A year and a half before their takeover of Afghanistan in August, the Taliban signed a deal with the U.S. stipulating that they would not allow any individuals or groups to use Afghan soil “to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.” Today, with the Taliban in control and U.S. troops withdrawn after two decades of war […]

Adoption of hardcore Wahabbism, especially by the Zia ul-Haq regime (1978-88), accelerated the rise of extremist organizations in Pakistan. The book, The Quranic Concept of War, by Pakistan Army officer, Maj Gen S.K. Malik, published in 1979, became the ‘Bible’ of the Pakistan Army. The book opens with Zia ul-Haq focusing on the concept of jihad within Islam explaining that […]