Latest News

    Governance Jun 18, 2013 - 20:45

    Taliban open Qatar office; US to talk directly

    KABUL (PAN): The Taliban on Tuesday opened their political office in Qatar “in a bid to start a dialogue with the world" as US officials said they hoped to meet the insurgents within days.

    ... (read more)
    Security and Crime

    Karzai warns against exploitation of Afghanistan
    Jun 18, 2013 - 18:16

    KABUL (PAN): President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday said peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar must not become a tool for a third country's exploitation of Afghanistan, as he announced sending peace envoys to the Gulf state.

    ... (read more)
    Governance

    Taliban office significant step but long road ahead: US

    Jun 18, 2013 - 21:14

    WASHINGTON (PAN): The US on Tuesday called the opening of a Taliban political office in Doha as a frist significant step, urging the Karzai government to hold direct talks with them.

    ... (read more)
    Security and Crime

    Afghan forces undertake combat lead

    Jun 18, 2013 - 14:01

    KABUL (PAN): Afghanistan entered a new era on Tuesday as President Hamid Karzai announced the transfer of nationwide security from NATO to Afghan control.

    ... (read more)

    Features

    Rampant corruption, insecurity haunts Nangarhar residents

    Jalalabad (PAN): Rampant corruption, insecurity, joblessness, absence of education, and lack of...

    Agriculture, livestock mainstay of Nangarhar economy
    (More Features)
    Security and Crime

    Lawmaker among 28 dead in blast near Mardan

    Jun 18, 2013 - 23:24

    ISLAMABAD (PAN): A lawmaker was among 28 others died when a suicide bomber attacked participants of a funeral prayer in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)province on Tuesday, officials said.

    ... (read more)


    Governance

    US backs moving peace talks to Afghanistan

    Jun 18, 2013 - 21:03

    WASHINGTON (PAN): The United States on Tuesday said it supported President Hamid Karzai’s call for moving peace talks from Qatar to Afghanistan as soon as possible.

    ... (read more)


    Governance

    Kerry says Taliban Doha office is good news

    Jun 18, 2013 - 22:12

    WASHINGTON (PAN): US Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday they were pleased with what was happening in Qatar, calling the opening of a Taliban office in the Arab country as “good news”.

    ... (read more)


    Security and Crime

    3 killed, 30 injured as blast hits Mohaqqiq convoy

    Jun 18, 2013 - 11:24

    KABUL (PAN): Three civilians were killed and 30 others, including six guards of a prominent politician Mohammad Mohaqqiq, the likely target, were wounded when a large blast rocked the heavily fortified Kabul city on Tuesday, police and witnesses said.

    ... (read more)


    Governance

    UK commits $15m to WFP in Afghanistan

    Jun 19, 2013 - 00:54

    KABUL (PAN): The United Kingdom’s development agency, the Department for International Development (DFID), has committed 10 million British Pounds (over $15 million) to the World Food Programme (WFP) aiming to reach some 2.4 million Afghans with food assistance this year.

    ... (read more)


    Governance

    Pakistan notes with concern Karzai’s remarks

    Jun 18, 2013 - 18:36

    KABUL (PAN): Islamabad has noted with concern a recent remark made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai who alleged some Pakistani institutions were not fully supporting the objectives of bringing peace to Afghanistan.

    ... (read more)


    Security and Crime

    NATO airstrike kills teenagers in Logar

    Jun 18, 2013 - 15:09

    PUL-I-ALAM (PAN): A NATO airstrike killed three teenage boys in the Baraki Barak district of central Logar province, an official said on Tuesday.

    ... (read more)


    Governance

    Weak appointments to Afghan rights body: HRW

    Jun 18, 2013 - 20:09

    KABUL (PAN): An influential human rights organisation on Tuesday said President Karzai had appointed new commissioners to the Afghanistan’s most important human rights body having “little or no record defending human rights”.

    ... (read more)


    Business & Economics

    KP govt imposing tax on Afghan transit goods

    Jun 18, 2013 - 19:49

    KABUL (PAN): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to impose one percent tax on Afghan transit trade goods under its annual budget that has been approved by the provincial cabinet.

    ... (read more)


    Governance

    $75m American aid to Afghanistan blocked

    Jun 18, 2013 - 14:43

    WASHINGTON (PAN): A key US senator on Monday announced he was putting a hold on $75 million American aid to Afghanistan until President Barack Obama offered a rationale to the alleged CIA cash payments to his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.

    ... (read more)


    Governance

    Karzai meets elders from Kandahar, Helmand

    Jun 18, 2013 - 23:55

    KABUL (PAN): President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday directed public works and education ministers to investigate problems facing residents of southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

    ... (read more)