The US and the EU should not buy Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s fake pro-Western posture (such as when he offered to run the Kabul airport, then fled) or his fake anti-radicalism (such as when he is courting the Afghan terrorists). Erdogan’s strategy, as a member of NATO, is clearly to bolster Russia’s and China’s plans for the future of […]

The recent terror attack at Kabul airport by an affiliate of the Salafi-jihadi Islamic State, the Islamic State-Khorasan, was a fresh reminder that Salafi-jihadis have been regrouping and focusing their timely attacks on soft targets meant to create deadly pandemonium and inflict harm and damage on American personnel and policies. Arguably, the Biden Administration’s warning that more terror attacks loomed […]

The Indian government has been faced with a strange dilemma since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. On Aug. 31, within hours of US forces departing the war-torn nation, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that its envoy to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, had met with the head of the Taliban’s political office, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai. This triggered […]

Three people were killed and 20 others wounded in a suicide attack on a security checkpoint in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Sunday. The suicide bombing targeted a Frontier Constabulary check-post on the Mastung road in Quetta, the provincial capital, a senior police officer said. Azhar Akram, deputy inspector-general of Quetta police, told reporters 18 of the injured were security […]

The Taliban on Sunday vowed to form an “inclusive and accountable” government in Afghanistan. Taliban Deputy Leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said that the government would be formed soon. “We are working to form an inclusive government that represents all the people of Afghanistan, but security is essential to start big economic projects in Afghanistan,” Baradar stated. He emphasized that […]

The Biden administration’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan by August 31 has created instability in the country has resulted in instability in the country. Following this decision, the Taliban in the country became active and took full control of 210 provinces and the capital. A temporary committee headed by former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah was then set up […]

In an article published in the Taliban’s monthly magazine, Al-Somood, which was released[1] on August 31, 2021, writer Karim Al-Nakadi argued that the views held by the Taliban today are consistent with the Taliban of the past, and responded to several accusations made against the Taliban, including the claim that they fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) on behalf of […]

A close senior aide to Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden has returned to Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan two weeks after the Taliban seized control of the country. A video verified by the The National shows Amin ul-Haq being driven through a checkpoint in the passenger seat of a white four-wheel-drive to a rapturous welcome by supporters. Ul-Haq, 61, […]

Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the humanitarian emergency there has become even more dire. This briefing note outlines the most pressing issues and steps to help relieve the suffering. Dramatic scenes at the Kabul airport of Afghans desperate to leave the country, and horrific bombings there, captured the world’s attention in the weeks after the Taliban took power. […]

On 15 August, the Taliban capped their drive for power in Afghanistan by taking Kabul, the country’s capital, for the first time since they ruled most of the country from 1996 to 2001. With the previous government’s collapse, the group is now the de facto power throughout the country and is in the process of forming a new government and […]