A recent UN report and other worrying signs point to a likely surge in both an al-Qaeda and Islamic State presence in Afghanistan in the six months since the Taliban has been in power. The rented home where the now-defunct Iraqi Islamic State (IS) leader known as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi was either blown up or blew himself up during […]

The United Nations has removed former Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani from the list of heads of state. The list, published on the official website of the United Nations, also removes the name of Ghani’s wife, Rula Ghani, as Afghanistan’s first lady. However, the post of President of Afghanistan is listed as “President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan”. Similarly, […]

Amnesty International said Tuesday the U.S. decision to divert half of Afghanistan’s money to victims of 9/11 attacks was “unjust” and a “mistake” and called on the U.S. administration to reverse their decision. In a statement issued by the organization, Amnesty International said the money does not belong to the victims of the September 11 attacks on the United States. […]

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed concern that the Afghan people’s need for humanitarian assistance has increased by 30 percent. The committee wrote on its Twitter page on Tuesday that currently 24.4 million people across Afghanistan are in need of humanitarian assistance. According to the United Nations, more than half of Afghanistan’s population is facing a […]

During a meeting with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that his neighbors should help form an inclusive government in Afghanistan, otherwise the country will become insecure. Raisi who was on a visit to Qatar, said at a joint press conference with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani that in […]

The World Bank’s management has signed off on a proposal that would repurpose $600 million of the just over $1 billion left in a frozen trust fund to benefit Afghan education, families and communities, a source familiar with the plan told Reuters. The board of the World Bank is due to discuss the proposal on March 1, with a final […]

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday emphasized the need to continue providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan but also stressed the need for an all-inclusive government in the country. Amirabdollahian and Guterres met on the sidelines of Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday and discussed a number of issues including the situation in Afghanistan. […]

Afghanistan has undergone a dramatic transformation in half a year of Taliban rule. The country feels safer, less violent than it has in decades, but the once aid-fueled economy is barreling toward collapse. Tens of thousands of Afghans have fled or have been evacuated, including large numbers of educated elites. They either fear for their economic future or lack of […]

Despite lingering concerns among some officials in Washington that Afghanistan is on its way to once again becoming a terrorist haven, recent U.S. defense and intelligence assessments seem to indicate that at least for now, groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida are not ready to use the country as a launch pad for attacks against the West.

As the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan grows increasingly dire, Pakistan has informed India that it will allow the transportation of wheat and life-saving medicines from India to Afghanistan through its territory, on the condition that only Afghan trucks are used to carry it. The Taliban regime has praised Pakistan for the move, but will it arrest the decline in India’s […]