Germany seeks Iran’s help for restoring peace in Afghanistan

September 25th, 2009 New video seeks al-Qaida recruits in GermanyBERLIN — The release of a third al-Qaida video message in German this week shows that Germany must remain on alert before weekend parliamentary elections, officials said. Authorities are analyzing the third message, which was released Thursday and calls on Muslims in Germany to take part in jihad, or holy war, German Interior Ministry spokesman Stefan Paris told reporters.

September 22nd, 2009 HYDERABAD - A popular Telugu ghazal singer Ghazal Srinivas, who holds the Guinness World Record for singing in most languages at one concert, is on a peace mission to war-torn Afghanistan. Srinivas Tuesday left for Kabul on a 10-day peace mission at the invitation of Maiwand Bank of Afghanistan.

September 19th, 2009 BERLIN - A new Al-Qaeda video threatening Germany of a terror attack ahead of the national elections has prompted the Germany government to beef up security across the country. In the 26-minute video, a man reportedly identified as Bekkay Harrach, speaking in German and using the pseudonym Abu Talha, demanded Germans to push their political parties to withdraw soldiers from Afghanistan to avoid "a rude awakening" after the polls on September 27.

September 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan is looking to rake up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly which is scheduled to be held later this month. According to sources, in two separate meetings held at the Foreign Office, concerned officials briefed Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi regarding both the Kashmir and Afghanistan issues.

September 9th, 2009 PARIS - The leaders of Britain, France and Germany have called on the UN to hold a new international conference on the future of Afghanistan, officials said here Wednesday. In a joint letter to the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a meeting to discuss the progress in Afghanistan.

July 3rd, 2009 BERLIN - Germany will send its advanced Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft to Afghanistan to help the NATO forces in the fight against Taliban, a media report said Friday. The decision to send four AWACS to the Central Asian nation was approved by the German parliament Thursday, the Online news agency reported.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Wednesday ruled out any military involvement in Afghanistan and underlined the need for greater international cooperation in restoring stability to the violence-torn country. "Nobody has suggested that India should get militarily involved.

June 5th, 2009 Obama sees mood better for Mideast peace talksDRESDEN, Germany — President Barack Obama says he's worked harder than other presidents in recent years to arrange a Mideast peace agreement, arguing he's created "the space, the atmosphere" for new talks. Obama made the assertion in a joint appearance with Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, who promised to cooperate in her own right on this long-sought goal.

June 5th, 2009 DRESDEN - US President Barack Obama Friday said the time was ripe to take action to push forward the Middle East peace process. "The moment to act is now," the president told a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after talks in the East German city of Dresden.

May 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Foreign Office on Thursday rubbished reports that Islamabad has shared information about its nukes with US authorities. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters here that information about Pakistan's nukes is sacrosanct and could not be shared with any other country.

April 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The US Wednesday sought a greater role for India in Afghanistan, at the same time saying it wouldn't pressurise New Delhi on its ties with Pakistan. 'What happens in Afghanistan depends on Pakistan.

April 1st, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran Wednesday said that no formal 'negotiation' took place between its diplomat and US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke on the sidelines of an international conference in The Hague, Press TV reported. 'As talks between Iran and the US have not been on the agenda, there has certainly been no negotiation with the American envoy,' Iran's delegation to the conference on Afghanistan said in a statement.

March 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry has said the United States may seek cooperation from India, China, and Iran to stabilize Afghanistan. "We also need to reach out to Afghanistan's other neighbours, including India, China, and Iran," the Dawn quoted Kerry, as saying at the confirmation hearing for the new US ambassador to Afghanistan.

February 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Can a pact between the Pakistani government and the Taliban, aimed at restoring peace in the nation's troubled Swat valley, be the forerunner of a similar deal in Afghanistan? It would seem so from the remarks of US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. At the same time, the Swat pact has exposed the sharp differences in the Barack Obama administration, with the president's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke bitterly opposed to the peace deal.

January 17th, 2009 BERLIN - Germany was urged to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in a video believed to have been made by a member of the terrorist network Al Qaeda. A German-speaker wearing a black turban and facecloth that left only his eyes visible spoke in the 30-minute video, which was posted on the internet Saturday.