Mohsin Amin via Al Jazeera: Many have been puzzled by the policy choices of the Biden administration vis-à-vis Afghanistan since the United States’ disastrous withdrawal from the country last August. It is not clear whether these choices are aimed at appeasing domestic audiences or collectively punishing a people for the unsuccessful ending of a long
Michael Hughes: The U.S. government has violated several commitments outlined in the Doha accords including promises to cooperate with the Taliban on reconstruction efforts, Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in an interview. The comments come as donor states struggle with a no-win situation in facing current distribution requirements in Afghanistan, which include:
The Hill: The United States and other democracies should not fall for the Taliban’s ruses. The Taliban’s conduct as Afghanistan’s rulers so far has not earned it the right to international legitimacy or recognition. Unfreezing Afghanistan’s assets or routing aid through the Taliban will only end up funding a rogue regime and its terrorist allies.
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
Al Jazeera: A week after Taliban and senior US and European officials held talks in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, the main outcome appears to be promises of an increase in humanitarian aid, contingent on demands related to human rights, with some analysts saying the talks imply a “de facto” recognition of the Taliban’s government. Click
Fair Observer: Victory against the US, ethnic conflict within Afghanistan and disappointment with Islamabad could lead the Taliban to create a new Pashtun state on the ruins of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Click here to read more (external link).
MEReports: Is it a clash between Pashtun tribal culture and Farsiwan (Tajiks, Turks, Hazaras, etc.)? To some degree it is: Farsiwan culture is sophisticated and extended from Iraq and Anatolia to India and over the Oxus into Central Asia and Inner Asia. Persian culture produced hundreds of thousands of titles of scientific and literary import;
Michael Hughes: Former U.S. diplomat Carter Malkasian in his recent book on the war in Afghanistan says Ashraf Ghani as president had felt “centralized reform” was the strategy to defeat the Taliban and raise the country into modernity. Malkasian also points out what turns out to be quite a prescient passage in Ghani’s own book, Fixing Failed States
Natiq Malikzada: Although the Taliban now controls almost the entire territory of Afghanistan, its government faces serious legitimacy issues. On the other hand, the National Resistance Front (NRF) is, though militarily overwhelmed by the Taliban, a more legitimate entity to lead the modern Afghan nation. Click here to read more (external link).
Daily Beast: While on the surface, ISIS’s shift toward mass-casualty attacks, accompanied by a targeted anti-Taliban media campaign, can be seen as signals of confidence—it’s far more likely that the group is acting out of pure desperation. Both locally and globally, the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan threatens ISIS in profound new ways, and marks yet