Afghanistan

Khorasan: why many Afghanistan citizens are pushing back against the term’s association with terrorism

Khorasan: why many Afghanistan citizens are pushing back against the term’s association with terrorism: The Mausoleum of Ali, which is located in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, is a site of cultural significance for Khorasan. Mushtaq B/Shutterstock Gunmen attacked Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue in March, killing 137 people. The four suspects were purportedly aligned to the …

Afghanistan earthquakes: Taliban interference in aid efforts is affecting disaster response

Afghanistan earthquakes: Taliban interference in aid efforts is affecting disaster response: Over 1,000 people are thought to have been killed in the latest earthquake to hit Afghanistan. Humanitarian aid agencies are scrambling to help the affected villages. But the realities of Taliban rule are starting to have an impact on the ground, as relations between …

Afghanistan: two years after Taliban takeover the west is letting down the democratic opposition

Afghanistan: two years after Taliban takeover the west is letting down the democratic opposition: The consequences of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan two years ago are bad enough for the people who live there, especially women and girls, but also for the region and the world, in the flow of migrants and threat of terrorism. …

Two years after Taliban takeover: why Afghanistan still poses a threat to the region and beyond

Two years after Taliban takeover: why Afghanistan still poses a threat to the region and beyond: The dramatic and rapid Taliban offensive in the spring of 2021 culminated in its takeover of Kabul on August 15. The chaos of the western withdrawal that surrounded the return of the Taliban represented a sad endpoint of two …

Women’s secret war: the inside story of how the US military sent female soldiers on covert combat missions to Afghanistan

Women’s secret war: the inside story of how the US military sent female soldiers on covert combat missions to Afghanistan: US marines with a female engagement team in southern Helmand province, Afghanistan, in May 2012. Cpl. Meghan Gonzales/DVIDS A US Army handbook from 2011 opens one of its chapters with a line from Rudyard Kipling’s …

Despite the Taliban’s pledge to eradicate opium, the poppy trade still flourishes in Afghanistan

Despite the Taliban’s pledge to eradicate opium, the poppy trade still flourishes in Afghanistan: The Taliban have always had a complicated relationship with the opium trade. As a narcotic, opium is haram, or forbidden under Islamic law. But at the same time opium production has tended to increase in areas they have controlled, where local …

Afghanistan: single women and widows are struggling to find their next meal under Taliban restrictions

Afghanistan: single women and widows are struggling to find their next meal under Taliban restrictions: Jamila*, a widow living in Herat, lost her husband in a suicide attack about eight years ago. She has an 18-year-old daughter who is blind and a 20-year-old son who lost both legs in a mine blast. Jamila used to …

Afghanistan: after a year of Taliban government, women are more oppressed than ever

Afghanistan: after a year of Taliban government, women are more oppressed than ever: The recent announcement that women and girls in Afghanistan have been banned by the Taliban government from visiting parks and gyms – even if accompanied by a male “chaperone” – has understandably been greeted with outrage. The UN special representative in Afghanistan …

Afghanistan: with civil war on the cards, the west needs to identify a moderate ally to support

Afghanistan: with civil war on the cards, the west needs to identify a moderate ally to support: Resistance leader: the NRF's Ahmad Massoud. NRF/Twitter It has become axiomatic that in Afghanistan, once an armed resistance group gains a foothold in an area it becomes hard to route out. This is more so if it musters …