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.
Over 400,000 Afghans have been expelled from Pakistan and Iran since the start of the year, according to the Taliban government.
The Taliban has shut down a private TV station as well as a university and seminary for allegedly having ties to a political party. The militant group banned all political parties last year and has since cracked down on their activities.
Sirajuddin Haqqani’s first foreign trip is a public relations win for the Taliban, whose government is not recognized by any country.
The Taliban leadership has been accused of “carelessness and arrogance” after sacking the health minister, a trained doctor.
The Taliban faces major hurdles in gaining international legitimacy. But the militants appear to be making headway in its strategy to gain recognition from countries in the region.
A growing number of Afghans are taking what little money they have in the bank and closing their accounts. Experts say trust in the formal banking system has collapsed.
Deadly floods in northern Afghanistan have created "hunger hot spots” in a region that was “already in crisis levels of food insecurity.”
At least one Taliban border guard and one Pakistani soldier have been killed and several more injured in the latest border clash between them.
Many ex-Afghan officials and U.S. contractors, some of them members of the new Afghan political elite, are accused of skimming U.S. reconstruction funds.
Afghanistan’s northern province of Badakhshan has witnessed several bouts of deadly protests in recent weeks. The Taliban’s forceful enforcement of its drug ban triggered the rare demonstrations.
The Taliban has launched a crackdown on political parties in Afghanistan, where the militant group has monopolized power. Among those affected is the party of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of Afghanistan's most notorious ex-warlords and a former militant leader.
Heavy rains in Afghanistan have killed more than 100 people and damaged thousands of hectares of land in recent weeks. I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.
The Taliban's crackdown on the free press has transformed how journalists work in Afghanistan, where reporters face restrictions on what they can cover, how they can cover it, and who they can interview.
An estimated 150,000 Afghan retirees have not received their pensions since the Taliban seized power in 2021.
Pakistan's volatile province of Balochistan has seen a sharp increase in deadly attacks in recent months. Most of the attacks have been claimed by a Baluch separatist militant group.
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here. I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.
U.S. officials have blamed IS-K, the Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State extremist group, for the attack on a concert hall near Moscow. Experts say the attack demonstrates the affiliate's growing ambitions and capabilities as well as its leading role in the umbrella organization.
A deadly suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar is a blow to the Taliban, which claims to have restored security in the country since seizing power in 2021.
India’s new immigration law grants citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, including Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians. But the law excludes Muslims, including thousands of Afghans who have lived in the South Asian country for decades.
The Taliban government has invested $35 million in the southern Iranian seaport of Chabahar to end Afghanistan's dependence on Pakistani ports for trade transit.
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