The Spectator: Fighting has continued against the Taliban in Afghanistan while the world has not been watching. The commander of the main opposition force, Ahmad Massoud, began with 643 fighters after the fall of Kabul in August 2021, and now claims to have a force of 5,000 across six provinces in a belt in the
Michael Hughes: General Mirza Aslam Beg as a chief instructor at the National Defense College during the early 1980s allegedly first articulated Pakistan’s version of the military doctrine known as “strategic depth,” which posits Islamabad’s hegemony in Afghanistan as critical in case of war with India. Many in Rawalpindi felt the Taliban seizing Kabul (again) was crucial
Tolo News: Former president Hamid Karzai left Kabul for the United Arab Emirates on Saturday where he will stay for three days before traveling to Germany, his close aide Shahzada Massoud said. This is Karzai’s first trip abroad after the establishment of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link). Related
FT: Ghafari is scathing about the 20 years of US intervention. “It was not a ‘war on terror’. It was war to produce more terrorism,” she says. “They [US forces] destroyed entire villages. And if you asked, they would say, ‘There was one or two Taliban.’” In Afghanistan’s perennial woes she sees the traces of
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi December 2, 2022 Unidentified militants tried to storm the headquarters of the Afghan party Hizb-e Islami headed by veteran politician Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the party said in a statement. Two attackers were killed as they tried to enter the Kabul building, and a third escaped. Officials said Hekmatyar was inside at the time
Ariana: Supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada, has told the judges that they are independent in decision making, and that a Sharia system is judged based on how the courts operate. Akhundzada also emphasized that obeying the emir’s order is obligatory for all. He said that the judiciary is superior
Pakistan Observer: Khalilzad told TRT World this week that while the [Taliban] Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) was in his opinion making some serious mistakes, the only way to solve the issues was for all people in Afghanistan to broadly reach an agreement on a formula. Click here to read more (external link).
Ayaz Gul VOA News November 24, 2022 ISLAMABAD — Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday nominated the former head of Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, the country’s main intelligence agency, as head of the powerful military amid deepening political turmoil in the country. Officials said Sharif chaired a meeting of his cabinet to pick General Asim Munir
8am: According to the author of the anti-corruption book, “Afghan governments [Karzai and Ghani periods] have depended on the steady flow of corruption income.” The Taliban regime in Afghanistan consumes all government facilities for the expense of personal power. There is no service and no response to people. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told reporters in Islamabad his government continues to advocate sustained international engagement with IEA [Taliban] to help prevent a humanitarian disaster in the war-torn neighboring country. “As far as their official recognition is concerned, Pakistan would not want to take a solo flight and would rather pursue this process