Jeff Seldin VOA News March 20, 2022 WASHINGTON — Intelligence agencies worldwide are warning that Taliban rule in Afghanistan is radically reshaping terrorist and militant groups in South Asia and around the world. Specifically, intelligence and counterterrorism officials say that despite Taliban promises to sever ties with al-Qaida and oppose terror groups such as the Islamic
By Abubakar Siddique Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 11, 2022 Since it first emerged in 2015, Islamic State’s local affiliate in Afghanistan has focused its violent campaign within that country, fighting against Afghan and foreign forces as well as the Taliban, a rival militant group. But experts say Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) is now shifting its war
NYT: The euphoria felt by many in Pakistan over a Taliban victory in Kabul six months ago is subsiding. The government had hoped that a friendly — some would say proxy — regime in Kabul would ease its concerns about the Pakistani Taliban. But instead, there has been a spike in terror attacks in recent
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 9, 2022 ISLAMABAD — Observers saw the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan last year as a strategic victory for neighboring Pakistan after years of frosty relations between Islamabad and the Western-backed government in Kabul that collapsed last August. Security concerns along the two nations’ border have since complicated the picture. Many Pakistanis
The Guardian (UK): Five Pakistani soldiers killed as Taliban-led Afghanistan resists cooperation with Islamabad “In the beginning, Pakistani authorities believed the Taliban would serve Pakistan’s interests and [not] allow militants to use its soil against Pakistan. But it does not seem to be the case any more,” he said, adding that the extremists were emboldened
Raza Khan via Al Jazeera: In recent months, however, signs have emerged of cracks in the otherwise amicable relations between the two. Disagreements over the demarcation of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and Afghan Taliban support for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have caused tensions. If no resolution is reached on these issues, this could cause a rift
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 6, 2022 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military said Sunday five of its troops were killed when militants from across the Afghan border opened fire on them. The attack, believed to be one of the deadliest such incidents in recent years, took place in the Pakistani district of Kurram on the border, the
By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal January 29, 2022 Pakistan’s national-security adviser has met with high-ranked members of the Taliban-led government in Kabul, to discuss bilateral cooperation, border issues, and efforts to avert a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, officials said on January 29. Moeed Yusuf arrived in Kabul as the head of a delegation that includes cabinet ministers
Ayaz Gul VOA News January 18, 2022 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — The outlawed Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Tuesday for a rare overnight attack in Islamabad that killed a police officer and wounded two others. Police officials said two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on a security checkpoint near one of the city’s busy markets late on
Daud Khattak Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 13, 2022 When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, government officials, retired military officers, and hard-line clerics in neighboring Pakistan celebrated the militant group’s return to power. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Taliban had broken the “shackles of slavery” by toppling the Western-backed Afghan government. But