Seventeen men will contest Afghanistan’s presidential election in a race among old power brokers — ex-government officials, prominent technocrats, and a notorious former warlord.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has rejected foreign interference and called for the presidential election to be held next month as planned, amid talks between the United States and the Taliban aimed at bringing the nearly 18-year war in Afghanistan to an end.

Pakistan says it has cut the last remaining public transport link with India — a bus line linking Lahore with New Delhi — as its anger mounts over a dispute with its nuclear rival over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Three decades ago, Ali Mohamad says he made a trip into Indian-controlled Kashmir to join a small armed militant group. Now he works in a shop on the Pakistani side of the region, but he hasn’t given up thoughts of returning to the conflict.

The latest round of U.S.-Taliban talks appears to be heading to a framework for peace. In exchange for a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, the Taliban have agreed to a guarantee that Afghan territory will not be used to sponsor terrorist groups or stage attacks against the United States or its allies. This would be followed by a […]