John Bass, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, says that despite some progress in negotiations between the U.S. government and the hard-line Islamist Taliban movement, the insurgents have yet to seriously engage with Kabul or Afghan society.
U.S. and Taliban representatives are due to meet in Qatar to resume talks aimed at ending the 17-year war in Afghanistan, the militant group says.
The United States, Russia, and China have agreed on the goal of withdrawing foreign forces from Afghanistan and to seek an "inclusive Afghan-led" peace process, the three countries declared in a joint statement.
Iranian President Hassan Rohani and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have agreed to set up a joint border "reaction force" to counter terrorism, Iranian state media reported.
Pakistan has urged Iran to take action against terrorist groups believed to be behind the killing of 14 soldiers earlier this week.
Pakistan has warned that an escalation in hostilities could derail U.S.-led peace efforts in Afghanistan, although it apparently refrained from condemning Taliban insurgents for unleashing their annual spring offensive in the neighboring country.
American and Taliban officials have indicated their months-long peace dialogue remains on track, despite the intensification of hostilities in Afghanistan that came with the start of the insurgent group's spring offensive.
A Taliban spokesman says the UN Security Council has at least temporarily removed sanctions on members of the militant group’s negotiating team.
Afghans are worried over the possible impact of growing tensions between Iran and the United States after Tehran reacted sharply to Washington’s designation of its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) this week.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi said he has "reliable intelligence" that India will attack his country later this month and has informed the UN about the matter.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says the country will release 360 Indian prisoners who have been detained for fishing illegally in its territorial waters in the Arabian Sea.
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