The Hindu: Aziz Amin, former principal secretary to former President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, said China was wary of the Taliban and its promises and is concerned about the non-State actors in Afghanistan. “All the discussions between China and the Taliban have been as to how to neutralise these threats. But expecting the Taliban to
Ghulam Omar Qargha via brookings.edu: Historically, there has been a noticeable divide in Afghanistan between rural and urban communities and how they view schooling and education. Generally, students of the madrasa system (who tend to be from rural communities) have sounded the alarm that schools are a mechanism to undermine religious and cultural identities, while
Michael Hughes: China has sharpened its diplomatic discourse against the United States over the situation in Afghanistan, denouncing Washington for leaving the country in ruins, perhaps partly out of frustration as Beijing struggles to strike the right balance in its approach to the Taliban. Beijing has little choice but to seek friendly relations with the
David Robinson via The Hill: In fact, Afghanistan has little strategic significance for the United States and offers scant leverage for U.S. regional priorities. Geography alone is not sufficient reason to exaggerate its importance and there is nothing to be gained by trying to expiate national guilt for abandoning, once again, friends and partners who
Foreign Policy: Exiled warlords, power brokers, and ethnic leaders who fled Afghanistan last year ahead of the Taliban’s victory are threatening civil war unless the Islamists start negotiating to let them return home and reclaim their power and authority as an alternative to the nihilistic rule of the terrorists currently in charge. The band that
8am: Recently, some prominent figures who were accused of corruption and suspicious acts in favor of the Taliban during the former regime have returned to Afghanistan in response to the invitation of the Taliban. Their mafia network had infiltrated from the presidential palace to the Ministries of Education, Information and Culture, Higher Education, and Hajj
The Hill: America still has a few tools to support its interests in Afghanistan but using them requires a focus beyond humanitarian relief and politically wishing the issue would disappear. Our interests are easily described: preventing attacks on the U.S. and its allies; supplying food and medical care to Afghans; supporting human rights, especially for
War on the Rocks: Based on a number of interviews with former Afghan officials, we believe that Tehran will struggle in its efforts to forge a cooperative relationship with the Taliban. Although the fight against the Islamic State in Afghanistan could create common ground, there are plenty of other pitfalls. The Taliban’s resistance to sharing
Michael Hughes: Islamabad had waited patiently for more than two decades for the Taliban to recapture Kabul and ensure Afghanistan would serve as “strategic depth” if Pakistan needed territory and resources in a war against India. The Pakistanis assumed the Taliban regime would take a hostile posture toward New Delhi, especially given India’s past support
Bloomberg: There’s a straightforward way to resolve the Afghans’ immigration status: Congress could pass an “adjustment act” that would allow them to apply for permanent status in the US after a year. The US has previously offered such adjustments to refugees from Vietnam, Cuba and Iraq. Click here to read more (external link).