13 Mar 2026
The other war the world is ignoring
While attention is fixed on Iran, a Pakistan–Afghanistan war is redrawing South Asia’s power map.
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16 Jan 2026
How Western unity on Taliban Afghanistan is quietly fracturing
The closure of the former republic’s embassy in Japan shows allied democracies’ slow creep towards diplomatic fatigue. -
7 Jan 2026
Australia’s Afghanistan sanctions emphasise accountability
Australia’s new sanctions framework focuses on individual accountability without humanitarian abandonment. -
26 Nov 2025
Australia’s “deep concern” at multilayered persecution of Afghanistan’s Hazaras
A parliamentary motion highlights systematic violence against a community facing ethnic, religious and gender-based repression. -
11 Nov 2025
Why does the Taliban remain a point of influence in Bangladesh?
Afghanistan’s extreme form of Islam has seeped into subtle spaces – and risks Dhaka’s reputation as a global player. -
15 Oct 2025
The enduring danger of Zawahiri’s vision
A new biography reveals how the slain al-Qaeda leader created an ideology and infrastructure that outlived him. -
1 Oct 2025
When the Taliban switches off the internet, Afghanistan disappears
Cutting Afghanistan off from the world shows how the Taliban prioritises control over the welfare of millions already suffering. -
29 Sep 2025
Afghanistan must tread a narrow path to stability
Denial and extremism have plagued the Taliban’s return. Will they let history repeat itself or can they reform? -
25 Sep 2025
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5 Sep 2025
Afghanistan’s earthquake is a force multiplier of fragility
The latest disaster is another blow to isolated communities already reeling from food insecurity, drought and mass refugee returns. -
15 Aug 2025
Russia and Central Asia are quietly embracing the Taliban
Once pariahs, the Taliban are seen as partners in a region where pragmatism rules. -
15 Aug 2025
Afghanistan: Ten ways the Taliban is vanishing women from public life
Yet Afghan women show they have not given up – and demand that the world does not either. -
30 Jul 2025
Courage is essential for Afghanistan’s women of Radio Begum
With girls banned from high schools and universities, a free educational broadcast service continues to make waves. -
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2 Dec 2024
Central Asia’s Taliban thaw
A decision by Kazakhstan to remove the Taliban from a list of terrorism groups fits with a regional trend toward normalisation of relations. -
7 Nov 2024
The chance to reframe international engagement with Afghanistan
The present approach isn’t working, but this is a critical moment to chart a different course. -
10 Oct 2024
The cruelty in banning Afghan women from poetry
Another tool has been taken away by state-mandated isolation. -
19 Sep 2024
The Taliban’s gas pipedream
The much-hyped TAPI gas line faces too many blockages to be realistic. -
14 May 2024
Targeting girls education: Pakistan’s tribal areas suffer under Taliban influence
Schools are the best weapon against extremism, that’s why the militants fear them. -
19 Apr 2024
Afghan women: The silent victims of Taliban brutality
The Taliban is on a relentless mission to erase women from the political, economic, and societal discourse of Afghanistan. -
5 Apr 2024
Pakistan: The dangerous reality of working on China’s megaprojects
A spate of deadly insurgent attacks on Chinese nationals sends a message about vulnerability. -
9 Oct 2023
Pakistan intends to deport 1.7 million Afghans
Will global condemnation and financial default force Islamabad’s hand on refugees fleeing the Taliban regime? -
27 Sep 2023
The Kalash are under threat from Pakistani Taliban
A remote and persecuted religious minority is an easy target for militants set on gaining territory by any means. -
27 Sep 2023
Why humanitarian aid is vital to Afghanistan
Despite significant hurdles, aid has continued to bolster the country’s employment, education and banking sectors. -
1 Sep 2023
Can the Taliban contain Islamic State in Afghanistan?
