Afghanistan's first-class cricketer Hamid Hassan, who plays for the national cricket team of Afghanistan, has been bought by the Bangladeshi club Barisal Burners.

The 25-year old Hassan moved to Bangladesh Friday night after signing with the team to play this season's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). According to some reports he is said to have signed for $40,000.

It is not the first time Hassan was selected by the team. Last year he joined the Barisal Burners for $40,000, however he did not end up playing for the club because of his injuries.

The right-arm fast bowler was the first Afghan to play at the Lord's Cricket Grounds in London.

Mohammad Nabi Essakhel, Shahpoor Zadran, and Samiullah Shinwari are other national cricketers who are currently playing in the BPL.

Suicide bombers attacked a military checkpost in Pakistan's troubled northwest on Saturday, killing 13 soldiers and 11 civilians, officials said, in an assault claimed by the Taliban.

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President Hamid Karzai departed Kabul on Saturday to go to London for a two-day trilateral summit with British and Pakistani officials.

The summit hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron will discuss cooperation of the three countries for peace and security in war-torn Afghanistan, according to a statement from Karzai's office Saturday.

"The main point of the talks will be the peace process, the Afghanistan and Pakistan relationship and the fight against terrorism in the region," it said.

This will be the third trilateral meeting hosted by the UK. The first was held in Kabul in July when Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf visited the Afghan capital. The second was held in the US at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Afghan officials attending the conference include Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul, National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Afghan National Army Chief of Staff Shir Mohammad Karimi, Chairman of the High Peace Council Salahuddin Rabbani, Director of Transition Commission Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Karzai's international relations adviser Yahya Marofiand, and Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi.

It is expected Pakistan will send their counterpart officials.

"For the first time, we will bring together the political and security establishments from both Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Foreign Ministers, Chiefs of Army Staff, Chiefs of Intelligence and the Chair of the Afghan High Peace Council attending the meeting," a statement from the UK government said Saturday.

"Discussions are expected to focus on the Afghan-led peace process and how the Pakistanis and international community can support it. We also expect the Afghans and Pakistanis to make further progress on the Strategic Partnership Agreement they committed to in September.

"The UK's role has been to encourage ideas, identify areas of agreement and provide a forum for open dialogue," the UK statement said, adding that it was time for the Taliban to participate in a peaceful political process in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Mines on Saturday said that it will send the mining law to the Council of Ministers for final approval in March and that it has finished the national mining policy to address the basics of Afghanistan's mining sector.

The ministry's 16-article policy adheres to international standards and covers matters including the process of mining contracts, the implementation of excavations according to climatic and financial conditions, and the prevention of illegal mining.

"By implementing this policy, which is put together by national and international experts, we will be able to standardise activities within the mining sector," Ministry of Mines public relations chief Ahmad Tamim Asee said.

Ministry officials said their review of the mines law should be complete by late February. The draft will then be sent to the Council of Ministers to be enacted into law.

The government's disregard towards the two provinces bordering Kabul – Logar and Maiden Wardak – has worsened security conditions and increased the threats in Kabul city, according to Afghanistan's Transition Coordination Commission (TCC) chief.

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Afghan Minister of Defence has welcomed the offer for Pakistan to help train his country's forces training, saying Pakistan is the best place for the women in the Afghan security forces to receive training, a Chinese news agency wrote Friday.

Bismillah Khan Mohammadi reportedly made the comments following his meetings with Pakistan defence officials in Islamabad in the past week.

However, some experts do not believe Islamabad is looking to train security personnel for Afghanistan but rather that it is a new strategy aimed at turning the recruits to work for Pakistani aims.

"Pakistan is professional in training terrorists, not in training military forces, and it is looking for its own interests in Afghanistan. This time it is trying a new strategy," Afghan military analyst Miagol Waseeq told TOLOnews.

Mohammadi's visit to Pakistan was said by the Ministry of Defence to have increased optimism around negotiations with Islamabad on the fight against insurgency in the region and border security.

This is a shift from previous attitudes which regarded Pakistan as unsupportive of Afghanistan's war against insurgency.

A district governor in eastern Nangarhar province survived the blast from a roadside bomb Saturday morning, but one of his bodyguards was killed and two others were injured, local officials said.

Khoghyani district governor Sayed Rahman was travelling in the Nangarhar's Pate Koat district when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb around 10:00am, Pate Koat district governor Murza Mohammad Nasrat told TOLOnews.

"Haji Sayed Rahman survived the blast, but one of his bodyguards was killed and two others were injured," he said.

Rahman also confirmed the blast which occurred while he was travelling from his home to the office.

No group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Insurgents frequently hide improvised explosive devices in the road to target security and government personnel.

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) Saturday warned that further delay in the parliament's approval of the election law will create more problems for the 2014 presidential poll.

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Severe snowfall has obstructed the Salang Highway since Friday with no clear sign of when it will reopen, officials said Saturday.

The maintenance and guard department has stopped traffic on the highway because of the poor weather conditions and the possibility of an avalanche in the area.

