Members of the United Nations Security Council remained divided Monday over whether to exempt some of Afghanistan’s Taliban officials from a travel ban, diplomatic sources said. Under a 2011 Security Council resolution, 135 Taliban leaders are subject to a sanctions regime that includes asset freezes and travel bans. Thirteen of them benefited from an exemption from the travel ban, renewed […]

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has been charged under the country’s anti-terrorism act, the latest chapter in a tense struggle for power with Pakistan’s current government since his ouster. Sunday’s move came a day after Khan addressed a rally and criticized top police officials and a judge for the arrest of his chief of staff. Police said in a […]

A roadside bombing on Friday killed two policemen in a former militant stronghold in northwestern Pakistan, police said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Bajur, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. The district’s police chief, Abdus Samad Khan, said the bomb was remotely detonated. A search for perpetrators was underway, he added. Bajur has […]

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will press ahead with talks on releasing billions of dollars in Afghanistan’s foreign-held assets despite the late al Qaeda leader’s presence in Kabul and foot-dragging by the Taliban and Afghan central bank, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation. The decision to pursue the initiative to help stabilize Afghanistan’s collapsed economy underscores growing […]

The risk of a crisis erupting between the U.S. and China because of a visit to Taiwan by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is high enough to warrant postponing – if not outright cancelling – the trip. Given the perceived costs of backing down in the face of Beijing’s threats, however, the odds of the […]

A former security force member, Rahmani, who had interrogated and investigated Anas Haqqani while he was in a Kabul prison returned to Afghanistan recently and met up for a chat. Haqqani, who was in prison in Kabul for five years before being released in November 2019, said Rahmani had been his interrogator while in prison. “Part of the interrogation and […]

China will resume issuing visas to Afghans from August 1 and allow 98 percent of Afghan imports to enter tax free, it was reported on Friday. Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced the measures when he met Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Uzbekistan on Thursday, Reuters reported citing a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry. Wang also told […]

Afghanistan’s economy has deteriorated significantly since the Taliban’s return to power, owing largely to a reduction in international aid flows. Many well-educated Afghans have left the country, leaving Taliban-controlled Afghanistan short on entrepreneurs, skilled workers, and domestic capital resources. Taliban success in curbing official corruption and the end of the civil war partly mitigates the economic difficulties; yet half the […]

One year after their takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban have struggled to govern the country, maintained a close relationship with al-Qaeda, and fostered an atmosphere of violence, insecurity, and economic stagnation. The situation for women and girls in Afghanistan has drastically deteriorated since the Taliban consolidated power in August 2021, with access to education and employment being greatly curtailed. The […]

One year after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, fighting has decreased considerably. Yet serious security problems remain, not least the foreign militants still in the country. External actors should press the new authorities to fulfil their commitments and avoid any steps that could reignite large-scale violence. What’s new? The world’s deadliest war subsided into an uneasy calm after the Taliban […]