Nation

AT News KABUL: Afghanistan’s warring leaders—President Ashraf Ghani and his estranged ally Abdullah Abdullah—appeared inching closer to a rapprochement as presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi talked about positive progress made in the talks between the two camps. Without give further details, Sediqqi in a press conference said, “There is progress, the …

AT News KABUL: The government has released another 102 Taliban prisoners as part of peace efforts to bring the deadly Afghan war to an end through negotiation. Javid Faisal, Spokesman of the National Security Council said in pursuant to President Ashraf Ghani, the government had released 102 Taliban prisoners yesterday. …

By Li Zhenghuan The current Covid-19 situation in Afghanistan is quite severe, with the number of confirmed cases keeping rising up. In the nearly two months lockdown, the pandemic has hit the Afghan fragile economy hard,  leading to unemployment, food shortages and prices increase and other problems. The lives of …

By Marco V. Sánchez Cantillo Deputy-Director, Agricultural Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Many uncertainties haunt the world’s campaign to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, but one thing is now sure: Global economic activity will suffer greatly, with large-scale consequences for the incomes and …

By Wasil Ahmad Akhtar Corruption in Afghanistan has affected both the public and private sector and it is broadly recognized as a key challenge for governance and rule of law. The Afghan government has made several commitments to address corruption but it has increased instead. Corruption has undermined the legitimacy …

By Wang Yu, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan A few days ago, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a cordial and friendly phone call with Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar. This is the first phone call between the two old friends since Foreign Minister Atmar took …

AT News KABUL: Nuristan, placed in eastern Afghanistan with a special geographical location, has so far been out of pandemic covid-19 threats; there is no lockdown and the residents are hanging around as usual unlike other provinces, which are under strict lockdowns. As the state is out of covid-19 trouble …

AT News KABUL: Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai congratulates Afghanistan’s press family on the World Press Freedom Day, a statement from his office said on Monday. “The former president considers freedom of the press to be one of the most valuable achievements of the last two decades in the country …

AT News KABUL: While the Afghan government and the Taliban have been engaged on prisoner swap process, the militants had carried out a deadly car bombing in Helmand province that killed five soldiers—showing unwillingness over prospective of reduction in violence, despite calls of ceasefire offered by the US, NATO, Afghan …

AT News KABUL: The Afghan government has once again called on the Taliban to accept humanitarian ceasefire as the pandemic coronavirus is in a surge across the country. Speaking to a press conference, President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi said that humanitarian ceasefire is a demand of the Afghan government …