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.
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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. -
26 Aug 2021
What’s in a name? The Taliban and recognition under international law
Formal recognition as a legitimate government may be a bargaining chip to press the Taliban to respect human rights. -
25 Aug 2021
Afghanistan holds lessons for American power in Asia
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
India fears a poison harvest from Afghanistan
The Taliban takeover forces a regional realignment and has left New Delhi wondering about its past investment. -
23 Aug 2021
The world must evacuate women police in Afghanistan
The international community trained local women to put their lives on the line but has now abandoned them to danger. -
19 Aug 2021
Decoding intelligence on Afghanistan
An official inquiry should answer much wider questions about the US mission than only those of the final few weeks. -
18 Aug 2021
Afghanistan’s collapse shifts strategic dynamics in South Asia
If the Taliban’s return is seen a plus for Pakistan, India appears to be the loser. -
17 Aug 2021
What to do after the Taliban take-over
The foreign troops might be gone but Afghanistan is still our responsibility. -
16 Aug 2021
Kabul has fallen and so have we
Defeat in Afghanistan is not only a military one, but of the commitment professed by the “international community”. -
16 Aug 2021
Afghanistan: the right time to leave
There was no “low cost” solution for the United States other than endless conflict. -
10 Aug 2021
Afghanistan: Russia faces its own risks and uncertainty
Regional instability, refugee flows, extremism, and zero appetite for warfare temper Russia’s stance on Afghanistan. -
5 Aug 2021
Is Pakistan fuelling a Taliban takeover?
The Afghan government points a finger at Pakistan in a tactic to divert attention from its own colossal failures. -
30 Jul 2021
China’s Afghan conundrum
Afghanistan is not reputed to be the “graveyard of empires” without reason. -
26 Jul 2021
Another proxy war in Afghanistan?
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, Australia and the visa conundrum
What responsibility does the government have for those on the periphery of the Australian campaign in Afghanistan? -
12 Jul 2021
Abandoning Afghanistan won’t bring peace
The pledge of a “a responsible end” to America’s involvement in Afghanistan’s war will likely have the opposite effect. -
22 Jun 2021
Standing with Afghanistan: Inclusion and women’s rights in peace talks
Australia, and the world, must insist that negotiations safeguard women’s rights, else talk of peace will be empty. -
29 Mar 2021
An interim government would bring ruin to Afghanistan
A US proposal to dissolve the Afghan administration risks a tragic repeat of the past. -
25 Mar 2021
Afghanistan: When a song is not just a song
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
Something has to give: The cost of no peace in Afghanistan
Wavering US commitment, a weak government and a waiting Taliban keep Afghans’ future at risk. -
23 Feb 2021
Afghanistan: To leave or not to leave
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
Australia’s mission in Afghanistan – what was it again?
Nothing can reduce the responsibility of individuals. But the political context for a “forever war” is relevant, too. -
20 Oct 2020
Can China be a peacemaker in Afghanistan?
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
Afghanistan and Iran: From water treaty to water dispute
A dam near completion on the Helmand River in Afghanistan is at the centre of a disagreement over water rights. -
25 Sep 2020
Intra-Afghan talks and future of Pakistan-Taliban relations
Long regarded as the not-so-invisible hand behind the Taliban, Pakistan has steadily lost its influence over the group. -
11 Sep 2020
For real peace, Afghanistan needs a Plan B
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’s unseen Covid crisis
In a country familiar with tragedy, the pandemic is met with a dose of nonchalance. But the numbers keep going up. -
10 Jun 2020
The key to peace in Afghanistan? Eliminate Taliban sanctuaries
Unless Pakistan’s support to the Afghan insurgency is shut down, there is no chance of a lasting Afghan peace. -
25 May 2020
In Afghanistan, one step forward, but peace still a far leap
After presidential rivals settle on a power-sharing deal, the big question remains: Will the Taliban come to the table? -
14 May 2020
The Taliban’s empty promises of peace
An insurgent attack on a Kabul maternity hospital, in a pandemic, exposes hollow claims of sparing the innocent. -
7 May 2020
With US Afghan exit, Russia eyes Central Asian security
An unstable Afghanistan threatens all kinds of trouble for its neighbours. For Russia, it may be a golden opportunity. -
27 Apr 2020
The Taliban makes the most of Covid-19 crisis in Afghanistan
Whether for propaganda or political clout, the group has adopted an unexpected response to the outbreak. -
26 Mar 2020
In the shadow of a pandemic, political calamity grips Afghanistan
Duelling claims to the presidency, a bitter US benefactor, and a galvanised Taliban ratchet up the uncertainty. -
28 Feb 2020
In Afghanistan, peace or fragmentation?
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
A US-Taliban deal: What price for peace?
Bitter experience shows that a “rotten compromise” will carry within it the seeds of future war. -
31 Jan 2020
Afghan transit a game changer for Gwadar port
The Chinese-run port in Pakistan, a vital part of the belt-and-road plan, may have found a path to success.