A powerful United Nations committee deferred a decision on applications by the ruling authorities of both countries, widely regarded as pariahs, to replace envoys of the governments they had toppled. A bid by the new Taliban government in Afghanistan and the junta ruling Myanmar to gain international recognition suffered a blow on Wednesday when the United Nations put off a […]

Behind the continued attacks on former Afghan officials is a story of Taliban success and failure: creation of a well-indoctrinated generation of fighters that is ill-prepared to move on. After their victory this summer, Taliban leaders had declared a blanket amnesty that was meant to include even Afghan security forces and intelligence operatives. Yet former Afghan officials say they and […]

A Diplomat Risk Intelligence report warns that the options in front of the new Taliban regime in Kabul when it comes to running the Afghan economy are few and perilous. Experts consulted for the latest DRI report on the political drivers, Taliban strategies, domestic implications of the Taliban’s return to Kabul mid-August this year pointed out that there are essentially […]

As countries slowly start reopening their embassies in Kabul, India is also reportedly considering the possibility of re-staffing its mission in Afghanistan. So far, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan all have a diplomatic presence in the country. Japan and the EU have also discussed the possibility of returning to Afghanistan. One senior […]

Three Russian aircraft landed in Kabul on Wednesday carrying 36 tonnes of humanitarian aid, Russia’s TASS news agency reported. All three Russian Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, involved in delivering humanitarian aid to Afghanistan would also evacuate Russian citizens, as well as citizens of the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states, Russia’s Defense Ministry, said in a statement. “Some three Ilyushin Il-76 […]

Saudi Arabia announced that it has reopened the consular section of its embassy in Kabul as of Tuesday in order to provide consular services to Afghan citizens. This latest move has been welcomed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA). “We welcome them, appreciate this profound step by the Saudi government and view it as start of good relations,” said […]

A U.S. delegation led by the special representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West, held talks with senior Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) representatives in Qatar on Monday and Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said in a statement Wednesday. The two sides discussed the international community’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and the U.S. delegation pledged to continue to support […]

The Taliban co-founder and now prime minister of Afghanistan Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund pledged Saturday that his government will “not interfere” in other countries’ internal affairs, and urged international charities to continue offering aid to the war-ravaged country. Hassan’s audio speech broadcast on state television — his first address to the nation since the Taliban seized power in August — […]

Twenty years after being dislodged from power by a U.S. invasion, the Taliban again took charge of Afghanistan in August, prompting the U.S. and its allies to expedite their planned exit from the country. The strict Islamic fundamentalists — whose previous five-year rule was characterized by the oppression of women and minorities, and the harboring of international terrorists — pledged […]

More than 100 former members of the military and police have been killed or forcibly disappeared by the Taliban since the group came into power, according to an investigation by Human Rights Watch. More than 100 former members of the Afghan security forces in four provinces have been killed by the Taliban or disappeared at their hands in the first […]