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.
As Afghanistan moves toward a crucial presidential race next spring, some in the country want to keep regional strongmen and former warlords off the ballot.
Pakistan's Christians make up a tiny minority in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. This has made them a target of resentment, discrimination, and increasing violence.
Serious questions emerge amid a government operation to establish order in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, with criticism growing as security forces try to tackle rampant violence and criminal gangs.
Afghanistan and the regional impact of the impending NATO withdrawal is expected to figure prominently during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on September 13. But while the SCO has ambitions of becoming the regional security watchdog, there are doubts whether it is up to the task.
He once orchestrated some of the most deadly attacks in Afghanistan, but Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is now seen by many as the country's best hope for forging a lasting peace.
The Pakistani government's determination to punish terrorism convicts has provoked threats of an all-out war by the country's Taliban factions. RFE/RL reports on how a move designed to deter terrorists has incurred the risk of more mayhem.
Pakistan's "Little Brazil" is known for its love of soccer, but this week Lyari, a neighborhood in the southern seaport of Karachi, took the spotlight for another local pastime -- violence.
Peace activists in Pakistan have targeted celebrations of Eid al-Fitr as the perfect time to launch their war on toy guns.
An attack carried out by Taliban militants has freed some 250 inmates from a prison known in Pakistan as a "sweltering hell."
Lawmakers will elect a new Pakistani president on July 30. RFE/RL lists key contenders and explains the particularities and significance of what is largely a ceremonial exercise.
When the upper house of Afghanistan's parliament received proposed revisions to the country's electoral law, one key element was missing: the stipulation that one-quarter of all seats in provincial and local councils be reserved for women.
Many members of Pakistan's newly elected parliament were voted in on a pledge to end the country's crippling energy crisis, which can leave citizens with just four hours of electricity a day. Delivering on that promise will have its challenges.
As a new government prepares to take office in Pakistan, the narrow window of opportunity for negotiations with the country's most lethal Taliban faction appears to have closed.
The death of Wali-ur Rehman Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban's second-in-command who was reportedly killed in a drone strike early on May 29, would be a major blow to the extremist movement operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan. RFE/RL looks at the potential impact of the unconfirmed killing.
Cars, liquor, and nepotism. Not subjects often discussed in the Afghan parliament. But this week's hearings were different and they have caused a sensation in Kabul.
Pakistan's neighbors and global powers have welcomed Nawaz Sharif's victory in the country's May 11 general elections, in the hope that he will stabilize the country and change its external outlook. RFE/RL looks at Sharif's potential foreign policy moves.
It remains to be seen whether once-and-future Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can get along with the country's powerful military establishment, which opposes his peace overtures to India.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is poised to form his country's next government following elections notable for a high turnout in the face of Taliban violence.
Pakistan's May 11 parliamentary elections are historic in that they mark the country's first democratic transition of power, but the campaign has been anything but peaceful. How could the acrimonious political atmosphere shape Pakistan's future government?
Pakistan's May 11 general elections will help shape the future of a country that faces mounting economic and security challenges, and will determine if the course taken by the previous, secular government will continue.
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