Freedom of religion and belief and interlinked human rights are under increasing threat in Kyrgyzstan. Forum 18’s survey analysis documents: increasing “legal” restrictions on the freedom of religion and belief; Ahmadi Muslims being prevented from meeting since 2011, and refusal to allow the Falun Gong spiritual movement to exist; state attempts aiming to eventually ban all Jehovah’s Witness communities; state […]

India and China held a 14th round of military talks earlier this week to resolve the border confrontation between the two countries that began in mid-2020. The corps commander-level talks were held at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that separates the armies of the two countries. A joint press release […]

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said Friday his country is committed to providing support to Afghanistan in a bid to avert a humanitarian crisis. Addressing the 3rd Apex Committee meeting on Afghanistan, attended by top Pakistani officials, Khan ordered them to explore bilateral cooperation with Afghanistan and to do what they can to avert a crisis. Officials attending the meeting […]

Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC) has started the construction of a very large waiting area inside the Afghanistan Passport Department compound in Kabul in order to make the wait more bearable for Afghans. Until now, Afghans applying for passports spend hours lining up on the road outside the office. AWCC officials said on Saturday that the waiting room will be […]

The first two weeks of this year have brought a reminder that Central Asia’s relationship with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan are far from smooth and could potentially turn bad very quickly. The Tajik government does not communicate directly with the Taliban and made clear in August when the militants captured Kabul that until the Afghan government is “inclusive” — […]

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan accelerated the country’s human rights crisis and humanitarian catastrophe, Human Rights Watch said Thursday in its World Report 2022. After the Taliban took control of the country on August 15, 2021, they rolled back women’s rights advances and media freedom – the foremost achievements of the post-2001 reconstruction effort. Many secondary schools for girls remained […]

In recent years India has faced the biggest threats since independence. While battling a terrible pandemic and its economic consequences, it had to stand up to China in a sharp military confrontation. At first sight, the historical contradictions between India and China are so deep and touchy that any rapprochement between the two looks impossible. However, the fascinating potential of […]

Government jobs are given as patronage to ex-fighters and exiles living quietly in Pakistan. But not all possess the technical skills required for the job. It was 20 years ago when the jihadi, a defense ministry official in the Taliban’s first government, fled Afghanistan as U.S. troops swept into the country. He settled in southwestern Pakistan with other Afghans, bought […]

Hundreds of Afghans took to the streets of a provincial capital on Thursday to protest against the Taliban’s arrest of a local commander from the Uzbek ethnic minority. Uzbek Taliban fighters demonstrated in Maimana, in the northern province of Faryab, after an Uzbek Taliban commander named Makhdom Alam, also the police chief of Faryab, was sacked. “He was accused of […]

Bayat Foundation officials said on Thursday that they have distributed food to hundreds of needy families in Paktika province this week in a bid to bring relief to as many local residents as possible. According to the officials, the food parcels included flour, rice and oil. This is part of Bayat Foundation’s ongoing efforts to help desperate Afghans survive the […]