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  • 14 Oct 2022
    • Afghanistan
    • Pakistan
    • Terrorism
    • Human rights

    Enemies of education are back in Malala’s hometown? 

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Fresh attacks by the Pakistani Taliban mark an alarming regression in the decade-long progress made in the region.
  • 2 Aug 2022
    • Afghanistan
    • ISIS
    • Al Qaeda
    • Terrorism

    Killing the al-Qaeda chief leaves endless questions

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    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
    • Pakistan
    • Afghanistan
    • India

    India-Pakistan: regional rivalries still rule in Afghanistan

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    The visit of an Indian delegation for talks with the Taliban in Kabul has raised eyebrows in neighbouring Pakistan.
  • 6 May 2022
    • Asylum Seekers
    • Afghanistan War
    • Australian immigration
    • Afghanistan
    • Human rights

    Australia can stand up for the Afghan people, and the time is now

    Ahmad Shuja Jamal
    Canberra should signal to the world that we’re all better off in a community of nations where human dignity matters.
  • 2 May 2022
    • Afghanistan
    • Pakistan

    Drones do the talking in Pakistan’s anti-terror offensive

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Islamabad is tired of waiting for Afghanistan’s Taliban to control the TTP who have found safe haven across the border.
  • 30 Mar 2022
    • Afghanistan
    • Central Asia
    • Russia

    Russia’s effort to escape diplomatic isolation

    Ed Wyatt
    Moscow may turn to the Collective Security Treaty Organisation in Central Asia to prove its regional standing is intact.
  • 1 Feb 2022
    • United Nations
    • Afghanistan
    • Human rights

    Oslo talks expose the West’s Taliban dilemma 

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Trusting the fundamentalists to deliver aid would mean ignoring a record of past promises to respect rights.
  • 13 Jan 2022
    • Afghanistan

    The geopolitics of aiding the Taliban’s Afghanistan

    Roshni Kapur , Chayanika Saxena
    Humanitarian assistance must be disentangled from concepts of political legitimacy in the country’s unfolding crisis.
  • 31 Dec 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Taliban takeover – Best of The Interpreter 2021

    The Interpreter
    The US withdrawal was telegraphed months beforehand, but the speed of the Taliban advance still came as a shock.
  • 29 Nov 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    The Doha accord and Taliban legitimacy

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Afghanistan’s new government has a full deck of cards to play in the security concerns of regional neighbours. 
  • 28 Sep 2021
    • Afghanistan
    • Saudi Arabia
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Yemen

    Yemen: the search for leverage after Afghanistan

    Philip Eliason
    Islamists see advantage in a perceived reduction of America’s commitment to friends. Yemen could be the start.
  • 9 Sep 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia

    An Afghan test leaves Australia’s principles wanting

    Edmond Roy
    A cricket match offered a field to engage on rights issues but instead the government further isolated the Taliban.
  • 7 Sep 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Terrorism
    • Afghanistan

    The evolving Taliban-ISK rivalry

    Amira Jadoon , Andrew Mines , Abdul Sayed
    With the US withdrawal, the Taliban must decide if cooperating with an old enemy could risk losing to a new one.
  • 6 Sep 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Turkey

    Turbulence, the Taliban, and Turkey’s role in Afghanistan’s future

    Iain MacGillivray
    A role supporting operations at Kabul airport looks to offer Recep Tayyip Erdoğan more risks than rewards.
  • 26 Aug 2021
    • Pacific Islands
    • Afghanistan
    • Afghanistan War
    • India
    • Australia
    • Trade

    Economic diplomacy: After Kabul, Australia looks to India

    Greg Earl
    Australia has a lower war-to-aid ratio, but the US is more transparent about its failure against the Taliban.
  • 26 Aug 2021
    • Diplomacy
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia
    • International law

    What’s in a name? The Taliban and recognition under international law

    Donald R Rothwell
    Formal recognition as a legitimate government may be a bargaining chip to press the Taliban to respect human rights.
  • 25 Aug 2021
    • Asia
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • China

