Fazelminallah Qazizai via News Line Mag: The caption identified him as Afghan national Mohammad Sharifullah (also known as Jafar), arrested in Pakistan and handed over to the U.S. as a “top terrorist” mastermind behind the August 2021 Kabul airport bombing that killed more than 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops. But here, in the alleys
Michael Hughes: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif admitted Pakistan’s ties to the Afghan Taliban have come back to haunt Islamabad. Although, for many, this is like saying the sky is blue, it is quite a development when such a statement emanates from a Pakistani official. The timing of the admission, of course, is too little, too
Michael Hughes: Trump 2.0 and Taliban 2.0 were likely destined to clash, but who knew the unlikely bedfellows would kill their marriage within weeks of the Dealmaker-In-Chief reentering the Oval Office. We knew Trump would go after the $7 billion in military aid the U.S. left behind in Afghanistan, but less foreseeable was the radical
8am: In recent months, the Taliban regime has intensified its crackdown on dissenting clerics. These clerics have protested against the monopolization of power by the Kandahari faction of the Taliban and have called for the formation of an “inclusive government” a demand that has been repeatedly voiced over the past three and a half years
Michael Hughes: According to realist theorist Hans Morgenthau, all politics is a struggle for power – a theory based on the darkest views of human nature; and one that is, unfortunately, applicable to the state of politics in most capitals worldwide. The power struggles do not only occur between reigning and opposition factions. Those who
Michael Hughes: Restrictions on gender expression are, sadly, a daily occurrence in most countries around the world, including the United States. President Donald Trump, in fact, in an executive order on his first day in office declared the U.S. government would only recognize the sex assigned to a person at birth. Tragically, this is where
Michael Hughes: Islamabad appears to be laying the groundwork for regional partnerships to strangle Afghanistan from all sides as tensions escalate with the Taliban over cross-border attacks resulting in decade-high deaths of Pakistani troops. However, although Pakistan has found a willing ally in Tajikistan, it will be harder to secure cooperation from other actors in
8am: Ashraf Ghani was just another passport holder who had spent most of his life in the West and was married to a Christian woman from Lebanon. Despite spending his childhood in Kabul, he was alien to Afghanistan and its people. His obvious mistakes in performing namaz (Prayer) and reciting Farsi poems became subjects of
8am: Many still wonder whether Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada exists. Some say no, others say yes. At times, bizarre and laughable rumors circulate, too absurd to mention. For instance, some suggest that Hamid Karzai is Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada. This perception stems from Karzai’s past Taliban-friendly policies and stances, which led people to draw such conclusions. Yet,
Michael Hughes: The terrorists now ruling post-Assad Syria have publicly vowed to abandon their extremist ways in a bid to secure funding and legitimacy from the international community – in addition to the easing of sanctions. The statements sound eerily similar to those that emanated from Taliban 2.0 as the radical movement recaptured Kabul. Which