Afghanistan

Russia, China, Iran, India, and, most of all, Pakistan have interests at stake as the U.S. aims to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Tashkent recently reassured Iran of its interest in the Iranian route to the sea, but Uzbekistan has more actively sought a new route through Afghanistan to Pakistani ports.

During the 2001 Bonn Conference, the U.N. opted for a “light footprint” that delegated its civilian development role to foreign military forces. That cannot happen again.

A Taliban spokesman said the group was not ready to attend the conference the U.S. and the Afghan government had hoped to start on April 16.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic.

The proposed summit is said to be scheduled to open on April 16, but the pieces are all still in flux.

If peace is achieved soon, Afghanistan can face the future with optimism.

In May 2020 and March 2021, the United States started up two new trilateral dialogues pairing Afghanistan with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. 

Over the past year, almost every day at least one car has exploded in Kabul -- terrifying residents with a rise in crude sticky bombs.

In each of Afghanistan’s past conflicts, intellectuals have been targets of intolerance and violence. Even as peace appears on the horizon, the risks intensify. 

The government has launched an assault in central Maidan Wardak province, vowing to punish the warlord, Abdul Ghani Alipoor, after the defense minister accused his fighters of shooting down a military helicopter.

With questions swirling about how long U.S. troops will remain in the country, Austin said that "in terms of an end date or setting a specific date for withdrawal, that's the domain of my boss."