces, governors and members of the IEC. Undoubtedly, much of the fraud happened in coordination with IEC employees,” Commissioner Azizullah…
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Abdullah claims victory
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Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory in the presidential elections and said the political process for the formation of a national unity government is faced with a deadlock. “The fraud committed in the election process has caused a deadlock. I would continue to defend the right of the people and the votes they cast…
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Afghan political crisis continues
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Abdullah Abdullah causes political stalemate in Afghanistan Afghanistan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah Wednesday boycotted the audit of votes cast in June, sparking a fresh crisis in the country. A day after threatening to boycott the process, which they consider to by “politically influenced”, observers from Abdullah’s party did not show up for the audit.”We warned…
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He tried to wake up his dead dad
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Police said they believed the man found at Tilbury docks was Meet Singh Kapoor, from Afghanistan, who was 40. Thirteen children aged as young as one were among the Afghan Sikhs rescued from the container on Saturday, a Guardian report said. Members of the 35-strong group found screaming and banging after arriving at the Essex…
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13 children among Sikh stowaways
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The stowaway Afghan Sikhs include 13 children aged between one and 12. The group arrived on Saturday on a ship from Belgium and were said by police to be victims of “people trafficking”. Police said they are “being spoken to about their ordeal” before they are passed on to the UK Border Force. Essex Police…
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Stowaways are Afghan Sikhs
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A group of 35 men, women and children found inside a shipping container at a UK port are understood to be Sikhs from Afghanistan who are victims of “people trafficking”, British police said. The police had described them as people believed to be from the Indian subcontinent and questioned some of them. “They were treated…
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Afghanistan enters new phase
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Afghan presidential candidates agree to accept election results Afghan presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai agreed to accept the election results. They made the announcement at a joint press conference attended by US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan Jan Kubis here, Xinhua reported. “We have…
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Pakistan summons Afghan envoy
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Pakistan Wednesday summoned Afghan envoy and lodged a strong protest over an attack launched by terrorists from across the border. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that between 70 and 80 terrorists were involved in the cross-border attack on Pakistan military posts in Upper Dir of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, late Tuesday, Xinhua…
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Obama urge for unity in Afghanistan
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US President Barack Obama has spoken with the men vying to become Afghanistan’s next head of state, encouraging them to follow through with a plan to form a national unity government regardless of the outcome of the audit of ballots from the June 14 presidential runoff, the White House said. The president commended Abdullah Abdullah…
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Five killed in Kabul airport attack
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A group of Taliban militants attacked the international airport of Kabul Thursday morning but all the attackers were killed within hours, an interior ministry official said. “Five terrorists attacked the military section of the airport but all the attackers have been killed,” Mohammad Ayub Salangi, an interior ministry official, told media at the site of…
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EU seeks Afghan poll probe
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EU urges Afghanistan to probe fraud in presidential poll The European Union (EU) called on the Afghanistan authorities to properly investigate the “serious” allegations of fraud in presidential election. “We note the publication of the preliminary results of the second round of the presidential election in Afghanistan and the fact that these results are subject…
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Asian illegal migrants concern EU
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Kavita Bajeli-Datt meets EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström in Brussels. The EU wants to discuss illegal migration with Modi government. In 2012, EU member-states returned around 12,000 Indian citizens found to be staying irregularly. Afghanistan (33,500) and Pakistan (29,000) are the two top countries from where illegal migrants were found staying illegally in EU. The European…
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PICS: Taliban burn oil tankers
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Hundreds of Oil tankers destroyed as rockets hit Kabul Hundreds of oil tankers caught fire and were reduced to ashes as three rockets fired by militants slammed into a parking lot in the western part of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, drivers at the site said. “It was 11 p.m. Friday night when three rockets hit the parking…
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Pakistan rejects Afghan claims
