An Iranian delegation will travel to Afghanistan’s Herat next week for talks with the Taliban about the completion of a new phase of the railroad connecting the two neighbors. Head of the foreign relations of Herat Province, Maulvi Sher Ahmad Ammar, has announced that the Iranian delegation will visit the province next week for talks about various topics, including the […]

The Taliban’s first stint in power from 1996–2001 was an unqualified tragedy for Afghanistan and the rest of the world. It saw thousands of people dead, widespread destruction, and graphic scenes of violence before the ushering in of the first ‘forever’ war of this century. Will their return bring more tragedy or is it a mere farce? In the 1990s, […]

The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan after a costly 20-year war with the United States and the collapse of the Afghan government in August. Now they are facing a myriad of problems including a crushing and growing humanitarian crisis as the international aid that the country is reliant upon has dried up. But their biggest crisis arguably is in the […]

Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of August, the only semblance of government remaining there is the Taliban. But the Taliban are not partners in defeating terrorism there, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command said. “I don’t see them as a partner — I’ll just be frank,” Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke, commander of U.S. Special […]

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will strengthen cooperation with China to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, especially in the health sector, said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, head of the ICRC’s Regional Delegation for East Asia, Reuters reported. This comes amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan on the back of economic sanctions. Kraehenbuehl said about 47 percent of the […]

Officials representing several Chinese companies are in Afghanistan to conduct on-site inspections of potential lithium projects, Reuters reported. Citing China’s Global Times, Reuters reported that representatives of five companies obtained special visas, arriving in Afghanistan in early November, via the China Arab Economic and Trade Promotion Committee in Kabul and Afghanistan’s mining ministry. Ganfeng Lithium, China’s biggest lithium producer, told […]

Takashi Okada, Japan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, says his country has decided to reopen its embassy in Kabul after the new government ensured Tokyo about its security. Enamullah Samangani, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s deputy spokesman said in a tweet that Takashi Okada raised the issue yesterday during a meeting with Abdul Kabir, the IEA’s political deputy prime minister in Kabul. […]

US special envoy for Afghanistan Thomas West will return to Doha next week for talks with Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials, the US State Department said on Tuesday. Addressing a press briefing, State Department spokesman Ned Price said talks between the two parties will focus on a number of issues including counterterrorism, humanitarian aid, and the economic situation in […]

The Taliban has expanded its shadowy war against the Islamic State branch in Afghanistan, deploying hundreds more fighters to this eastern province in an increasingly violent fight and critical test of the group’s counterterrorism abilities after the U.S. troop withdrawal. More than 1,300 additional Taliban fighters have been deployed to Nangahar province in the past month with orders to increase […]

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on three leaders of Islamic State’s Afghanistan branch and another man it accused of acting as a financial facilitator for the group, in a move that follows a series of attacks in Kabul claimed by the militant group. The State Department on Monday named the group’s emir, Sanaullah Ghafari, spokesperson Sultan Aziz Azam […]