Michael Hughes AOPNEWS May 5, 2023 Foreign ministers from several states during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ministerial firmly expressed concerns over the Taliban’s inability to stem the terrorist tide in Afghanistan, although barbs, some quite vicious, exchanged between India’s top diplomat and his Pakistani counterpart seized the headlines, potentially diluting the impact of the
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS April 22, 2023 China will face stiff technical, geological, logistical, and market challenges in trying to extract lithium profitably from Afghanistan, in addition to the obvious security problems, primarily in the form of ISK terror attacks. However, Beijing is certainly not approaching the situation naïvely. In fact, China may be fully willing
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS April 4, 2023 The United Nations said the Taliban move to prevent female staff from entering UN mission facilities in Afghanistan is disturbing, unacceptable, and hinders the organization’s work. “The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) received word of an order by the de facto authorities that bans female national staff
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS March 17, 2023 The UN Security Council unanimously called for an independent assessment and recommendations for dealing with the Taliban’s failings, although key members differed on the approach – with Western powers and key allies stressing human rights violations while Russia and China called for focusing on humanitarian needs and the negative
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS December 17, 2022 The Afghan National Resistance Front (NRF) is irate some members of the international community continue to provide funding directly to the Taliban just as the movement is on a public torture and execution spree. Moreover, as these millions pour into Taliban coffers, the NRF has struggled to raise a
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS October 22, 2022 James Gordon Meek, an ABC reporter and Emmy-winning producer, has not been heard from since the FBI raided his home on April 27, according to The Rolling Stone, and his disappearance might be related to potentially explosive information he possessed on the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. The
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS May 21, 2022 Although intense infighting has complicated Taliban efforts to quash the resistance in northern Afghanistan, the fragmented opposition will be hard-pressed to expand nationwide without more external assistance, especially as Pakistan steps up support for the radical movement, experts told Afghan Online Press. The Taliban 2.0, in power now for
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS May 13, 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in a telephone conversation discussed the perceived boost in terrorist activity within Afghanistan’s borders and agreed to coordinate with neighboring states on a response to the threat. Several international leaders and diplomats have alleged the presence of violent extremist groups
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS April 29, 2022 President Vladimir Putin told Russia’s Security Council that while the situation in Ukraine is the country’s top national security issue, Moscow must also address possible threats emanating from Afghanistan and elsewhere in Central and South Asia. Violence in Afghanistan has been on the rise highlighted by an Islamic State
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS March 31, 2022 During an address to the nation as he faces a no-confidence vote, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan attributed his potential demise to the meddling of foreign powers dismayed over his February visit to Russia, and in an apparent slip-of-the-tongue specifically referred to the United States. When the National Assembly