Abubakar Siddique, a journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, specializes in the coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is the author of The Pashtun Question: The Unresolved Key To The Future Of Pakistan And Afghanistan.
Musicians fleeing Taliban persecution in Afghanistan face arrest and deportation from neighboring Pakistan. Islamabad has been toughening border measures and cracking down on undocumented Afghan migrants and refugees since the Taliban seized power in August.
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August, there have been mounting reports of infighting within the militant group. Last week, a senior Taliban official became the first to openly criticize the leadership for its repressive policies in Afghanistan.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing brings you insights on the rising domestic abuse against Afghan women, Iran’s accelerated defense cooperation with Tajikistan, and why Afghan tourists are shunning the stunning Panjshir valley.
The Taliban recently ordered Afghan women to cover their faces in public and has said it would punish the male relatives of any woman who fails to do so. Women who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Azadi said their male relatives have stopped them from leaving home, where they are exposed to increasing abuse.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing brings you insights on the mounting hostilities between the Taliban and Tajikistan, alleged Taliban atrocities and violence in Panjshir and why the Afghan Sufis are now afraid to worship after being targeted by the Islamic State-Khorasan in bomb attacks.
The already tense relations between Afghanistan's Taliban authorities and neighboring Tajikistan have worsened in recent weeks. In the latest incident to test the countries' relations, the Taliban closed the border with Tajikistan and seized dozens of Tajik trucks transporting goods to Afghanistan.
A senior Pakistani Army general is overseeing negotiations between Islamabad and the banned hard-line Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an official who requested anonymity told RFE/RL.
Islamic State-Khorasan militants have carried out two deadly attacks on the Sufi community in Afghanistan in recent weeks. The Sufis, who follow a mystical and moderate form of Islam, are seen as heretics by extremist Islamist groups. Sufis say they are now too afraid to worship in their mosques.
This week's Gandhara Briefing brings you insights into the IS-K's ambitions to instigate a regional war against the Afghan Taliban, Pakistan's efforts to revive peace talks with the TTP, and why prohibitive marriage costs prevent some Afghan men from getting married.
Islamic State-Khorasan is provoking tensions between the Taliban and Afghanistan's weary neighbors by reportedly launching rocket attacks on Central Asian countries from Afghan soil and using fugitive militants to stir up trouble for the hard-line Islamists’ internationally isolated government.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing brings you insights on how the Islamic State-Khorasan’s relentless attacks are undermining the Taliban’s claims of establishing security, why Afghanistan’s leading broadcaster is embracing Taliban restrictions, and the first Afghan Eid al-Fitr under the Taliban.
A surge in deadly attacks by the IS-K militant group on religious minorities has busted the Taliban's claims that it has established "security" in Afghanistan. Despite the Taliban's claim that it has "defeated" IS-K, the group remains resilient and regularly attacks Taliban fighters and officials.
This week's Gandhara Briefing brings you insights on why factions from among the fallen Afghan republic are launching a rebellion against the Taliban, the first female Baluch separatist suicide bomber, and the Afghan debate surrounding the 30th anniversary of the mujahedin victory.
The first suicide attack by a female Baluch separatist in Pakistan represents a dangerous turn in a two-decade insurgency. This week's attack -- which killed four, including three Chinese citizens -- hints that separatists are becoming more radicalized in the absence of a political settlement.
A collection of small resistance groups are mounting armed resistance to the hard-line Taliban-led government by launching attacks in several provinces.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing brings you insights into the tensions between erstwhile allies Pakistan and the Taliban and the Afghan farmers who oppose the Taliban's ban on poppy cultivation. We also profile Shehbaz Sharif and explain why Imran Khan is down but not out.
Pakistan and the Taliban have been allies for decades. But since the militants regained power in Afghanistan, border disputes and unprecedented air strikes by Pakistan have exacerbated already simmering tensions.
Afghan farmers were upset when the Taliban banned opium cultivation this month and experts say the Taliban's cash-strapped, pariah government is unlikely to provide alternative livelihoods for the farmers.
After three tumultuous years in power, Imran Khan was ousted as Pakistan's prime minister over the weekend. Despite his ouster, experts say the political career of the 69-year-old, who still retains some support among his urban conservative political base, is not over.
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