Afghan Taliban

It’s past time for the U.S. and the international community to use the tools at their disposal – such as expanding targeted sanctions – to hold the Taliban to account.  

Karzai’s influence is not just historical; it lies in his ability to mediate Afghanistan’s current power struggles. 

In return for the release of an American, the U.S. dropped bounties on three top-level Taliban officials, including Sirajuddin Haqqani. But there are limits to potential Taliban-U.S. deals.

Does the dialogue have the blessings of the Pakistan military? And will Pakistan agree to concessions demanded by Kabul?

After more than three years in power, the Taliban have struggled to gain recognition for a host of reasons.

Natalie Gonnella-Platts and Albert Torres explain how consistent travel ban exemptions undercut global efforts to pressure the Taliban.

How can the international community ensure that aid reaches the needy without empowering the Taliban or helping them consolidate their authoritarian regime?

The Taliban authorities say that around 3 kilometers of the pipeline has been completed, out of more than 770 km needed to bring Turkmen gas to the Pakistani border.

Germany's stricter migration policies and political shift rightward raise concerns among Afghans and experts.

A suicide attack killing a senior Haqqani Network leader underscores recent reports of tensions between the group and the Taliban's supreme leader.

For the Afghan people, the fight against corruption is not just a matter of governance – it is a matter of survival.

In 2003, Afghanistan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, but the Taliban do not see their government as a continuation of the former Afghan regime. 

The digital revolution and modern journalism allow us to cover Afghanistan during these critical times despite Taliban efforts to block us.

Afghanistan’s women have not stopped fighting, and neither should the international community. 

With the new virtue and vice law, the Taliban are on track to take the country back to the norms of their late 1990s rule.

Three years after the Taliban's return to power, Afghanistan seems condemned to a bleak future – but inside the country, girls still dream of better times.

Unable to find ways to engage with embassies still controlled by representatives of the erstwhile Republic, the Taliban government has resorted to cutting ties, saying it won't accept documents issued by such missions.

There is overwhelming evidence that sexual assault perpetrated by Taliban officials is widespread and systemic, and that it occurs with total impunity. 

By marginalizing Afghan women, the U.N. risks perpetuating the very injustices it aims to address.

Civil rights and the personal safety of all citizens are mainstream security conversations, not “nice to have” goals or “Western” inventions. 

Even before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan's media landscape was largely male-dominated; women's stories were either underreported or misrepresented. So Joya founded Rukhshana Media.

As the dilemma on recognition and assistance remains unresolved, Afghanistan will be subjected to a vicious cycle of conflict with climate change acting as a threat multiplier. 

Ashgabat has a delicate balance to maintain between hewing to its traditional neutrality and mitigating potential threats from Afghanistan. 

Collaborative efforts among regional and international actors can pave the way for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan.