By Sadiq Amini via The Diplomat: Nothing illustrates the divisions inside the Taliban leadership so much as the cruel ban on girls’ education, which is widely believed by nationalist circles within the Taliban to be the work of the ISI and extremist elements of the Taliban who are closely aligned with Rawalpindi, as they are
By Daud Khattak Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 14, 2022 Ten years ago this month, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, then 15, was shot in the head on her school bus by the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group. The attack on Yousafzai, who had become a target for her campaign for girls’ education, sent shock waves
Michael Hughes: Although the Taliban at the moment may not need weapons from Rawalpindi due to the gifts left behind by the U.S. military, Afghanistan needs Pakistan as an export market, while Islamabad, for its part, needs the regime in Kabul to deny the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) sanctuary. However, despite these mutual strategic necessities, tensions
Sarah Zaman VOA News October 7, 2022 WASHINGTON — A recently concluded six-day visit to Washington by Pakistan’s powerful military head, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, is being seen in both countries as a sign that Islamabad is seeking to mend sometimes-strained relations with the West. Public statements released by officials from both
Khaama: The Taliban’s latest move comes at a time when some locals and traders in Afghanistan use Pakistani rupees for everyday spending and food purchases. The use of Pakistani rupees is preferred in provinces adjacent to Pakistan over the Afghan currency, Afghani, as they may face a 10% loss in converting the rupee to Afghani.
By Abubakar Siddique Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 30, 2022 Pakistan has been the Afghan Taliban’s key foreign sponsor for decades, with Islamabad harboring the militant group’s leadership during the nearly 20-year U.S.-led war in neighboring Afghanistan. But since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, its ties with Islamabad have deteriorated amid deadly border clashes.
Khaama: Taliban government authorities assert that US drones invaded Afghanistan through the airspace of Pakistan. They claim that Pakistan receives millions of dollars in return. In a meeting commemorating World Tourism Day, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, Political Deputy of the Taliban government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claimed that Pakistan had allowed the US to use
Tolo News: The Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that “Pakistan shares the key concern of the international community regarding the threat posed by the major terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan especially ISIS-K and Takrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, as well as al-Qaeda ETIM and IMU.” He made the remarks at the 77th United Nation General Assembly. Sharif’s
Modern Diplomacy: After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the Afghan state and the public rapidly declined. The country’s territories have become the source of international terrorism and many global problems. In addition to the economic decline, there has been a rise in drug production in Afghanistan. Drugs are one of the Taliban’s main income
By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal September 14, 2022 A roadside bomb has killed the former head of a pro-government militia and seven others in northwestern Pakistan, officials said September 14, in an attack claimed by the outlawed Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan militant group (TTP), otherwise known as the Pakistani Taliban. Zahid Nawaz Marwat, police chief of the