Afghanistan presidential challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, who forced Hamid Karzai to go to a second round in the election, has described his triumph as "history in the making" and helped save the country's fragile democracy.
"I don't think Karzai's comment was a threat. He is dealing with a very difficult situation on his border and is interested in protecting his people from forces, who want to attack them," White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto said, adding, "We need them working together on where these militias are and whether it's Taliban or Al Qaeda. And they need to come to an agreement in ways to try to diminish the impact of those groups."
Despite claims that Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's younger brother Ahmad Wali Khan Karzai is a drug lord, Senator John F Kerry says no US agency has given him proof.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who discussed the Mumbai terror attacks, said the incident shows that terrorism poses a threat to the entire humanity and all countries should fulfil their bilateral and multilateral obligations to prevent the scourge.
United States President Barack Obama on Sunday met his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai to discuss the transition process in Afghanistan. "We recognise the hardship that the Afghan people have been through. Both of us recognise that we still have a lot of work to do. The loss of life continues in Afghanistan. There will be hard days ahead, but we are confident that we are on the right track," Obama told reporters in a joint press meet.
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has predicted that foreign troops might stay in his country for up to 15 years.
Afghanistan on Monday night assured India that it would take all possible steps to ensure the safety and security of its citizens, who are engaged in developmental work in the war-torn country.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked US President Donald Trump for acknowledging Pakistan's role in counter-terrorism efforts after the country arrested a wanted terrorist. Trump thanked the Pakistani government for helping arrest "Mohammad Shareefullah", also known as Jafar, who supported and conducted activities on behalf of ISIS-K in support of multiple lethal attacks, including the Abbey Gate attack in 2021. Sharif said the terrorist, an Afghan national, had been apprehended in an operation along the border with Afghanistan.
As Afghanistan enters the endgame of its 13-year-long partnership with the United States, President Hamid Karzai has added a new twist to its reliable relationship with India by presenting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a "wish list" for military equipment.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday spoke to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and discussed the situation arising out of Thursday's attack on Indian Embassy in Kabul.
51-year-old Karzai was administered oath of office by the head of the Supreme Court, Abdul Salam Azmi, at a grand ceremony at the heavily fortified Presidential Palace in the presence of 800 guests, including External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
And for any solution to work, Pakistan could not be excluded, the writer Tahir Ali said, not least because a great many Pashtuns, who live within Pakistan but don't recognise the Afghan-Pakistan border, would be up in arms. The Pakistan military would be a key player in any decision taken on Afghanistan -- along with Iran, Russia and China.
President Hamid Karzai has wondered why Islamabad allowed Indian diplomatic mission on its soil if it was a security threat for them.
The Second Regional Economic Conference on Afghanistan begins in New Delhi on November 18.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has offered an olive branch to Taliban chief Mullah Omar, assuring him security if the latter gave up fighting and came forward for talks.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Friday assured India that a thorough investigation would be conducted into the suicide bomb attack near the Indian embassy in Kabul to ascertain who was behind it.
After being critical of Pakistan over its links with Taliban militants, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has now said his country would stand by Islamabad in the event of hostilities with any nation, including the United States or India. "God forbid, if at any time there is a war between Pakistan and America, then we will be with Pakistan," Karzai said.
Regional security situation and other key bilateral issues between India and Afghanistan will be discussed during the talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 12.
Afghanistan became a SAARC member in 2006.
The United States had reached a tentative deal with the Taliban to allow, among other things, the transfer of five Afghans from the Guantanamo Bay prison in lieu of their public renunciation of terrorism, but the agreement failed to take off because of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's objections. A report in the Washington Post has claimed that the deal was the closest the two parties came to genuine peace negotiations after nearly a year of talks.
Dismissing Afghanistan's demand to strike at terror sanctuaries across the border, US has said that it has no plans to send combat troops to Pakistan.
Ladies and gentlemen, today's conference must serve, above all, as an impetus to define a vision that reflects the shared interests of all of us, and agree on working together towards achieving it.
The White House on Thursday said the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to stay in touch in a regular way, but has refused to get into the details of what transpired at the meeting between George W Bush, Pervez Musharraf and Karzai.
Noting that the Barack Obama administration is keeping a close watch on the Hamid Karzai government, the White House on Wednesday said that the Afghanistan president should not expect a blank cheque in his second term. "I think you heard the President speak clearly at West Point (at New York in December 2009) and since then about the need to take governance seriously; that there was not an open-ended blank cheque for waste and abuse going forward in Afghan," said an official.
With the United States planning troops withdrawal by next year, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is believed to have pressed India on Friday for stepping up military aid including lethal and non-lethal weapons amid indications that the government was not averse to the Afghan leader's demand which could be met depending on the country's capacity.
Six years after he made his first trip to Afghanistan as Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday embarked on a two-day visit to Kabul during which he will discuss terrorism, regional development and ways to step up India's assistance to the war-torn country.
In a candid interview with news channel CNN-IBN, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has stated that the earlier Pakistan realises the perils of nurturing terrorists, the better it was for India and Afghanistan. Here are some excerpts from the interview
Underscoring the need for more rapid development of Afghan national security forces, President Barack Obama has given his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai a clear time line of 18 to 24 months to achieve the goals set by the US.
In a news conference just hours before the pre-audited results were released, the European Union monitors said they believed that the tally included 1.5 million suspicious ballots, or more than one of every four votes cast.
In a statement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said US President Joe Biden was briefed about the rocket attack by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai sprang a huge surprise when he said that he is not against the idea of a joint force of Afghanistan and Pakistan to patrol the volatile border between the two countries. He was replying to a specific question of Thomas E Freston, investor in media business at the event of the Asia Society in New York.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is among the foreign leaders invited to Narendra Modi's swearing-in as prime minister on May 26 which Afghan President Hamid Karzai has decided to attend.
Close on the heels of Afghan President Hamid Karzai claiming that a suicide bomber who targeted his spy chief had come from Pakistan, Islamabad has said his government should share any information it has on the 'cowardly attack' to back up the allegation.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai slams Pak, defends India's role in Afghanistan
Pakistan is a "twin brother" and India a "great friend", Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday in an obvious attempt to reassure Pakistan that the strategic partnership agreement signed on Tuesday in Delhi was not targeted against it.
Afghanistan's "accusatory" stance towards Pakistan will not help bilateral ties, Islamabad's envoy at the United Nations has said, advising President Hamid Karzai to "take a leaf out of India's book" and learn from the "enormous maturity" it has shown in dealing with issues. He noted that a "massive change around" has come today in India-Pakistan relations as compared to the post-26/11 environment.
The United States on Thursday said it plans to shift to "support role" in Afghanistan by 2013 so as to complete the security transition to Afghan forces by 2014 even as it sought to play down President Hamid Karzai's order to pull out American troops from villages and confine them to bases.
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