With the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the rapid victory of the Taliban, some observers have pronounced the commencement of a new Chinese-led regional order. China, they say, will sweep in and develop road and rail infrastructure to extract Afghanistan’s vast mineral and rare earth wealth and thereby emerge as the ultimate winner of America’s longest war. Such projections belie […]

The images of desperate Afghan citizens trying to leave their country, beyond highlighting a massive human tragedy, may become a symbol of the so-called war on terror. Many of those Afghans already understand the feeling of abandoning their homes, because their families experienced it. They know what happens when foreign armies withdraw from their country and the tragedies that can […]

The return of Taliban rule over Afghanistan will have significant consequences for the region and international politics more broadly. For the Islamic Republic of Iran, Washington’s Afghanistan fiasco is about more than just the victory of the Taliban; it has been touted as confirmation that U.S. policy in the Islamic world is doomed to fail. In its messaging, Tehran has […]

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has asked to address world leaders at the United Nations in New York this week and nominated their Doha-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s UN ambassador, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi made the request in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, Reuters […]

The United Kingdom has called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a harbor for terrorist groups. In an interview with NBC on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that future aid of the international community to Afghanistan depends on the IEA’s commitments in counter-terrorism. “What we’ve got […]

The investigation performed by U.S. Central Command to look into the Aug. 29 airstrike in Kabul will itself undergo further review, the Defense Department announced today. Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby today announced that Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has asked Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall to task a military officer — three-stars or higher […]

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says an ongoing “fight for power” among rival Taliban groups has complicated the situation in Afghanistan since the departure of U.S.-led international forces late last month and publicly pressed the hard-line militants now ruling the country to respect rights and avoid the country becoming a “safe haven” for terrorists. Guterres also warned that it is “a […]

The Haqqani network derives its name from Jalaluddin Haqqani, who first fought against the Soviet army in Afghanistan, and later against the United States (US) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces. Following the death of Jalaluddin, the leadership of the group was assumed by his son, Sirajuddin, who is set to head the Interior Ministry, perhaps the most important […]

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a series of bomb attacks on the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. The insurgent outfit’s Amaaq News Agency said on its Telegram channel that Daesh fighters conducted the blasts in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province. The agency claimed: “More than 35 Taliban members were killed or wounded in a series of explosions that took […]

Pakistan or any other country has no right to ask the Taliban for establishing an ‘inclusive’ government in Afghanistan, the movement says. Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted he had launched talks with the Taliban on the creation of a broad-based government, On Monday, a Pakistani newspaper quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying he was collecting information about […]