Afghanistan

Despite heightened expectations, significant Chinese assistance to Afghanistan is unlikely to materialise soon. The Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on 15 August has strengthened speculation regarding a rising Chinese role in Afghanistan to replace the US-led coalition’s two-decade-long presence. The Taliban have recently called Beijing a ‘top ally’. China played its …

The United States’ chaotic departure from Afghanistan has left the region with mounting security questions and uncertain alliances as key countries take a cautious stance toward the new Taliban government, regional experts said in a recent online East-West Center discussion panel. Experts speaking in the “The New Geopolitics of Afghanistan” …

An explosion at a Shia mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan during Friday prayers has left at least 33 people dead and 73 injured, according to officials, with victims being transported to hospital in ambulances and cars. The explosion hit the Bibi Fatima mosque while Shia worshippers were gathering for packed Friday …

On October 8, a terrible blast struck the worshippers attending Friday noon prayers at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque in the Khan Abad district of Bandar, the capital of Kunduz, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities in its northern belt. This is a mosque frequented by Shia Muslims, who were referred to …

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the Islamic State (IS) militant group has thousands of fighters in northern Afghanistan, as Moscow prepares to host international talks next week on the situation in the country. “According to our intelligence, the number of (IS) members alone in northern Afghanistan is about 2,000 …

China wants to invest billions of dollars in Afghanistan if the Taliban guarantee security for their workers and their assets. This, according to the Taliban’s acting Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Zabihullah Mujahid, who also said his government is ready to deliver. In a television interview with VOA’s Ayesha …

The military chiefs of staff of Iran and Pakistan met near Islamabad and pledged to strengthen ties. Iranian and Pakistani military leaders vowed to improved cooperation and discussed Afghanistan on Wednesday. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, met his Pakistani counterpart Gen. Nadeem …

On August 29, in the final days of our 20-year occupation of Afghanistan, the United States launched a drone strike, firing a 20-pound Hellfire missile at an aid worker named Zemari Ahmadi as he parked his car outside his home in a residential neighborhood of Kabul. The lethal strike killed …

On October 8, 2021, at least 47 persons, including 46 Hazara Shia worshipers, were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive device among worshippers in the Sayyidabad Mosque in the Khanabad Bandar area of Kunduz city, the provincial capital of Kunduz. Another 140 persons were injured in the attack. …

On October 8, a terrible blast struck the worshippers attending Friday noon prayers at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque in the Khan Abad district of Bandar, the capital of Kunduz, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities in its northern belt. This is a mosque frequented by Shia Muslims, who were referred to …