Atlantic Council: The COVID-19 pandemic is transforming international relations not just by straining relations among powerful states, but also by disrupting violent nonstate actors. Perhaps no major militant outfit has felt the impact as much as the Taliban. The group’s leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, is either seriously ill with the virus or possibly dead. Sirajuddin Haqqani,
The National Interest: First and foremost… Pakistan should no longer allow its soil to be used as a safe-haven for Taliban leaders. After the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, the late Mulla Omar, founder of the Taliban, lived in Quetta and headed the so-called Quetta Shura. The Peshawar Shura has long supported the Haqqani Network,
Michael Hughes: Pentagon officials have said the Taliban are not meeting key conditions of the withdrawal pact it signed with the United States nearly four months ago. Meanwhile, a recent UN report revealed that the insurgent movement is still in bed with al-Qaeda, violating – at least in spirit – one of the key promises
Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty June 9, 2020 A new breakaway Afghan Taliban faction that has close ties to neighboring Iran and opposes efforts aimed at ending the 18-year insurgency in Afghanistan has emerged. The Hezb-e Walayat-e Islami, or Party of Islamic Guardianship, is believed to have split from the mainstream Taliban soon after
Tolo News: Sirajuddin Haqqani, the deputy leader of the Taliban, said that despite the group’s belief in the peace negotiation talks as one of the core components of the solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, the Taliban will still continue the path of jihad (holy war) and strengthen its military power. According to the UN
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan June 2, 2020 Taliban officials have denied a report that its leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, died after contracting the coronavirus. Foreign Policy magazine, citing unnamed Taliban officials, reported on June 1 that Mullah Akhundzada contracted COVID-19 and possibly died while receiving treatment abroad. Foreign Policy quoted Mawlawi Mohammad Ali Jan Ahmad, a senior
1TV: Relations between the Taliban, especially the Haqqani Network, and Al-Qaida remain close despite the former signing a peace deal with the United States, a recent UN report said. Al-Qaida has 400 to 600 operatives active in 12 Afghan provinces and is running training camps in the east of the country, according to the report.
By Sayed Hasib Maududi, Roshan Noorzai VOA News | May 27, 2020 KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Rafiullah Noori, 35, is not participating in this year’s Eid al-Fitr festivities, a three-day thanksgiving festival celebrated by Muslims around the word to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Noori, a resident of Kabul, lost his 27-year-old wife, Nazia,
ANI: Pakistan continues to focus on countering Indian influence in Afghanistan and harbours the Taliban and groups such as the Haqqani Network, which have the ability to engage in violence on Afghan soil, according to a new Pentagon report. Click here to read more (external link).
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News | May 18, 2020 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – A car bomb attack on an intelligence base in central Ghazni province in Afghanistan early Monday morning killed at least seven members of the security forces and wounded 40 others. Dr. Baser Ramaki, head of the Ghazni provincial hospital that received both the bodies