Taliban Accuse Tajik, Pakistani Citizens of Carrying out Attacks in Afghanistan

A Very Quiet Meeting in Doha: US Officials Meet With Taliban Representatives

In reviewing the Taliban government’s security achievements in 2023 on December 31, Afghanistan’s acting Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said that any attacks that did occur were “all carried out by foreigners, especially the citizens of Tajikistan.” “Dozens of Tajikistan citizens have been killed in our operations and dozens of others have been arrested. Also, … Read more

Managing Dissent Within: The Taliban Way

Managing Dissent Within: The Taliban Way

The chronic failure of governance and unyielding attachment to regressive values notwithstanding, the Taliban’s hold over Afghanistan appears to be consolidated. Initial hopes that the Taliban 2.0 would be a different species have been belied. Even the anticipation that a contestation between the moderates or dissenters and the hardliners within the group would weaken it … Read more

Taliban Leaders Get Medical Treatment Abroad While Afghan Women and Children Lack Basic Care 

Taliban Leaders Get Medical Treatment Abroad While Afghan Women and Children Lack Basic Care 

Imagine you are a mother, with your child so malnourished that their tiny body can barely function, as severe cold, clean water shortages, and sustained hunger ravage their immune system and infections like pneumonia and acute watery diarrhea take hold. Local clinics don’t function due to corruption and funding shortfalls. Seeking help is complicated because … Read more

Pakistan’s Anti-migrant Crackdown Risks Radicalizing Deported Afghans

Pakistan’s Anti-migrant Crackdown Risks Radicalizing Deported Afghans

The Pakistani government’s crackdown on undocumented migrants and mass deportations to Afghanistan risk radicalizing those who have been forced out of the country — often returning to deplorable conditions back home, analysts and experts said Thursday. More than 250,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in recent weeks as the government rounded up, arrested, and kicked out … Read more

Russia Hosts Taliban for Talks on Regional Threats and Says It Will Keep Funding Afghanistan

Russia Hosts Taliban for Talks on Regional Threats and Says It Will Keep Funding Afghanistan

The Pulse | Security | South Asia The talks in the Russian city of Kazan came as Moscow is trying to maintain its influence in Central Asia even as it wages war on Ukraine. Advertisement Moscow will keep helping Afghanistan on its own and through the U.N. food agency, Russian officials said Friday as they hosted Taliban representatives for … Read more

The Taliban’s Afghanistan: Retribution, Refugees, and Violent Extremism 

The Taliban’s Afghanistan: Retribution, Refugees, and Violent Extremism 

Taliban fighters patrol on the road during a celebration marking the second anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan, in Kandahar, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 15, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Abdul Khaliq, file Advertisement A new report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released on August 22 details the systemic … Read more

Analyzing the State of Afghan Journalism

Analyzing the State of Afghan Journalism

Advertisement Over the past two years, Afghanistan has experienced drastic changes, marked by the collapse of the republican system. The re-emergence of the Taliban has caused massive disruptions in people’s lives, leading to the abandonment of homes and jobs by many. The Taliban’s repressive rule has forced the closure of educational institutions, largely confined women … Read more

How the US-Taliban Deal Failed Afghanistan

The Cost of Uzbekistan’s ‘Pragmatic’ Taliban Policy

Advertisement After two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the immeasurable sacrifices of the nation’s soldiers, law enforcement, and public officials, Kabul is once again under the rule of the Taliban. The consequences of the militant group’s takeover have been described at great length elsewhere: schools have been closed, music banned, women subjected to extraordinary … Read more

2 Years of Structural Violence and Humanitarian Crisis Under the Taliban

2 Years of Structural Violence and Humanitarian Crisis Under the Taliban

Taliban flags fly at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File Advertisement The Taliban chose to mark the second anniversary of their return to power, on August 15, 2023, with much pomp and show. On a declared national holiday, which meant little for the mass of unemployed and distressed … Read more

The Taliban’s Gender Prosecution in Afghanistan Is a Challenge to the World

The Taliban’s Gender Prosecution in Afghanistan Is a Challenge to the World

Advertisement Despite promises made to the international community and the people of Afghanistan, the Taliban’s fanatical attitude toward human rights and women remains unchanged. In the two years since their military takeover of the country on August 15, 2021, the Taliban have effectively waged a war against women’s rights in Afghanistan and by extension against … Read more