8am: Sources in Badakhshan say Taliban forces and their affiliated mining operatives deliberately targeted the five Chinese citizens who were killed last week on Tajikistan’s soil. According to these sources, clashes erupted between Taliban fighters and Tajik border guards, during which gunfire killed two of the victims. A separate, coordinated drone attack carried out by
Afghanistan International: President Donald Trump indicated he intends to make further remarks about Bagram airbase but gave no timetable for when he might do so. At the White House on Thursday, Trump referred to his administration’s rebuilding of the US military and the equipment left behind in Afghanistan following the 2021 withdrawal. He again criticised
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi September 19, 2025 President Donald Trump said the United States is attempting to get Bagram Airfield back from Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, citing the extremist group’s need for US help and the facility’s proximity to China’s nuclear assets. “We’re trying to get it back, by the way, that could be a little breaking
By Reid Standish Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 20, 2025 Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities are hosting a trilateral meeting with China and Pakistan on August 20, as Beijing looks to de-escalate tensions between the two countries by incentivizing cooperation through new trade and investment opportunities amid a flurry of diplomatic outreach. The daylong meeting is expected to
Khaama: Bagram Airfield, once the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, has reemerged in global debate. Its strategic location near China and Central Asia fuels speculation about potential U.S.–China competition over influence and control. Afghan observers suggest that if the Taliban were to permit foreign use of Bagram, they might prefer U.S. involvement over China’s,
Khaama: The future of the Wakhan Corridor will shape far more than trade routes; it will determine whether Afghanistan becomes a bridge for cooperation or a battleground for rivalry. China’s push to extend CPEC through Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor promises economic gain but ignites tensions, with India, Western powers, and regional rivals alarmed over shifting geopolitical
Afghanistan International: The National Resistance Front (NRF) has claimed that China is operating at Afghanistan’s former US military base in Bagram, accusing the Taliban of facilitating foreign interference in Afghanistan. Ali Maisam Nazary, head of foreign relations for the NRF, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday that there are “credible reports”
Ariana: Former U.S. special envoy for Afghan peace talks, Zalmay Khalilzad, has issued a stark warning about China’s accelerating efforts to dominate Central Asia’s vast mineral wealth. He urged Washington—specifically the Trump administration—to act swiftly before Beijing consolidates its hold over the region’s critical resources. Khalilzad emphasized that countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan
Hindustan Times: What happens when a country like Afghanistan isolated, unrecognized, and sanctioned suddenly becomes a key player in a new global trade order? You’re watching the emergence of the Axis of Alternatives, a quiet but seismic shift in global power. Afghanistan is now in talks with China and Russia to bypass the U.S.
Al Jazeera: As Pakistan remained embroiled in a war of words with its archrival India – following a dramatic exchange of missiles and drones nearly two weeks ago – it this week advanced diplomatic efforts with two other neighbors: China and Afghanistan, which could lead to the formal resumption of diplomatic ties between Islamabad and