Tag: Afghan Taliban

Defiant Pakistani radio fights on from Prague

by Jan FLEMR Agence France-Presse PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) – With its Pakistan bureau shut by authorities last week, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Pashto-language station is broadcasting from its headquarters in a distant Prague, waiting for “the dust to settle,” according to its senior editor. The Islamabad office of Radio Mashaal, or Torch in Pashto, targets some 10 million people in areas along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. It was closed for airing content “against the interest of […]

Afghan Taliban appoint new leader after deadly drone strike

by Anuj CHOPRA KABUL, Afghanistan(AFP) — The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday announced Haibatullah Akhundzada as their new leader, elevating a low-profile religious figure in a swift power transition after officially confirming the death of Mullah Mansour in a US drone strike. The surprise announcement coincided with a Taliban suicide bombing that targeted court employees near Kabul, killing 11 people in an assault that illustrated the potency of the insurgency despite the change of leadership. Akhundzada, […]

Afghan Taliban say Haibatullah Akhundzada appointed new leader

KABUL, Afghanistan(AFP) — The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday announced influential religious figure Haibatullah Akhundzada as their new leader after confirming supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s death in a US drone strike. “Haibatullah Akhundzada has been appointed as the new leader of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) after a unanimous agreement in the shura (supreme council), and all the members of shura pledged allegiance to him,” the insurgents said in a statement. It added that Sirajuddin Haqqani, an […]