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Pakistan refutes Afghan claim on cross-border incursions Pakistan rejected as “baseless” the remarks by the Afghan foreign ministry that Pakistani troops have intruded into its territory and killed security personnel and civilians. Kabul was demanding a response to the Pakistani firing that killed three soldiers and eight civilians in eastern Kunar province this week, the…
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Karzai rejects return of Taliban
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai has dismissed the possibility of Al-Qaeda linked groups making a comeback in his country in a similar way to Iraq, BBC reported. Asked by the BBC’s Lyse Doucet in Kabul whether what was happening in Iraq could happen in Afghanistan, the president replied: “Never, not at all.” The outgoing president said that…
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Suspect held over Herat abduction
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Afghan security forces on Wednesday arrested a suspect in connection with the kidnapping of an Indian aid worker, Jesuit priest Father Alexis Prem Kumar, in western Herat province even as his family in Tamil Nadu prayed for his safety and sought “good news”. According to Kaama Press, provincial security chief Samiullah Qatra of Herat said…
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Indian aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan
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An Indian aid worker was abducted Monday by unknown gunmen in Afghanistan’s western Herat province, a media report said. The Indian was working with an NGO here, Khaama Press cited local government officials as saying. A security official in Zenda Jan district said the incident took place Monday afternoon while the aid worker was visiting…
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Abdullah campaign pegs on peace
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Afghan presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah said his government will ensure lasting peace in addition to bringing good governance and job opportunities if he wins the upcoming runoff.“Once again, I promise to Afghans, that we will ensure every youth has access to quality education that could secure them a place in a globalised and highly competitive…
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Obama makes surprise visit to Afghanistan
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US President Barack Obama paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan Sunday, an Afghan official said. The US president arrived in the Bagram air base in north of Kabul, the main US base in Afghanistan, late Sunday,quoted an official source as saying on condition of anonymity. The aim of his trip is reported to…
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Remains of the day – Afghanistan
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Smoke is seen coming from the building occupied by attackers in Herat, Afghanistan. At least four gunmen were killed while two policemen were wounded in an attack against Indian consulate in western Afghan city of Herat on Friday
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Karzai promise to protect Indian missions
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai Friday spoke to Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi and assured him that Kabul “will do all to protect Indian missions there”. The external affairs ministry said Modi thanked Karzai for the “efforts of Afghan forces in thwarting (the) attack on India’s consulate in Herat”. Modi earlier telephoned the Indian ambassador in…
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Indian consulate in Afghanistan attacked
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The Indian consulate in Herat in Afghanistan was attacked Friday by four heavily armed gunmen who tried to enter the complex. All four attackers were killed, officials said, adding that the consulate staff was safe.The attack began at 3.15 a.m. when the four gunmen tried to break into the consulate, located 600 km from Kabul.…
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Sick Advet on Malala draws flak
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The media agency agency responsible for using cartoon images of Pakistani-school girl Malala Yousafzai, shot in the face by the Taliban, to promote a mattress brand has apologised and launched an investigation, The Guardian reported. The poster ad features a series of images of Malala being shot, falling backwards covered in blood, being put on a…
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Pak army to begin Afghan talks
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Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif will visit Afghanistan on Monday to discuss war against terrorism and security situation with top Afghan and NATO commanders.It would be General Sharif’s first tripartite meeting with Afghan army chief General Sher Mohammad Karimi and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Commander General Joseph Dunford.“The Chief of the Army Staff…
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Afghans to get Jaipur Foot
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Jaipur Foot, the maker of prothestic legs, will make artificial limbs for 1,000 disabled Afghans in coordination with the Afghan ministry for labour, social affairs, martyrs and disabled, officials said.An agreement to the effect was inked between Minister Amina Afzali and D.R. Mehta, founder and patron-in-chief of Jaipur Foot, the minister told journalists, according to…
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Afghanistan heads for presidential runoff
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Two leading Afghan presidential candidates, out of eight in the contest, will vie in a runoff poll in mid-June as no winner emerged in the first round of elections held April 5, according to an election commission source. “None of the eight candidates obtained an outright victory in the first round. The runoff will be…