Parties

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghanistan Grand National Alliance, a coalition of major political parties, on Thursday announced it would soon be introducing a joint presidential candidate.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Head of the Hizb-E-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) has said his party was fully prepared for upcoming presidential election and would not allow delay in the elections, according to a statement on Tuesday.
HIA Head Gulbuddin Hikmatyar expressed the view during a meeting with elders, youth and a number or residents from northern Kunduz province here, read the HIA statement.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some political parties welcomed on Monday what they said huge turnout in the Wolesi Jirga elections but also alleged the vote was massively rigged.
Biometric system was for the first time used in the election to ensure transparency but votes were polled at some polling stations without biometric verification due to technical problems in the devices.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Experts predict a man Wolesi Jirga candidate can make it to the Wolesi Jirga if he secures at least 2,500 votes but a woman candidate needs 1,400 votes.

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghanistan’s New National Front, led by Anwarul Haq Ahadi, on Thursday formally declared its existence, calling the unity government “a failure” and demanded fresh presidential elections.
At the party’s launch ceremony, Ahadi said their political movement was aimed at strengthening of the rule of law, democracy, bringing political reforms, ending corruption and maintaining social justice in the country.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some political parties and civil society groups, terming the current situation as chaotic, on Thursday urged for unity among political forces to take the country out of crises.
Leaders of the political parties and civil society organizations gathered in capital Kabul on Thursday and said the current political, economic and security situation of the country was terrible and only an active role of politicians could save the nation from a catastrophe.

KABUL (Pajhwok): The spokesman of the Qatar-based Taliban has said al-Qaeda fighters have returned to their home countries and are no longer fighting Afghanistan.
Mohammad Naeem, the group’s spokesman, who is based in the Qatari capital Doha told Al-Sharq newspaper they were not ready to hold talks with the Afghan government unless the foreign forces left the country.
According to Naeem, talking to Afghan government in presence of foreign troops in the country meant submission. He also ruled out any internal differences in the group.

KABUL (Pajhwok): A number of Pakistani politicians associated with various political parties on Saturday met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Islamabad and discussed with him the potential of cooperation between the two countries in different sectors.

The political leaders emphasised the need for greater people-to-people contacts and delegation level exchanges between the two countries to give impetus to bilateral relations.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Abdul Latif Pidram, head of the National Congress Party (NCP), criticised the unity government on Wednesday, pledging to cobble together an opposition alliance.

Addressing hundreds of his supporters in the Loya Jirga tent in Kabul, he said the proposed alliance would endeavour to strengthen democratic norms and keep a watchful eye on government activities.

The NCP condemned the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the US signed on Tuesday, saying a new national consensus should have been developed on the deal.

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Wafaq-i-Milli party on Thursday asked Meshrano Jirga chairman and the Balkh governor to form an interim government to rid the country of the current political crisis.

After the first round of the presidential election on April 5, followed by the runoff polls on July 14, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) recently completed a nationwide UN-supervised audit of votes.