Suhail Shaheen

India should go back to negotiating table with Taliban, but without abandoning Kabul in forthcoming intra-Afghan talks

Though India has more faith in Abdullah Abdullah, rather than the mercurial Ghani, its fundamental operating principle has been that a legitimate government should be central to talks, and not a sideshow.

Taliban threatens to attack Afghan election rallies; presidential candidate Amrullah Saleh says outfit 'created, backed to suppress nation’

The Afghan Taliban on Tuesday denounced a presidential vote due next month as a sham and threatened to attack election rallies. 'This election process is nothing more than a ploy,' the Taliban said in a statement.

As Afghanistan’s election season begins, 20 die in attack targeting Kabul office of vice-presidential candidate Amrullah Saleh

At least 20 people were killed and 50 others wounded on Sunday in an attack targeting the Kabul office of Amrullah Saleh. The violence came on the first day of campaigning for the upcoming presidential elections. After about six hours the siege ended with all attackers killed and the rescue of about 150 people who had been trapped in the building.

Intra-Afghanistan talks only after US forces depart, says Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen in Qatar

Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for Taliban’s political office in Qatar said talks with Afghan government would only come after departure of US forces. Two other main issues in the peace process are a ceasefire and talks between the rival Afghan sides, or inter-Afghan talks. About 20,000 foreign troops, most of them American, are in Afghanistan as part of US-led NATO mission to train, assist, advise Afghan forces.

Dubai-bound Air India Express flight skids off taxiway at Mangaluru airport; all passengers safe

An Air India Express flight veered off the taxiway after landing and got stuck into soft ground at the Mangaluru airport on Sunday.