Afghanistan

US President Joe Biden has warned it will be "tough" to meet a May 1 deadline to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, as agreed with the Taliban, ahead of a key summit hosted by Russia on Thursday to revive the Afghan peace process.

The new proposal by the United States for ending the war in Afghanistan outlines an ambitious process of international, regional, and national diplomacy. … Missing from the new plan, however, is a formula for establishing interim security arrangements during the transition period.

 Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, joined by political leaders and peace negotiators left Kabul on Wednesday to Russia for Moscow conference on Afghan peace, his office confirmed. “We acknowledge the pivotal role of Afghanistan’s neighbors, and Russia in establishing a lasting peace in the country,” Abdullah's office said.

Russia has sent invitations to leading Afghan politicians, the Taliban, and envoys of the United States, China, and Pakistan to participate in a three day conference starting March 18 on how to facilitate the peace process in Afghanistan.’

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has made a blunt new push for a UN-led peace effort in Afghanistan. In a letter to the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Mr Blinken called for a 90-day reduction in violence and a transitional government formed from both sides. Mr Blinken also said no decision had been made about whether to stick to a planned US troop withdrawal by 1 May.

The US special envoy to Afghanistan touched down in Kabul on Monday for meetings with Afghan leaders, in a bid to revive a flagging peace process as violence soars in the war-weary country and a deadline for US troop withdrawal draws closer.

The Taliban demanded Sunday that the United States and its foreign military allies leave Afghanistan by May 1, in line with a peace agreement the insurgent group signed with Washington a year ago, warning any attempt to change the path “is already doomed to failure.” 

The German government has agreed to extend its military mandate in Afghanistan into 2022. The extension now requires the approval of the Bundestag lower house of parliament. 

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan witnessed a sharp rise since peace negotiations started in September last year, even though overall deaths and injuries dropped in 2020, compared to the previous year, according to a UN human rights report launched Tuesday. 

NATO defence ministers at a meeting on Thursday made no decision on whether or when to pull out of Afghanistan, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, adding that the allies faced a dilemma as violence increases again.