Parliament

KABUL (PAN): The Meshrano Jirga on Tuesday approved 19 articles of the amended election law, hinting at a special session on Wednesday to pass the remaining portions.

KABUL (PAN): The Meshrano Jirga on Sunday approved a draft law on the structure, duties and powers of election panels, with some members saying the legislative measure should have been adopted by a two-thirds majority.

KABUL (PAN): Senate Chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar on Sunday asked President Hamid Karzai to take parliament into confidence on sending a government delegation to Qatar for talks with the Taliban.
The Taliban’s political office -- the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -- was opened in Doha last week, with support from the Obama administration. But the move drew strong condemnation from Kabul.

KABUL (PAN): Some Wolesi Jirga members used harsh words criticising the government and others came hard on the house administrative board for not putting important issues like the opening of a Taliban Qatar office on the agenda.
A heated debate began when two lawmakers strongly criticised the government, saying it had lost all credibility.

KABUL (PAN): The Wolesi Jirga or lower house of parliament on Wednesday said it would not recognise the Taliban office in Qatar carrying the name of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” the former official name of the movement's government.
The Taliban opened their political office in Doha on Tuesday, saying it was intended to open a dialogue between the Taliban and the world.

KABUL (PAN): The Afghan spy service has alerted the Meshrano Jirga, upper house, against a possible coordinated Taliban assault that has been planned in Pakistan, a senator said on Wednesday.
The Afghan Taliban leadership in Pakistan has prepared a plan to carry out a group attack on the parliament house, lawmaker Shakiba Hashmi said of a letter the National Directorate of Security had sent to the house.

KABUL (PAN): The Wolesi Jirga on Monday approved some controversial articles of a draft law on higher education, allowing university lecturers to elect chancellors through elections.

KABUL (PAN): A majority of Wolesi Jirga or lower house members on Monday voted to once again summon Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal after he did not appear before the house to explain his allegations against six MPs.

KABUL (PAN): The higher education minister on Sunday said every legal and academic demand of Kabul University students who had been on hunger strike a month ago would be accepted, accusing some “self-centered” lecturers of disrupting the education environment on the campus.
Nearly a month ago, some social sciences faculty students of Kabul University went on hunger strike in protest against the faculty dean, Farooq Abdullah and a lecturer, Faisal Amin, accusing them of discriminatory behavior.

KABUL (PAN): The Afghanistan National Journalists’ Union (ANJU) on Sunday said recent remarks by a Wolesi Jirga member regarding media outlets were against the country's laws, especially the law on mass media.