Pakistan defense minister says Islamabad attack is ‘a message from Kabul’

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Khawaja Muhammad Asif

Amu: Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, said on Tuesday that a deadly suicide bombing in the capital was a “message from Kabul,” casting doubt on the viability of ongoing negotiations with the Taliban and calling the incident “a wake-up” call for the entire country. “This is no longer a war confined to border areas,” Asif wrote on the social media platform X. “The suicide attack in Islamabad should be seen as wake-up call. This is a war that affects all of Pakistan.” Click here to read more (external link).

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NRF Leader Urges World Not To Abandon Afghans As Taliban Rule Deepens Repression

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Massoud

Afghanistan International: Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, told an annual forum in France that Afghanistan has once again become a global centre for militant training under Taliban rule. He delivered the remarks on Saturday in Saint-Raphaël, in France’s Var region, at the “Meetings for the Future” conference, where he addressed challenges to democracy. Massoud said his movement had not pursued armed resistance as a goal but as a last resort after attempts at dialogue were rejected by the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan Set to Launch 13th National Rostami Wrestling Championship

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Tolo News: According to officials from Afghanistan’s Sambo and Kurash Federation, the tournament will begin this Thursday and Friday in Herat Province and will host dozens of prominent wrestlers from ten provinces across the country. Athletes will compete in ten weight categories: 60kg, 65kg, 70kg, 75kg, 80kg, 85kg, 90kg, 95kg, 100kg, and open weight (100+ kg).  Rostami wrestling is one of Afghanistan’s traditional and beloved sports, which in recent years has gained widespread popularity among fans. Click here to read more (external link).

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The Cycle of Elites and the Persistence of Tribal Power

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Abdur Rahman Khan

8am: For more than a century, since the reign of Abdur Rahman Khan, Afghan politics has revolved around a recurring pattern: to preserve stability, the center of power co-opts part of the ethnic elite while sidelining the rest. I call this the “Abdur Rahman Scenario”: concentration at the center, concession at the margins, and the exclusion of justice from the core. This system of co-optation and control may have prevented short-term uprisings, but it eroded institutions and replaced merit-based competition with a culture of patronage. From the Durrani and Barakzai rulers to the republic’s presidents, the same logic endured: loyalty is rewarded, not competence, and power depends on ethnic and personal networks rather than law. Click here to read more (external link).

Mohammad Rafi, former Afghan defense minister, dies at 79

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Amu: Mohammad Rafi, a former Afghan defense minister and senior official in the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, died on Sunday in Germany at the age of 79 after a long illness, family members confirmed. Rafi played a role in the 1973 coup led by Mohammad Daoud Khan, which ended the monarchy and established Afghanistan’s first republic. He later rose to command the country’s Fourth Armored Division. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban foreign minister blames ‘unrealistic’ demands by Pakistan for collapse of Istanbul talks

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Muttaqi

Amu: Speaking at a meeting in Kabul, Muttaqi said their delegation returned from Istanbul following the third round of negotiations with Pakistani counterparts, which failed to yield any concrete results. According to him, the central sticking point was Pakistan’s insistence that the Taliban guarantee no attacks would be launched from Afghan soil by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned militant group responsible for numerous deadly assaults in Pakistan. “Expecting one country to ensure the total security of another is an illogical demand,” Muttaqi said. “Preventing TTP attacks is the responsibility of Pakistani forces, not ours.” Click here to read more (external link).

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Hundreds of riders compete in Buzkashi tournaments across five provinces

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Buzkashi (file photo)

Amu: Buzkashi, Afghanistan’s traditional and fiercely contested national sport, returned to the spotlight this week as more than 450 riders — known as chapandazan — competed in tournaments across five northern and western provinces, including Badakhshan, Herat, Kunduz, Jawzjan, and Baghlan. Click here to read more (external link).

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