    Afghanistan holds lessons for American power in Asia

    Sam Roggeveen
    The US will one day ask the same question about its presence in Asia that it did of Afghanistan: is it still worth it?
  • 24 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • India

    India fears a poison harvest from Afghanistan

    Aarti Betigeri
    The Taliban takeover forces a regional realignment and has left New Delhi wondering about its past investment.
  • 23 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    The world must evacuate women police in Afghanistan

    Melissa Jardine
    The international community trained local women to put their lives on the line but has now abandoned them to danger.
  • 19 Aug 2021
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Decoding intelligence on Afghanistan

    Ben Scott
    An official inquiry should answer much wider questions about the US mission than only those of the final few weeks.
  • 18 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • India
    • Pakistan

    Afghanistan’s collapse shifts strategic dynamics in South Asia

    Stuti Bhatnagar
    If the Taliban’s return is seen a plus for Pakistan, India appears to be the loser.
  • 17 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Migration
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    What to do after the Taliban take-over

    Susanne Schmeidl
    The foreign troops might be gone but Afghanistan is still our responsibility.
  • 16 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Kabul has fallen and so have we

    Edmond Roy
    Defeat in Afghanistan is not only a military one, but of the commitment professed by the “international community”.
  • 16 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Afghanistan: the right time to leave

    Rodger Shanahan
    There was no “low cost” solution for the United States other than endless conflict.
  • 10 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Russia

    Afghanistan: Russia faces its own risks and uncertainty

    Ian Hill
    Regional instability, refugee flows, extremism, and zero appetite for warfare temper Russia’s stance on Afghanistan.
  • 5 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Pakistan

    Is Pakistan fuelling a Taliban takeover?

    Hussain Nadim
    The Afghan government points a finger at Pakistan in a tactic to divert attention from its own colossal failures.
  • 30 Jul 2021
    • Afghanistan
    • China

    China’s Afghan conundrum

    Henry Storey
    Afghanistan is not reputed to be the “graveyard of empires” without reason.
  • 26 Jul 2021
    • Afghanistan
    • India
    • Pakistan

    Another proxy war in Afghanistan?

    Aarti Betigeri
    India and Pakistan both have deep ties to Afghanistan and as US troops withdraw, a fresh conflict may fill the void.
  • 13 Jul 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia
    • Migration

    Afghanistan, Australia and the visa conundrum

    Rodger Shanahan
    What responsibility does the government have for those on the periphery of the Australian campaign in Afghanistan?
  • 12 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Abandoning Afghanistan won’t bring peace

    Nishank Motwani
    The pledge of a “a responsible end” to America’s involvement in Afghanistan’s war will likely have the opposite effect.
  • 22 Jun 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Sex and Gender

    Standing with Afghanistan: Inclusion and women’s rights in peace talks

    Jacqui True , Azadah Raz Mohammad , Felicity Gerry , Jenna Sapiano
    Australia, and the world, must insist that negotiations safeguard women’s rights, else talk of peace will be empty.
  • 29 Mar 2021
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    An interim government would bring ruin to Afghanistan

    Nishank Motwani
    A US proposal to dissolve the Afghan administration risks a tragic repeat of the past.
  • 25 Mar 2021
    • Afghanistan
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Afghanistan: When a song is not just a song

    Susanne Schmeidl , Gillian Howell , Jawed Nader
    A move to prohibit girls singing was met with a big backlash on social media – a sign of the times, old and new.
  • 8 Mar 2021
    • Afghanistan

    Something has to give: The cost of no peace in Afghanistan

    Susanne Schmeidl
    Wavering US commitment, a weak government and a waiting Taliban keep Afghans’ future at risk.
  • 23 Feb 2021
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Afghanistan: To leave or not to leave

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Under the Doha deal, US forces are meant to be out of the country in mere weeks. Either way, peace appears far off.
  • 20 Nov 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • Afghanistan War
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia

    Australia’s mission in Afghanistan – what was it again?

