Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers say they no longer consider the Doha agreement — a peace deal with the United States that paved the way for the withdrawal of Western forces from the country — to be valid. Speaking on February 28, the fifth anniversary of the agreement, chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the accord was limited to a […]

“Today, the war on drug trafficking is a scientific task. Traditional methods are not working anymore,” Iran’s deputy interior minister said Iran’s deputy interior minister Ali-Akbar Pour-Jamshidian praised Afghanistan for banning the cultivation, and buying and selling of drugs in the country but asked Kabul to be more decisive in the fight against narcotics. The official made the remarks in […]

The acting head of Afghanistan’s embassy in Tehran, Fazl Mohammad Haqqani, held talks with India’s Ambassador to Tehran, Shri Rudra Gaurav Shresth, to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation, the Afghan embassy said in a statement. The embassy in Tehran stated that both sides emphasized enhancing bilateral collaboration between Afghanistan and India during the meeting. The discussions also addressed expanding trade cooperation […]

Former US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said late Tuesday that both Afghanistan and Pakistan need to focus on reaching an agreement that neither side’s soil will be used to threaten the other. He stated there has been fighting for more than a week now between border forces at Torkham. “People are dying, and others are becoming refugees. Traders […]

Afghanistan’s neighborhood is in the midst of a consequential restructuring of its security architecture. Perhaps unsurprisingly, key regional actors Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and China have been continuing to adjust their defense plans and security partnerships to meet the growing threats posed by domestic and cross-border terrorism. But at the same time, these four countries have also been looking for new […]

More than 100 Afghans from different ethnic and minority groups recently gathered in Vienna, Austria, for the fifth meeting of the Vienna Process for a Democratic Afghanistan. Over the past two years, the Vienna Process has emerged as the primary forum for anti-Taliban resistance movements to coordinate, strategize, and chart a common path forward. While the international community has struggled […]

Republican Senator Tim Sheehy said on Monday night that he is leading efforts to push the No Taxpayer Funding for Terrorists Act in the US Senate, which will prevent American financial aid from reaching Afghanistan. In a post on X, the Montana senator, who is a former Navy Seal, said: “After fighting terrorists for years in Iraq and Afghanistan, I’m […]

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former jihadi leader, has expressed concern about the current situation in the country, saying Afghanistan faces “threats and gaps”. Speaking at an event on his book about Islamic economics, Hekmatyar said that to overcome the existing problem, a legitimate government should be established and a constitution should be drafted as a national charter. “We are facing significant […]

The Taliban has for years presented a united front to the outside world and kept a tight lid on dissent within its ranks. But unprecedented displays of discord have laid bare the rifts in the secretive militant group and exposed an intensifying power struggle. The internal divisions could spill over into violence, experts warn, and trigger a new civil war […]

Russia’s grand geo-economic plans in this part of Eurasia are dependent on the resolution of these tensions, while China’s will continue being advanced regardless of whatever happens with them. Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert Khorev told TASS over the weekend that his country supports Pakistan and Afghanistan’s respective counter-terrorism efforts. He then added that it encourages both of them to […]