Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has politely turned down Pakistan’s offer to send manpower to Afghanistan, stating there are enough educated young people in the country. In an audiotaped interview with the BBC on Saturday, Mujahid thanked Pakistan but said the IEA did not need outside labor. “There are enough educated young people to […]

A high-level delegation led by Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi visited Ashgabat at the invitation of Turkmenistan on Saturday and met with Turkman Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Muradov and other officials, the Afghan foreign ministry said Sunday. According to a statement issued by the foreign ministry, the meeting focused on strengthening political, diplomatic and […]

China’s ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu criticized the United States for seeking revenge on Afghans for its defeat by imposing economic sanctions, and said that the US was using the issues of an inclusive government, human rights, women’s rights and freedom of expression as pretexts in Afghanistan. In a meeting with Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, on Sunday, the envoy […]

Until recently, the US Fed ignored America’s soaring inflation. Due to its belated response, the consequent risks will penalize the ailing global recovery. In November, U.S. inflation surged to near 40-year high, at 6.8%. Only days later, the Fed indicated it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March, thus paving the way for interest rate hikes by the end […]

Freedom of religion and belief and interlinked human rights are under increasing threat in Kyrgyzstan. Forum 18’s survey analysis documents: increasing “legal” restrictions on the freedom of religion and belief; Ahmadi Muslims being prevented from meeting since 2011, and refusal to allow the Falun Gong spiritual movement to exist; state attempts aiming to eventually ban all Jehovah’s Witness communities; state […]

India and China held a 14th round of military talks earlier this week to resolve the border confrontation between the two countries that began in mid-2020. The corps commander-level talks were held at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that separates the armies of the two countries. A joint press release […]

In recent years India has faced the biggest threats since independence. While battling a terrible pandemic and its economic consequences, it had to stand up to China in a sharp military confrontation. At first sight, the historical contradictions between India and China are so deep and touchy that any rapprochement between the two looks impossible. However, the fascinating potential of […]

Hundreds of Afghans took to the streets of a provincial capital on Thursday to protest against the Taliban’s arrest of a local commander from the Uzbek ethnic minority. Uzbek Taliban fighters demonstrated in Maimana, in the northern province of Faryab, after an Uzbek Taliban commander named Makhdom Alam, also the police chief of Faryab, was sacked. “He was accused of […]

The Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, has issued a decree restricting the amount of money travellers can take out of the country through Kabul International Airport. The head of the airport, Abdul Hadi Hamdan, said on Thursday that according to the decree, no individual or family can take out more than $5,000. […]

“… Which country’s army operates housing schemes? The army’s job is to protect the country’s borders; not to participate in commercial activities. — Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, 2019 If one goes by what’s written on the top-left hand side of its entrance, then it’s clear that the imposing building on the banks of Islamabad’s Rawal Lake is […]