Farangis Najibullah, Mustafa Sarwar and Abdul Hamid Hakimi Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 15, 2025 Every two hours. That’s how often a woman dies during childbirth in Afghanistan. The staggering maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world. And under the repressive rule of the Taliban, the situation is only getting worse.Read More...

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, tooRead More...

Roshan Noorzai Noshaba Ashna VOA News March 14, 2025 WASHINGTON — When Naveeda Khoshbo published her book of political analysis in 2019, she received widespread praise and recognition. For many, “it was the first time that they were reading a book written by a young woman,” she said. So, when she received a text message fromRead More...

Nikkei: The alternative policy of shunning Afghanistan’s rulers would virtually ensure less Taliban concern about anti-India terrorism and allow Chinese and Pakistani influence to grow unchecked. A pivot completely in the other direction, whereby India might become the first state to diplomatically recognize the Taliban, would also be a mistake since it would compromise NewRead More...

Afghanistan International: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has blamed the country’s ongoing security challenges on past alignment and support by some Pakistani officials for the Afghan Taliban. He made these remarks three days after the hostage crisis on the Jaffar Express train, during a meeting with officials in Balochistan. Click here to read more (externalRead More...

Afghanistan International: The Pakistan Army has claimed that the mastermind behind the Jaffar Express train attack in Balochistan was operating from Afghanistan. On Wednesday, army spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry announced that the hostage rescue operation had been completed, with all Baloch separatist militants killed. Chaudhry stated that the attack was planned and directed by BalochRead More...

Amu: Three prominent opponents of the Taliban—Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, Atta Mohammad Noor, and Latif Pedram—have called for a “new narrative” to shape Afghanistan’s future, emphasizing the need for a more inclusive political structure. Speaking in a virtual discussion hosted by Noor’s faction of the Jamiat-e-Islami party, Qanooni, a senior figure in the National Resistance CouncilRead More...

Afghanistan International: China and Pakistan have expressed concern about militant threats from terror groups such as Treek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), and ISIS-Khorasan in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with Yue Xiaoyong, China’s Special Representative for Afghanistan in Islamabad. They discussed regionalRead More...

Afghanistan International: Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister, has gone into hiding over fears of assassination, according to Ahmad Zia Saraj, former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS). Saraj told Afghanistan International that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada suspects Haqqani and several officials of plotting a coup. He believes foreign countries may have backedRead More...

Amu: On this day 24 years ago, the Taliban carried out one of the most infamous acts of cultural destruction in modern history, demolishing the ancient Buddhas of Bamiyan, two towering statues that had stood for centuries as symbols of Afghanistan’s rich Buddhist heritage. On March 11, 2001, Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar ordered theRead More...

Afghanistan International: Nine countries have issued a joint statement backing the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The statement was signed by Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom. These countries condemned the Taliban’sRead More...

Amu: Iranian authorities have arrested 250,000 undocumented migrants in Tehran province over the past year, according to the region’s governor, Mohammad Sadeq Motamedian. Motamedian, speaking to Mehr News Agency, said the deadline for registering undocumented migrants in the country’s census is March 22. Click here to read more (external link). Related Iran’s interior ministry outlinesRead More...

Afghanistan International: Reports that the Trump administration may impose a travel ban on Afghan citizens have deeply alarmed Afghans who worked with U.S. forces and are awaiting resettlement. The White House is expected to announce the decision on Monday. Estimates suggest that around 25,000 Afghans with approved U.S. resettlement applications now face uncertainty due toRead More...



Business Insider: Nolan Saumure, a 28-year-old Canadian YouTuber, walked into Afghanistan from Pakistan last summer. He spent a week traveling through the Taliban-controlled country with a local guide and a camera in an attempt to show what he called “the other side of Afghanistan” — the natural beauty, warm hospitality, and rip-roaring good times heRead More...

Amu: Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada has appointed five new provincial police chiefs in recent weeks, bypassing Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who has been absent from public view for over a month, sources said. Mohammad Asif Siddiqui, a former deputy chairman of the Afghan Senate, said that police appointments now come directly from Akhundzada without theRead More...

BBC News: More than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban to pursue higher education in Oman now face imminent return back to Afghanistan, following the Trump administration’s sweeping freeze on foreign aid programmes. Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), their scholarships were abruptly terminated after a funding freeze ordered by PresidentRead More...



VOA News March 8, 2025 WASHINGTON — Four years ago, Yalda never imagined that she would not be able to continue her education or achieve her dream of graduating from school. “My parents would often talk about the Taliban’s first rule [in the 1990s],” recalled Yalda, who requested that her full name not be used forRead More...

Today, Afghan women face more than 100 restrictions — controlling everything from their appearance and movement to their right to work and study. Those accused of violating the Taliban’s so-called “morality laws” are often detained and arrested. What happens to those who suddenly find themselves behind bars in Taliban prisons? These stories often go untold,Read More...

By Sarah Zaman VOA News March 7, 2025 Just as discoveries of fossil fuel reserves helped to shape the 20th century, the race for critical minerals is shaping the 21st. These minerals are seen as strategically crucial for modern economies, including those used in construction, energy and manufacturing — particularly for semiconductors and other technologyRead More...

By Sarah Zaman VOA News March 7, 2025 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan ordered all documented Afghan migrants on Friday to leave the country by March 31 or risk deportation. The directive was issued a day after the Afghan Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation Affairs urged Pakistan to slow down the expulsion of Afghans. Pakistan launched the IllegalRead More...

8am: During 48 days of imprisonment in the Taliban Intelligence Directorate in Daykundi Province and three months in the Taliban’s Intelligence Directorate 40 in Kabul, they urinated on my face several times. They administered electric shocks to me over a hundred times and used contaminated water hoses to empty my stomach. Several times, they hungRead More...

Sarah Zaman VOA News March 6, 2025 ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s Taliban Thursday called on neighbors Pakistan and Iran to be patient with Afghan refugees and follow an organized process for their return, considering Afghanistan’s economic challenges. Pakistan and Iran have sent back more than 2.7 million Afghans to their home country since the 20-year U.S.-led warRead More...

Ariana: Sensational Afghan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai has risen to the top of the ICC Men’s ODI All-Rounders Rankings after delivering phenomenal all-round performances in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He overtakes Mohammad Nabi who now sits at No. 2. Click here to read more (external link).

Long War Journal: “The fifth round of the Vienna Process brought together over 90 participants, making it the largest gathering on Afghanistan since 2021,” Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front, an alliance of former Northern Alliance members and additional anti-Taliban fighters, told FDD’s Long War Journal. Click here to readRead More...