Afghanistan President to Share Peace Plan
- President Ashraf Ghani is expected to publicly share the details of a three-part plan for peace between the Afghan government and the Taliban next week. Ghani has rejected a U.S. peace plan (TOLOnews)
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Violent Extremism in South Asia
Killings Mar Polio Vaccination Campaign in Afghanistan
- Unidentified gunmen killed three women working for a polio vaccination campaign in the Afghan city of Jalalabad (TOLOnews)
- The murders occurred amid a five-day drive to vaccinate millions of children against polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the only countries where the virus is endemic (Al Jazeera)
Germany Approves Keeping Troops in Afghanistan Until 2022
- German lawmakers approved a mandate allowing as many as 1,300 German troops to stay in Afghanistan until early 2022 as part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mission (Reuters)
U.S. Exploring Plan to Leave Troops in Afghanistan to Fight Islamic State
- U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-WA) said the Biden administration is exploring an agreement with the Taliban that would allow U.S. counterterrorism forces to stay in Afghanistan to fight the Islamic State. The United States faces a deadline to withdraw its troops by May 1 under a deal it made with the Taliban last year (Reuters)
U.S. Defense Secretary Visits Afghanistan Amid Efforts to End the Country’s Conflict
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III held surprise talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul yesterday as the United States and other foreign powers intensify efforts to wind down Afghanistan’s decades-long conflict. Afghanistan’s presidential palace said the officials shared concerns about increasing violence in the country and reiterated the importance of establishing peace (Reuters, TOLOnews)
Countries Urge Afghan Peace Deal After Moscow Summit
- China, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States appealed to the Afghan government and Taliban to settle their conflict and said they will not back a return to an Islamic emirate, which the Taliban has called for. Representatives of the countries and the Taliban met yesterday in Moscow (TOLOnews)
Afghan Officials Travel to Moscow for Peace Conference
- A government delegation departed Kabul for Moscow, where officials will participate in a one-day peace conference tomorrow. Taliban representatives and U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad will also attend (TOLOnews)
- Separately, U.S. President Joe Biden said removing the remaining troops from Afghanistan by May 1 would be “tough.” The Taliban threatened to resume attacks on U.S.-led international forces if the troops remain beyond the previously agreed upon date (Reuters)
U.S. Watchdog: Aid Cuts Threaten to Undermine Afghan Government
- U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John F. Sopko said that continued reductions in aid to Afghanistan by donors such as the United States could lead to the demise of the Afghan government and a return to the type of turmoil that fueled the Taliban’s rise (Reuters)
Turkey to Host Afghan Peace Talks
- Turkey plans to host Afghanistan peace talks in April. Foreign Minister Cavusoglu stated the talks would be complimentary to the existing Qatar peace process (Reuters)
International Observers Push for Peace in Afghanistan
- Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said the government will maintain its position on reconciliation with the Taliban and will not compromise on the people’s right to vote. His statement came after a U.S. plan for peace in Afghanistan and a letter from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken were leaked (TOLOnews)
- Peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in Qatar have stalled amid continued violence in Afghanistan, including assassinations of journalists and judges (Financial Times)
Afghan Peace Plan, Blinken Letter Leaked
- TOLOnews published details of a proposed plan for achieving peace in Afghanistan, as well as a letter from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in which Blinken pushed to accelerate the peace process (TOLO)
- The State Department told Reuters that the United States is still considering withdrawing all troops by May 1 (Reuters)
Media Workers Killed in Afghanistan Buried
- Three female media workers shot dead in the city of Jalalabad were buried today, family members said. Unidentified assailants killed the women in two separate attacks yesterday (TOLO)
U.S. Special Envoy Visits Afghanistan
- U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with Afghan Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah today in Kabul, Khalilzad’s first visit to Afghanistan under President Joe Biden (TOLO)
- He is also traveling to Qatar’s capital, Doha, and other cities as he seeks to energize Afghan peace talks (Al Jazeera)
Afghan Peace Negotiators Meet to Jump-Start Stalled Talks
- Afghan government and Taliban negotiators met in Doha, Qatar, and were asked to resume talks on an agenda for peace negotiations after a month-long hiatus, a Taliban spokesperson said (TOLO)
- Civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan increased after peace talks began in September, a UN report found (TOLO)
NATO Has Not Committed to Withdrawing Troops From Afghanistan
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said no decision has been made about whether to withdraw NATO troops from Afghanistan, which a U.S.-Taliban peace agreement says must occur by May 1. Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani about the peace process (Deutsche Welle)
NATO to Review May Withdrawal From Afghanistan
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance will not leave Afghanistan “before the time is right” (TOLO)
- On Thursday, NATO defense ministers will review a May deadline to withdraw foreign troops that was set in the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement (Politico)
Five Killed in Attack on UN Convoy in Afghanistan
- Unidentified gunmen killed at least five members of the Afghan security force team that was escorting the UN convoy in the capital, Kabul (TOLO)
- The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Military Sees Year Without Combat Deaths in Afghanistan
- U.S. military forces in Afghanistan had their first year without a combat death in two decades. However, the Taliban has said it could still target U.S. service members if the United States violates its 2020 peace agreement with the group (TOLO)
Five Afghan Government Employees Killed
- Two separate attacks occurred in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, today, which killed the head of a provincial rural economic development department and four others; the Taliban denied responsibility. The almost daily attacks come as peace talks continue in Doha between the Taliban and Afghan government officials (Reuters)
Three Killed in Explosions Across Afghanistan
- A series of explosions in Kabul today killed two civilians, and a soldier was killed in an explosion in Jalalabad. The Taliban denied responsibility for the bombings, in which at least seven other people were wounded (Reuters)
U.S., Taliban Accuse Each Other of Violating Peace Deal
- A Taliban spokesperson said that U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan were in violation of the February 2020 agreement (Al Jazeera)
- A Pentagon spokesperson yesterday would not commit to withdrawing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by May because the Taliban has not honored commitments made in the agreement to reduce violence (TOLO)
Afghan Government Will Not Release More Prisoners
- The government will not release more Taliban prisoners, a senior official announced, saying that previous releases have resulted in more violence. The Taliban has asked for the release of seven thousand additional prisoners (TOLO)
Two Afghan Supreme Court Judges Killed in Attack
- Gunmen killed two female Supreme Court judges in Afghanistan on Sunday. The victims’ families blamed authorities for failing to provide security. The Taliban has denied responsibility for the attack. U.S. and Afghan officials have blamed the group for a string of targeted killings throughout Afghanistan in recent months (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
US. Military Continues Drawdown in Afghanistan
- The U.S. military has continued to withdraw troops from Afghanistan despite a new American law prohibiting further reductions without a risk assessment sent to Congress by the Pentagon (Reuters)
Afghan Peace Talks Resume
- Negotiators for the Afghan government and the Taliban are resuming talks in Qatar today after a two-week holiday break. The restart comes as the U.S. government blames the Taliban for the recent killings of journalists, civic leaders, and government officials in Afghanistan (Washington Post)