    Daniel Flitton
    Nothing can reduce the responsibility of individuals. But the political context for a “forever war” is relevant, too.
  • 20 Oct 2020
    • Afghanistan
    • China

    Can China be a peacemaker in Afghanistan?

    Naweed Jafari
    China has so far stayed on the sidelines of the intra-Afghan talks, but it could play a big role in ending the conflict.
  • 14 Oct 2020
    • Sustainability
    • Afghanistan
    • Iran
    • Climate change

    Afghanistan and Iran: From water treaty to water dispute

    Said Hashmat Sadat , Nasrat Sayed
    A dam near completion on the Helmand River in Afghanistan is at the centre of a disagreement over water rights.
  • 25 Sep 2020
    • Afghanistan
    • Pakistan

    Intra-Afghan talks and future of Pakistan-Taliban relations

    Abdul Basit
    Long regarded as the not-so-invisible hand behind the Taliban, Pakistan has steadily lost its influence over the group.
  • 11 Sep 2020
    • Afghanistan
    • Pakistan

    For real peace, Afghanistan needs a Plan B

    Nishank Motwani
    A US exit opens the way to complete takeover by the Taliban, precisely what they – and Pakistan – have long wished for.
  • 12 Aug 2020
    • Afghanistan
    • Coronavirus

    Afghanistan’s unseen Covid crisis

    Andrew Quilty
    In a country familiar with tragedy, the pandemic is met with a dose of nonchalance. But the numbers keep going up.
  • 10 Jun 2020
    • Afghanistan
    • Pakistan

    The key to peace in Afghanistan? Eliminate Taliban sanctuaries

    Farkhondeh Akbari , Timor Sharan
    Unless Pakistan’s support to the Afghan insurgency is shut down, there is no chance of a lasting Afghan peace.
  • 25 May 2020
    • Afghanistan

    In Afghanistan, one step forward, but peace still a far leap

    Arif Rafiq
    After presidential rivals settle on a power-sharing deal, the big question remains: Will the Taliban come to the table?
  • 14 May 2020
    • Afghanistan

    The Taliban’s empty promises of peace

    Susanne Schmeidl
    An insurgent attack on a Kabul maternity hospital, in a pandemic, exposes hollow claims of sparing the innocent.
  • 7 May 2020
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Terrorism
    • Afghanistan
    • Central Asia
    • Russia

    With US Afghan exit, Russia eyes Central Asian security

    Azima Akhmatova
    An unstable Afghanistan threatens all kinds of trouble for its neighbours. For Russia, it may be a golden opportunity.
  • 27 Apr 2020
    • Afghanistan
    • Coronavirus

    The Taliban makes the most of Covid-19 crisis in Afghanistan

    Roshni Kapur , Chayanika Saxena
    Whether for propaganda or political clout, the group has adopted an unexpected response to the outbreak.
  • 26 Mar 2020
    • Afghanistan
    • Coronavirus

    In the shadow of a pandemic, political calamity grips Afghanistan

    Chayanika Saxena
    Duelling claims to the presidency, a bitter US benefactor, and a galvanised Taliban ratchet up the uncertainty.
  • 28 Feb 2020
    • Afghanistan

    In Afghanistan, peace or fragmentation?

    Srinjoy Bose
    A potential US-Taliban deal and a shaky presidential re-election stir both hope for the future and fears of the past.
  • 24 Feb 2020
    • Afghanistan

    A US-Taliban deal: What price for peace?

    Farkhondeh Akbari
    Bitter experience shows that a “rotten compromise” will carry within it the seeds of future war.
  • 31 Jan 2020
    • Afghanistan
    • China
    • Pakistan

    Afghan transit a game changer for Gwadar port

    Adnan Aamir
    The Chinese-run port in Pakistan, a vital part of the belt-and-road plan, may have found a path to success.
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