Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada reportedly emerged on Wednesday for a rare public address marking the end of Ramadan in which he pushed back on international criticism. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Akhundzada delivered the speech at the largest mosque in Kandahar to a crowd of thousands. Most attendees at the Eid al-Fitr service, however, were unable … Read more
Afghanistan’s tumultuous landscape has been further shaped by the return to power of the Taliban in August 2021. The return marked a pivotal moment in the country’s history. Since their resurgence, the Taliban have imposed stringent policies that have significantly impacted the sociopolitical fabric of Afghanistan. The evolving dynamics of the narcotics trade and the … Read more
On March 11, Pakistan’s head of mission in Kabul, Ubaid ur Rehman Nizamani, traveled to Kandahar for a meeting with Governor Mullah Ali Hanafi (also known as Muhammad Shirin Akhund). The meeting ended amicably, with Hanafi congratulating the Pakistani envoy over the holding of elections. This was the first statement by any Taliban leader on … Read more
On March 9, Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee (KNB) confirmed media reports that two Kazakh citizens had been killed by law enforcement in Russia. Two days earlier, on March 7, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had stopped an Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) cell from carrying out a terrorist attack targeting a synagogue. … Read more
More than two-thirds of the U.N. Security Council’s members demanded Monday that the Taliban rescind all policies and decrees oppressing and discriminating against women and girls, including banning girls’ education above the sixth grade and women’s right to work and move freely. A statement by 11 of the 15 council members condemned the Taliban’s repression … Read more
The two-day meeting of regional and national special envoys for Afghanistan convened by the U.N. Secretary General António Guterres in Doha ended on February 19 with consensus among the participants over “what needs to happen.” But there was almost no unanimity about how the international community should engage with the Taliban. The Taliban continue to … Read more
A high-level conference on Afghanistan from February 18-19 failed to achieve its primary objectives, leaving many participants disappointed. The two primary objectives of the Doha meeting were to delineate a course for international engagement with Afghanistan and to facilitate dialogue between the Taliban and the global community on vital issues such as women’s rights, girls’ … Read more
February 14 marks the 45th anniversary of the assassination of U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Adolph Dubs, who was taken at gunpoint off the streets of Kabul on that date in 1979. Today, it’s worth remembering that event as debate continues about whether the U.S. should return in some form to its embassy in Kabul, which … Read more
On January 29, in an unprecedented move, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan organized its first international conference since its capture of Kabul in 2021. Dubbed the Regional Cooperation Initiative, the multilateral meeting aimed at “establishing a region-centric narrative aimed at developing regional cooperation for a positive and constructive engagement between Afghanistan and regional countries.” Areas … Read more
The status of women’s rights has steadily and predictably eroded under Taliban rule, in this second experiment by the terrorist group to remold Afghanistan to their puritanical vision of a society where women have no rights or freedoms. Girls have been banned from attending school past grade six since the group regained power in 2021, … Read more