The future of Afghanistan remains deeply uncertain – mostly because the Taliban have not decided what path they will chart for their new government, as Crisis Group expert Graeme Smith discovered in Kabul. The Taliban are still finding their way around Kabul, the capital they took with the rest of Afghanistan last summer, and some of the former insurgents look […]

An international human rights defender is urging the United Nations to “reconceptualize” its travel ban on the leadership of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban to pressure them into respecting rights of all Afghans, particularly women and girls. Human Rights Watch said in a statement Thursday that “a grave human rights crisis has been unfolding” in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over the […]

Pakistan continues to reel from uncertainty as its political transition — ill-timed during a period of domestic and global economic tumult — has yet to consolidate. Political volatility during the new governing coalition’s first two months in power has led to policy paralysis. But this paralysis has begun to ease as the army has signaled support for the government and […]

Qatar’s National Security Adviser Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Misnad reaffirmed Doha’s commitment to cooperate with Afghanistan in political, economic and social areas as he visited Kabul on Thursday. In his meeting with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Al-Misnad expressed his satisfaction over the rule of IEA in Afghanistan, according to an IEA […]

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, has thanked Russia for maintaining “friendly relations” with IEA over the past two decades. Speaking in a ceremony held on the occasion of the National Day of the Russian Federation at the Russian Embassy in Kabul, Stanikzai also suggested that Russia’s political support for the […]

Saudi Arabia on Thursday announced a $30 million grant to support the Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund (AHTF). Operated under the umbrella of the Islamic Development Bank in coordination with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the AHTF grant will be provided through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center and the Saudi Fund for Development. Dr. Samer Al-Jetaily, KSrelief’s director […]

A wave of religious fanaticism has engulfed the entire globe, its magnitude no less in India, which has been witnessing the same trend. The Indian state is in limelight due to the derogatory remarks by the ruling party BJP’s members Nurpur Sharma and Naveen Jindal on the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Anger is spreading in the Middle […]

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baqr, a man known for his pithy retorts, pretended to quiver in his pants. Hindu nationalists had called for a boycott of the Gulf airline after Qatar took India to task for derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed and Muslim worship by two spokespeople of the country’s ruling party. In an apparent spoof, Mr. Al Baqr […]

Taliban, famously known for their brutalities and social restrictions on women (among other things) have once again emerged as a strong threat to Afghan women’s rights in the wake of the United States (US) withdrawal from Afghanistan. The establishment of the Taliban interim government on September 7, 2021, is deemed as a visible threat to women in Afghanistan. The group […]

Beijing’s trade practices have come under intense scrutiny amid its ongoing competition with Washington. Yet with the United States and other rich countries dominating the debate, the effects of China’s trade policies on poorer countries have been largely ignored. The United States has complained about China’s use of subsidies and other protectionist trade measures to promote its advanced manufacturing and […]