The Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire on the occasion of Eid, which would be the third since June 2019. The ceasefire comes after a particularly brutal few weeks of clashes between the group and government forces

US president Donald Trump has opposed investigations into war crimes committed by the US-led forces in Afghanistan since 2003. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo termed the ICC a ‘kangaroo court’

The Afghan government has released close to 1,100 Taliban prisoners since February this year, in response to which the Taliban has released about 300 Afghan security forces personnel

The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan declared president Ashraf Ghani the winner with 50.64% of the votes but his main rival Abdullah Abdullah rejected the results and said he would form his own government

The two US servicemen were killed in a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. Two others were seriously injured. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack

As per electoral law, Afghanistan’s election commission has to address the large number of complaints that have emerged following the declaration of preliminary results that declared Ashraf Ghani as the winner

The 70-year-old North Atlantic Treaty Organization that met in London on December 4 is a stale military holdover from the Cold War days that should have gracefully retired many years ago.

As many as 16 candidates are fighting to win the support of more than 9.6 million voters in Afghanistan’s fourth presidential election since 2001. The elections on September 28 are taking place amid rising violence by the Taliban and more attacks by US and government forces

Former arms industry executive Charles Kupperman has stepped in as interim national security advisor, symbolizing the essential continuity in US foreign policy even in the age of Donald Trump

Observers are surprised at Trump’s decision as the Taliban had never promised to end violence as a precondition for the talks. Trump’s citing the death of a soldier for his decision is also puzzling as the US continued talks despite 15 of its dying in Afghanistan this year

Meanwhile, the Taliban has intensified its war against government forces in several provinces of Afghanistan. It carried out an attack in Kabul on Monday, killing over 16 people.

Nearly 15 years after the first presidential election, there are very few national political parties in Afghanistan, a structural weakness that prevents democracy from taking root in the country