India Today: As Pakistan attempts to assert its influence in Kabul, there is a major tussle going on between Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt General Faiz Hameed. Sources in the intelligence agencies said the tussle has come to a point where the Pakistan Army chief has been
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 21, 2021 The acting head of Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government, Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund, has met in Kabul with representatives from Russia, China, and Pakistan, Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi tweeted on September 21. Muttaqi also uploaded photos purportedly showing Russian envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq Khan,
By Radio Mashaal September 19, 2021 Police in Pakistan have opened a case against an influential cleric after he hoisted the Taliban flag over the building of an important religious seminary in the nation’s capital of Islamabad. Maulana Abdul Aziz, a Taliban supporter who wants Pakistan to enforce Islamic Shari’a law in the country, raised
Ayaz Gul VOA News September 18, 2021 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan says he has opened a dialogue with Afghanistan’s Taliban to try to persuade them to form an “inclusive” government in Kabul to ensure peace and stability in the war-torn country. Khan disclosed the initiative Saturday via Twitter, saying it stemmed from his
Mohsin Dawar via The Diplomat: Pakistan has played an active role in creating, facilitating and supporting the Taliban over the decades, a fact that the state has stopped denying. But it has done so at the very heavy cost of the lives of thousands of Pakistanis and hundreds of thousands of Afghans. Pakistan continues to
Bloomberg: The man the U.S. and its allies hoped would be a moderate voice in Afghanistan’s Taliban government has been sidelined after a dramatic shootout in the presidential palace in Kabul, according to people with knowledge of the matter… Khalil ul Rahman Haqqani rose from his chair and began punching the Taliban leader… Click here
In his trip to Tajikistan, Pakistan PM @ImranKhanPTI said: Pashtuns make up 75 % of Afghanistan's population. What is the base of this uninformed Khan? Based on which census? As if he has counted Pashtuns of both countries. You could be smarter than that; please wake up Mr. Khan! pic.twitter.com/5Hwub1Y1CK — Dr. Latif Pedram (@LatifPedram)
Bloomberg: Taliban leaders would not hold power in Kabul today if not for Pakistani support. The haven that Taliban commanders, their families and their fighters received within Pakistan allowed the insurgents — devastated and scattered by the initial U.S. invasion in 2001 — to rebuild their ranks. For nearly two decades, elements within the Pakistani
By RFE/RL’s Tajik Service September 17, 2021 Leaders of the Russia- and China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have urged the world to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets and boost assistance to the war-torn nation as it teeters on the brink of crisis following the Taliban’s return to power last month. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart,
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi September 15, 2021 A group of top Afghan girls soccer players, their coaches, and family members have fled across the border into neighboring Pakistan as questions linger over the status of female athletes under the newly installed Taliban-led government. “I am so happy to announce that today, more than 79 youth female