KABUL, Afghanistan: A co-founder of the Taliban who was released from prison in Pakistan in October has been appointed head of the group’s political office in Qatar as it holds negotiations with the United States over ending the 17-year-old Afghan war.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Friday that Abdul Ghani Baradar was brought into the process to “strengthen and properly handle the ongoing negotiations process with the United States.” Baradar coordinated military operations in southern Afghanistan before his arrest in 2010 in Pakistan.
US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has held several rounds of talks with the Taliban in recent months. The insurgents control nearly half of Afghanistan and carry out frequent attacks on Afghan forces. Khalilzad has been in Qatar since Monday.
Taliban bring top leader into talks with US
Taliban bring top leader into talks with US
- Abdul Ghani Baradar was brought into the process to ‘strengthen and properly handle the ongoing negotiations process with the US’
- The insurgents control nearly half of Afghanistan and carry out frequent attacks on Afghan forces
Ukraine’s Zelensky says allies to provide new energy and military aid within 10 days
- Kyiv is aiming to rally support among partners as it struggles to fend off Russian battlefield advances and air attacks
KYIV: Ukraine has agreed new energy and military support packages with European allies ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.
Kyiv is aiming to rally support among partners as it struggles to fend off Russian battlefield advances and air attacks on its energy system while under US pressure to negotiate peace.
“In Munich, we agreed with the leaders of the Berlin Format on specific packages of energy and military aid for Ukraine by February 24,” Zelensky wrote on X.
Zelensky said on Friday after a meeting of the so-called Berlin Format of about a dozen European leaders in Munich that he had hoped for new support, including air-defense missiles.
“I am grateful to our partners for their readiness to help, and we count on all deliveries arriving promptly,” he added.
Russian attacks on major cities such as Kyiv have battered Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, plunging millions of residents into power outages of varying periods in freezing cold weather.
Zelensky added that Russia had launched around 1,300 attack drones, 1,200 guided aerial bombs and dozens of ballistic missiles at Ukraine over the past week alone.
