Somalia Newly elected president took steps to mend ties with regional member states and appointed new PM; Al-Shabaab suffered major defeat in Galmudug state; risk of famine persisted. In effort to reset relations between federal govt and member states, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud late May-early June travelled to South West and Galmudug states, whose leaders had been aligned with former […]

Afghanistan Intra-Taliban debate over social policies continued, World Bank announced new economic projects, and fighting between Taliban and opposition groups persisted. Video 6 June surfaced showing Kabul governor stating current situation regarding women is not acceptable and urged ministry for promotion of virtue and prevention of vice to implement decrees in capital. Deputy FM Abbas Stanikzai 19 June criticised govt’s […]

A BBC Panorama investigation has uncovered evidence that the British SAS, a special forces unit, executed detainees and murdered unarmed people during operations in Afghanistan. The investigation found new evidence of scores of secret killings by the SAS, and efforts by some of the most senior figures in UK Special Forces to conceal evidence of war crimes. Panorama has identified […]

Ever since they took control of Kabul last summer, the Taliban have sought to assure neighboring countries that Afghanistan is open for business and that they can protect investments. Islamic State is making that sales pitch harder. Take Tashkent’s ambition to build a railway across Afghanistan that would connect Uzbekistan to ports in Pakistan and link Central Asia to new […]

The Promise and Peril of Rapprochement With the Taliban Since taking power last summer, Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has been isolated internationally; not a single country has yet recognized it. But in recent weeks, Taliban officials have made a series of increasingly public overtures to a once unlikely prospective partner: India. And the interest has been reciprocated, to some extent. At […]

Anas Haqqani said this week that the Haqqani Network never existed and that when he was arrested in Qatar, he had been a harmless student on holiday. In 2014, when he was 20, Haqqani was arrested in Qatar, tried in Kabul and sentenced to death. According information obtained by Der Spiegel, the only reason he wasn’t ultimately executed was because […]

Mawlavi Haibatullah Akhundzada, supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), on Saturday in his Eid speech, warned officials not to create a gap between the government and people. “Governments have collapsed through the creation of gaps between people and government and I instruct IEA officials to stand with the people and not to create a gap between people […]

Qatar is looking to sign a security deal with Afghanistan, Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, acting defense minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has said. Mujahid said this after returning from Doha where he met with senior Qatari officials during his two-day visit following an official invitation. He said that Qatar expressed interest in signing a cooperation agreement between the […]

The United States still doesn’t want the Afghan people to be at ease by continuing to keep sanctions on Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, acting prime minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), said on Saturday. “The enemy that fought us for 20 years in this country still doesn’t want these oppressed and tired people to be at ease […]

Millions of Muslims across the globe celebrated the first day of Eid al-Adha on Saturday, one of the biggest holidays of the Islamic calendar. Known as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” the revered observance coincides with the final rites of the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia. It’s a joyous occasion, for which food is a hallmark. Much of Asia, including Indonesia, […]