"Snowing started two days ago, and is still continuing. We stopped the traffic before there was any harm to our people from avalanche and storm," Gen Rajab, Salang guard officer told the BBC.

The road from Tajikan area of Jabul Saraj district in Parwan province to Malkhan area of Baghlan province is empty and there are neither vehicles nor travelers throughout this route, Gen Rajab added.

The thickness of ice in the south of the Salang has reached 95cm.

Suggesting the snowfall will continue until Tuesday, the General advised travelers who plan to travel via the Salang to reconsider as there are no facilities such as food or heating for them if they are stuck on the road. If there is any such provisions, it will be provided at high cost.

"Planned" avalanches and cleaning the road are some of the measures needed to be carried out before the road is reopened, he added.

In early 2012, avalanches following an extreme storm in southern Salang killed 190 and left about 200 injured, an incident raising criticism against Afghan government departments.

Pakistan has fined Afghan traders a combined $50 million over the past three months for their containers which are stalled in Karachi port, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said Saturday.

According to ACCI officials, Pakistan has forcibly stopped the containers for about 85 days and proceeded to demand daily fines for the containers using the port space.

ACCI deputy director Khan Jan Alokozai said Pakistan has repeatedly ignored the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Agreement (APTA) and is benefiting from the fines.

"We pay almost $1 million a day [in fines] and so far we have paid $50 million. So Pakistan is ignoring APTA, which anticipated such transit problems between the two neighboring countries and suggested some strategies to solve the likely problems," he said.

With around 3700 containers carrying Afghan-owned goods including foodstuffs stalled at the port in Pakistan's south, the fines are expected to continue.

Alokozai pointed out that article 23 in the APTA says "the two sides must attempt to strengthen the transit of goods and give priority to the transport of business goods and they should avoid unnecessary delays."

Afghan traders whose containers are in the port blamed the Afghan government for failing to enforce the contents of agreement.

"We pay $160 for each container [per day]. Neither the Ministry of Commerce nor the Ministry of Finance is addressing the problem so we have failed to implement APTA," trader Ahmad Shah Ahmadi told TOLOnews.

However, Ministry of Commerce and Industries spokesman says the government is making a serious effort to resolve the issue.

"We also did the same action in Torkham port," Wahidullah Ghazikhil said.

Pakistan has previously stopped Afghan containers in Torkham port, receiving $7 million from Afghan traders in fines.

Afghanistan mostly exports its goods via Pakistan and Iran ports but recently government officials have looked at using the middle Asian countries' ports to avoid the problem of trade being blocked.

Top news in this Bulletin:

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) Saturday warned that further delay in the parliament's approval of the election law will create more problems for the 2014 election, but the parliament's administrative board responded that the lawmakers will approve it when they return from the winter break.

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India's cabinet has approved harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, after a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi that sparked national outrage.

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A family has been killed by a roadside bomb in southern Helmand province Saturday afternoon, local officials said.

The blast happened in Helmand's Meyanishin district when the family's vehicle struck the roadside bomb, killing two children, a woman and two men, provincial spokesman Farid Ahmad Farang said.

"All of them were members of one family," he told TOLOnews.

No group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Insurgents use improvised explosive devices hidden in roads to target Afghan and Nato troops, but most of the victims are civilians.

Two insurgent leaders have been captured in joint Afghan and Nato troop operations in Afghanistan, Isaf said Sunday.

"An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban improvised explosive device attack coordinator in Khanabad district, Kunduz province, Friday," Isaf said in a statement.

The detained Taliban IED attack coordinator planned and executed attacks throughout Khanabad district. He is believed to have conducted attacks against government officials as well as security forces. The forces also seized IED-making materials during the operation, the statement added.

An Haqqani leader was captured in a joint forces operation in the Khost district of eastern Khost province on Friday.

The detained Haqqani leader is an IED expert and believed responsible for IED facilitation and attacks in Khost district. He is accused of coordinating the acquisition and transfer of homemade explosives, weapons and IEDs for use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, Isaf said.

The security force also detained one suspected insurgent and seized multiple assault rifles as a result of the operation.

Meanwhile, two other insurgents were captured in Baghlan-e-Jadid district of northern Baghlan province on Sunday.

President Hamid Karzai is in London for a two-day trilateral summit with British and Pakistani officials.

To watch the programme, click here:

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President Hamid Karzai telephoned the father of a boy killed last Thursday by kidnappers to reassure him that justice will be done.

The father told TOLOnews on Sunday that Karzai called him to offer his condolences and told him the "judiciary organisations will sentence them to be punished."

The Herati businessman said his son was buried Sunday after the burial was delayed to protest the incident.

Hundreds of residents turned out Friday and Saturday to protest in front of the government offices against the murder of the boy who was kidnapped for money.

The protestors called for harsh punishments to those who had been arrested over the case, saying "we will not have the burial until the government has convicted them [kidnappers]."

The father of the boy said the kidnappers had initially asked him to pay US$400,000 for his son's release. This was negotiated down to US$90,000, which was paid, but the boy was killed and buried by the kidnappers - probably in order to protect their identities, the father told TOLOnews Thursday.

