Hundred critical after cholera outbreak in Afghanistan

A cholera outbreak at a village in northeast Afghanistan has infected 1,492 people, killed a young woman and left another 100 in critical condition, a provincial official said on Tuesday.

Abdul Marouf Rasekh, a spokesman for the governor of Badakhshan province, said the outbreak began three days ago and was restricted to one town that has been quarantined.

When it first appeared in the mountainous village of Chappa in the Darayen district, Mr. Rasekh said it infected 850 people but quickly spread until the quarantine was put in place.

Pak concerns over Indian role in Afghanistan not groundless: US

WASHINGTON: In an acknowledgement of Pakistan’s concerns over India’s presence in Afghanistan, US Special Representative James Dobbins has said Islamabad’s fears are “not groundless”.

The US diplomat, in an interview with the BBC Urdu Service in Washington, recognised the cross-border infiltration of hostile elements into Pakistan from the Afghan side.

Top Pak cop likens Taliban, police relationship to that of 'bowler and batsman'!

While speaking to the media on Monday, he said that the police was the batsmen as the Taliban keep bowling. Sometimes the police scores a six and many a times lose a wicket.

Inspector General Police (IGP) Ihsan Ghani of Khyber-Paktunkhwa (K-P) has compared the relationship between the Taliban and police as one between a batsman and a bowler.

Blast kills nine in southern Afghanistan: officials

KANDAHAR: A roadside bomb blamed on the Afghan Taliban tore through a police vehicle in southern Afghanistan at the weekend, killing nine people and wounding 15, officials said on Monday.

The bombing took place late Sunday in the Shahjoy district of Zabul province, on the main Kabul-Kandahar road which is a hotspot of the Taliban insurgency.

Three Nato soldiers killed in Afghan suicide blast

GHAZNI: A suicide bomber rode a donkey Tuesday into an Afghan and Nato military convoy, killing three Western soldiers and their Afghan interpreter, officials said.

Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) confirmed three casualties in a bombing in eastern Afghanistan but gave no details.

Karzai sets conditions for Pakistan visit

Pakistan on Sunday sent its top diplomat to offer further assistance to Afghanistan's efforts to reach a deal with Taliban to end 12 years of war.

Foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz held talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul and met Karzai to deliver in person the invitation from new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif -- already extended twice by telephone.

On Monday the president's office said Karzai accepted the invitation "in principle".

Karzai sets conditions for Pakistan visit

Pakistan on Sunday sent its top diplomat to offer further assistance to Afghanistan's efforts to reach a deal with Taliban to end 12 years of war.

Foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz held talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul and met Karzai to deliver in person the invitation from new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif -- already extended twice by telephone.

On Monday the president's office said Karzai accepted the invitation "in principle".

Roadside bomb kills 17 villagers in Afghanistan

KABUL: A roadside bomb struck a motorcycle-drawn cart carrying women and children between two villages Tuesday in western Afghanistan, killing all 17 people on board, a grim reminder of the dangers facing Afghan civilians ahead of the 2014 withdrawal of foreign combat troops.

Afghan Officials Say More Than 20 Taliban Fighters Killed In East

Officials in Afghanistan say more than 20 Taliban militants have been killed in security operations in the country's east.

The largest operation took place in Wardak Province, west of Kabul, where Afghan National Army soldiers killed 16 Taliban and confiscated weapons, cars, and motorcycles belonging to the militia.

A spokesman for the Wardak governor said four additional Taliban were killed in a smaller police operation in the province.

Bomb kills four girls at Afghan wedding: officials

KANDAHAR: A bomb attack killed four girls attending an Afghan wedding, officials said on Thursday, blaming the attack on Taliban rebels intending to target government employees at the event.

The children, aged between seven and 12, died when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated as they collected water from a river during celebrations in the southern province of Helmand.

“The children were at the wedding party and this morning they went to collect water when the IED exploded on a footpath,” provincial administration spokesman Omar Zwak told AFP.

Pakistan could end Afghan war in weeks: army chief

Pakistan could end the Afghan war "in weeks" if it were serious about peace, and is complicit in US drone strikes despite its denunciations of the anti-militant campaign, Afghanistan's army chief says.

In a BBC interview broadcast Wednesday, General Sher Mohammad Karimi laid bare the mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad as US-led troops wind down more than a decade of war against Taliban and other insurgents.

By closing down madrassa schools that serve as incubators of Islamist extremism, Pakistan had "unleashed" the Taliban on Afghanistan today, the chief of staff of the Afghan National Army said.

Afghan talks must not undermine legitimacy of state: Khurshid

India on Tuesday supported Afghanistan's reconciliation process with the Taliban, but warned that it must not undermine the legitimacy of the Afghan government and should be within the internationally accepted "red lines".

"We support the efforts made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to establish a peaceful dialogue with all armed opposition groups," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said in his Intervention at 20th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting here today.

Rival groups launch operations against Pakistan Taliban in Mohmand

ISLAMABAD: Several heavily armed rival groups on Wednesday launched major attacks against the Pakistan Taliban in Mohmand tribal region along the border with Afghanistan to expel the group’s supporters from the area, a Taliban commander said.

Omar Mukarram Khurasani, spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Mohmand agency, told The Express Tribune that hundreds of militants were resisting the opponents.

Afghan peace council members to talk with Taliban in Qatar: Karzai

Some members of Afghan High Peace Council will travel to the Gulf state of Qatar to hold formal peace talks with the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Tuesday.

"Members of peace council will go to Qatar to initiate peace talks with the Taliban," Karzai told a joint press conference with the visiting NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Earlier on Tuesday, Afghan local media reported that the Taliban had opened a political office in Qatar earlier in the day.

Nine children killed in Afghan suicide attack: officials

KABUL: A suicide bomb attack targeting US and Afghan forces killed nine children heading home from school in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, officials said.

One policeman was also killed and two coalition soldiers were among about 16 people wounded, Zalmai Uriakhail, the police chief of Paktia province, told AFP of the attack, which used an explosives-packed motorcycle.

Afghan FM Spokesman Stresses Expansion of Tehran-Kabul Ties

TEHRAN : Afghan Foreign Ministry Spokesman Janan Mosazai underlined the need for the further expansion of ties and cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan.The Afghan foreign ministry spokesman pointed to the good and friendly relations between Iran and Afghanistan, calling "Iran a very good neighbor".

"Iran has always supported the Afghan government in its campaign against terrorism," Mosazai said.

Afghan Taliban confirm talks in Iran

KABUL: A Taliban spokesman has confirmed that the Afghan insurgents have sent a delegation to Iran for three days of talks. The unprecedented meeting signals that Iran could be seeking the role of regional mediator between the Taliban and Kabul.

Spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said Monday in an email that emissaries from the Taliban's political office met with Iranian officials over the weekend.