Concerns are growing about spillover attacks further into the region. -
28 Jul 2023
Far from the limelight, forgotten Afghans continue the fight
Accounts from Kabul hold lessons on how easily the world moves on, and some takeaways for Ukraine. -
20 Jul 2023
The world needs a new plan to deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan
Saving lives is always complicated by politics. -
29 May 2023
Dealing with the Taliban to stop a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan
The basic needs of Afghans cannot be ignored. -
15 May 2023
China to the rescue, with peace plans for Saudi, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan – up to a point
These diplomatic gambits all carry a message. But conflict resolution isn’t necessarily the main one. -
21 Apr 2023
India still needs to work with Russia on Afghanistan
Proximity changes the priorities for India in a conflict on the doorstep. -
20 Apr 2023
Don’t reward the Taliban’s gender apartheid with recognition
Returning diplomats to Afghanistan would send a terrible message to women and girls that the world has given up on them. -
13 Apr 2023
The urgent humanitarian need to get diplomats back to Afghanistan
Aid workers are pressed enough to deliver much needed relief without a burden of also speaking for the global community. -
28 Mar 2023
India’s delicate dance with the Taliban
With Afghanistan’s China pivot proving disappointing, the Islamist group is reprising its relationship with New Delhi. -
17 Mar 2023
Is a stable Afghanistan where China, Russia and the US cooperate?
Three of the world’s most influential powers have skin in the game when it comes to preventing another civil war. -
16 Feb 2023
Is the tide turning on classroom bans for Afghan girls?
In Afghanistan, there is increasing dissatisfaction with the suspension of female higher education, even within the Taliban. -
14 Oct 2022
Enemies of education are back in Malala’s hometown?
Fresh attacks by the Pakistani Taliban mark an alarming regression in the decade-long progress made in the region. -
2 Aug 2022
Killing the al-Qaeda chief leaves endless questions
The US has declared justice after more than 20 years hunting Ayman al-Zawahiri. But a battle with extremism will go on. -
27 Jun 2022
India-Pakistan: regional rivalries still rule in Afghanistan
The visit of an Indian delegation for talks with the Taliban in Kabul has raised eyebrows in neighbouring Pakistan. -
6 May 2022
Australia can stand up for the Afghan people, and the time is now
Canberra should signal to the world that we’re all better off in a community of nations where human dignity matters. -
2 May 2022
Drones do the talking in Pakistan’s anti-terror offensive
Islamabad is tired of waiting for Afghanistan’s Taliban to control the TTP who have found safe haven across the border. -
30 Mar 2022
Russia’s effort to escape diplomatic isolation
Moscow may turn to the Collective Security Treaty Organisation in Central Asia to prove its regional standing is intact. -
1 Feb 2022
Oslo talks expose the West’s Taliban dilemma
Trusting the fundamentalists to deliver aid would mean ignoring a record of past promises to respect rights. -
13 Jan 2022
The geopolitics of aiding the Taliban’s Afghanistan
Humanitarian assistance must be disentangled from concepts of political legitimacy in the country’s unfolding crisis. -
31 Dec 2021
Taliban takeover – Best of The Interpreter 2021
The US withdrawal was telegraphed months beforehand, but the speed of the Taliban advance still came as a shock. -
29 Nov 2021
The Doha accord and Taliban legitimacy
Afghanistan’s new government has a full deck of cards to play in the security concerns of regional neighbours. -
28 Sep 2021
Yemen: the search for leverage after Afghanistan
Islamists see advantage in a perceived reduction of America’s commitment to friends. Yemen could be the start. -
9 Sep 2021
An Afghan test leaves Australia’s principles wanting
A cricket match offered a field to engage on rights issues but instead the government further isolated the Taliban. -
7 Sep 2021
The evolving Taliban-ISK rivalry
With the US withdrawal, the Taliban must decide if cooperating with an old enemy could risk losing to a new one. -
6 Sep 2021
Turbulence, the Taliban, and Turkey’s role in Afghanistan’s future
A role supporting operations at Kabul airport looks to offer Recep Tayyip Erdoğan more risks than rewards. -
26 Aug 2021
Economic diplomacy: After Kabul, Australia looks to India
Australia has a lower war-to-aid ratio, but the US is more transparent about its failure against the Taliban.