Cases of kidnappings in Herat have dropped in the last two months compared to six months ago, however the recent incident has reignited concerns for the ruthless criminal behaviour.

Afghan border police at Kabul International Airport arrested Sunday a man at check-in who was attempting to smuggle more than two kilograms of heroin to India, placing the drug in parts of his suitcase, officials said.

"A person had attempted to move to Delhi more than two kilograms of drugs which he had placed in his suitcase skillfully, but he was arrested by the police," said Mohammad Joma Adeel, Security Chief of Kabul International Airport.

"Over the past (Persian) year, border police have discovered more than four kilograms of drugs being attempted to be smuggled to Arab countries and India," he added.

Previous reports found that large amounts of cash have been illegally transferred via Kabul airport where drug smugglers have tried to have their drugs transferred.

The government of Pakistan has ordered the release of containers belonging to Afghan traders which were stalled at Karachi port for about three months, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said Sunday.

ACCI officials were skeptical it meant anything had been resolved, describing it as a "provisional and political game" timed with the London trilateral conference between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Britain beginning today.

ACCI vice-chairman Jan Khan Alokozai described it as a token moved but Pakistan had yet to show any real effort to resolve the problems at its port.

"We don't know why the decision for loading the containers of Afghan traders was made so unexpectedly - and at the same time with the Pakistani president's visit to Britain," he told TOLOnews.

A number of Afghan traders have suggested Karzai needs to intervene and resolve the containers issue, while some economic experts criticised the Afghan government saying it does not follow up the commitments promised by the neighbouring countries.

"Unfortunately, our government does not show any seriousness at meetings and conferences and have no consideration towards their people," said Taj Mohammad Akbar, economics teacher at Kabul University.

The ACCI has urged Afghan traders quickly transport their goods from Karachi and are advising them to not use the port. It has also called on the Afghan government to convince Pakistan to pay compensation for the traders losses.

According to officials, Afghan traders were collectively charged about $1 million a day for the 3,700 containers stalled at the port.

No group apart from the government of Afghanistan and its appointed High Peace Council is competent for negotiations directly with the Taliban, Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sunday, explaining that it alone will do so while maintaining the country's and the people's best interests.

"No one except the government and the High Peace Council has the competency for direct talks to the Taliban. And the government will talk to the Taliban considering all the preconditions especially the protection of these eleven years of achievements, and supporting people's rights, especially the rights of women and children," MOFA spokesman Janan Mosazai said.

The liaison office for Taliban in Doha is yet not opened, however the Afghan government is still working with Qatar on the matter, Mosazai added.

The Taliban have not shown any sign of readiness to begin peace talks with Afghanistan but, according to Mosazai, a number of Taliban officials are planning to attend peace talks and cooperate with the High Peace Council.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan National Coalition has said the peace talks will have no outcome until the role of political parties and coalitions, civil society organisations and human rights organisations are underlined in the talks.

"Over the past ten years, the government has had no achievement in bringing peace and in talks with the Taliban," Fazlurrahman Oria, National Coalition member, said. "And if the opposition, civil societies organisations and human rights organisations are not given a role, then talks with Taliban will be failure and there will never be peace and sustainability in Afghanistan," he added.

Pakistan has also demonstrated that is should have a prominent role in peace talks and, if willing, may be capable of convincing Taliban leaders to negotiate for peace.

The special court on the Kabul Bank crisis will deliver its verdict at a public hearing next week, the head of the court said Sunday.

The final verdict will ultimately be delivered by the Supreme Court at a later date.

"The inspection of the cases of the all the accused will be finished by the end of this week, and if there are no other contraventions within the cases, the [special court's] final verdict will be issued at a public hearing," head of the special court Shamsurrahman Shams said.

Twenty-two people including former bank chiefs Shir Khan Farnood and Khalilullah Ferozi are charged with causing the bank's collapse through fraud and corruption. Five of the charged including former governor of Da Afghanistan Bank Abdul Qadeer Fitrat are fugitives, he added.

It was previously understood that a number of properties of the bank were put up for sale, however Shams says none of the properties have been put up for sale but they will all be sold by auction.

He said that everything else owned by the bank, apart from its properties, is priced at $17 million.

"A British company has priced all the bank's equipment at $17 million which will be sold soon," Shams said.

Meanwhile, the bank's Receivership Department said the process to sell all the bank's property inside and outside the country - except for the bank's armored vehicles - is being done transparently under the observation of a government panel.

"Kabul Bank has six armored vehicles in Kabul alone, and the Ministry of Interior will not permit them to be sold for some security reasons, and we haven't sold any of those vehicles so far. However all the other properties are being sold," said Receivership Department head Abdul Hameed Mohebbi.

Once the largest bank in Afghanistan by assets, Kabul Bank almost collapsed in 2010 after its officials transferred by both legal and illegal means abroad. Multiple loans were made to people without any guarantees. It eventually went bankrupt and faced a loss of about US$900 million.