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.
The recent forced evictions of minority Shi’ite Hazaras by the Sunni Pashtun Taliban have raised fears that the historically persecuted community will once again become the main target of Taliban atrocities.
Al-Qaeda is expected to revive and even thrive in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, but it might choose to avoid trouble for its Afghan allies and nurture local jihadist movements instead of attracting international attention through global attacks.
Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, the head of an Islamic seminary where the Afghan Taliban ideology is rooted as part of a puritanical Sunni sect, tells RFE/RL he wants its government to be just, tolerant, and pragmatic.
In this week’s Gandhara Briefing, we bring you insights on why an increasing number of Afghans now feel persecuted after the Taliban takeover, the fears of Afghan girls over their futures, and why some Central Asian neighbors now want to engage the Taliban.
Prosecutors who worked for Afghanistan's ousted central government say they are now being threatened by the criminals they helped convict. The threats come after the Taliban emptied the country's jails during their takeover of the country in August.
In this week’s Gandhara Briefing, we bring you stories on the Taliban’s first month in power, the challenges aid agencies face in responding to the humanitarian crisis, and why Tajikistan has emerged as the Taliban’s public enemy No. 1.
Aid agencies have to navigate Taliban restrictions as Afghanistan’s new rulers face tough demands from donors. Many are scrambling to continue their projects as a humanitarian and economic catastrophe looms.
As a guerrilla insurgency, the Taliban was able to conquer Afghanistan. Governing the country is the difficult part.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing brings you insights on the Taliban’s new government, the women-led nonviolent protests against Taliban rule, and how the exodus from Afghanistan threatens to wipe out entire communities from the country.
Afghanistan’s once-thriving Jewish community no longer exists now that its last member has departed following the Taliban takeover. Zablon Simintov was evacuated from Kabul earlier this month.
The recent visit to Afghanistan by Pakistani spy chief Faiz Hameed has renewed interest in Islamabad’s alleged role in sustaining the Taliban and highlights its influence over the group. But Pakistan’s ties to the Taliban are more complicated than many people think.
The Afghan Taliban has named a reclusive, hard-line Sunni cleric as its supreme leader in a still-unrecognized governing structure weeks after a dramatic takeover in which the militants seized most of Afghanistan even before the final withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces.
In this week’s newsletter, we take a look at how the Taliban is consolidating power, the new reality facing Afghan women, and why the Afghan economy is in a free fall.
Afghanistan’s rapid economic decline is testing the Taliban as the hard-line Islamists move toward forming a new government and claim credit for restoring security.
Thousands of Afghan musicians, singers, and music teachers fear again being silenced as the country's hard-line Taliban rulers say they will not allow anything that violates Islamic Shari’a law.
This week's Gandhara Briefing brings you the inside stories on how the Taliban will rule Afghanistan, its quest for international legitimacy, and why the chaotic exodus from Kabul airport turned into a tragedy.
Now that it controls Afghanistan, the Taliban is faced with hard choices as Western leaders pin recognition of the militants' government on human rights and counterterrorism commitments. Afghanistan's near neighbors, however, appear to be more forgiving.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing brings you our coverage of the Taliban takeover and what it means for Afghanistan, the impact on Afghan women and media, and why Russia and Iran are starting to worry despite celebrating the U.S. departure from Afghanistan.
In the latest Gandhara Briefing, we look at the collapse of major Afghan cities and the unfolding humanitarian tragedy to make sense of the fast-paced events that are likely to shape Afghanistan's immediate future.
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