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.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing gives you the inside stories on the Biden administration’s plan to review the Afghan peace deal, why locals are fed up with outside investors in Gwadar, and the Taliban’s use of armed drones as a frontline weapon.
The agreement between the U.S. and Taliban was viewed as the best path toward ending the longest war in American history. But its fate now hangs in the balance as the Biden administration reviews the agreement, which critics say grants the Taliban too many favors.
As one of the world’s most isolated communities, Wakhan in northeastern Afghanistan is facing unprecedented hardships because of disease, a harsh winter, grinding poverty, and food shortages.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing gives you the inside stories on Afghan hopes for the Biden administration, Islamabad’s efforts to woo Riyadh, and the plight of drug addicts who are being exploited by the Afghan security forces.
As U.S. President Joe Biden assumes office today, many in Afghanistan hope that he can correct course and help their country achieve peace while also helping Washington end the longest war in its history.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing gives you the inside stories on the stalled peace talks in Afghanistan, the increasing plight of unemployed academics in Pakistan, and a taboo number banished from Afghan license plates.
Previously, those fighting in tribal conflicts volunteered out of clan loyalty and personal stakes. But changes in Afghan society have opened up such disputes to the gig economy, with mercenaries often paid to take the place of tribal members who live elsewhere.
Thousands of Pakistani doctorate degree holders are unemployed amid an economic slump in their country. Their prospects appear dim as Pakistani universities struggle to implement a tenure-track system.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing gives you the inside stories on where the Afghan peace talks stand, protests in Pakistan over the killing of Hazaras, and the allegations of murder surrounding a Baluch activist's death in Canada.
This week's Gandhara Briefing looks back at a tumultuous year in Afghanistan and Pakistan and what to expect in 2021.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing gives you the inside stories on the mounting pressure on Imran Khan, the Taliban’s subversion of the Afghan justice system, the arrest of a Pashtun rights activist, and other headlines.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing gives you the inside stories on the killing of another journalist in Afghanistan, the Taliban and U.S. bombing strategies, and the ticking COVID time bomb in Pakistan.
The killing of a female journalist has deprived Afghanistan of a bold campaigner who spoke truth to power and stood for preserving her country's gains in human rights and freedoms that were unthinkable under previous Afghan regimes.
In Pakistan, the rising number of COVID-19 cases amid a second wave of coronavirus infections has failed to deter quarreling politicians from prioritizing an increasing dangerous competition for power over public health.
This week’s Gandhara briefing gives you the inside stories on Afghanistan’s future aid dependence and a quest by victims to seek justice for alleged Australian crimes. We also analyze the gathering political showdown in Pakistan, where mushrooming land disputes threaten stability.
A key political battle in Pakistan's heartland province is heading toward a showdown as the Pakistan Democratic Movement, an opposition alliance, tries to topple Prime Minister Imran Khan's government through protests.
The author of a book apparently banned by Pakistani authorities for describing his time in prison for his ties to a civil rights movement says he will challenge the ban in a court of law.
Residents of a remote region in western Pakistan say Islamabad’s failure to enforce a cease-fire between two clans threatens their security and encourages further violent clashes over conflicting land ownership claims.
In Uruzgan, a remote province in southern Afghanistan, many victims of alleged atrocities by the Australian security forces say Canberra's recent probe does not cover the full extent of what they say are extensive abuses.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing brings you the inside stories on the impact of the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, the fallout of another contested election in Pakistan, and a brief reunion for rights campaigner Idris Khattak a year after his disappearance.
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