Afghanistan

Representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban reached an agreement on a roadmap to end nearly 18 years of war. But much more difficult work lies ahead to achieve permanent peace, experts say.

An all-Afghan peace summit has been set for July 7-8, although the talks in Qatar will apparently be held without the official participation of the Afghan government. The summit was announced on July 1 as negotiators from the United States and the Taliban were trying to hammer out terms for a peace agreement in the Qatari capital, Doha, and after the militant group claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing and gun attack in Kabul.

The visit comes as Kabul accuses Islamabad of interfering in its internal affairs and amid peace talks with the Taliban.

Following last week’s public threats by Taliban militants to deliberately target media outlets in Afghanistan, the United Nations mission chief in the country reiterated his call on Thursday for journalists’ rights to be protected, underlining the power of press freedom to advance peace, justice and human rights.

Dozens of senior Afghan political figures are attending a peace conference in neighboring Pakistan aimed at paving the way for an intra-Afghan dialogue to end almost two decades of war with the Taliban. The June 22 conference came ahead of a new round of peace talks between the United States and the Taliban in Qatar that is scheduled for June 29.

The presidential election scheduled for 28 September will be a “key moment to reaffirm the legitimacy of Afghanistan’s democratic political structure”, the United Nations mission chief in the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.

The United States explicitly stated Tuesday it is seeking a comprehensive peace agreement with the Taliban that would cover counterterrorism assurances, withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, intra-Afghan talks to find a political settlement to the war and a permanent cease-fire.

A senior U.S. general says the Islamic State (IS) extremist group remains a "very worrisome" presence in Afghanistan, but it is unlikely to mount an attack on the U.S. homeland because it is under strong military pressure. … The AP earlier this week quoted U.S. and Afghan security officials as saying the extremist group in Afghanistan is expanding its presence, recruiting new members, and plotting attacks on the United States and other Western countries.

The United Nations has urged all parties to the “ongoing intense conflict” across Afghanistan to meet their obligations to protect civilians from harm, denouncing a spate of attacks by militants which killed more than 100 civilians in Kabul alone during Ramadan.