Islamabad — A senior Taliban leader has publicly criticized his government’s policy of banning female education in Afghanistan, calling it a “personal choice” rather than an interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia. The rare public rebuke by Taliban deputy foreign minister Sher Abbas Stanikzai comes amid continued international calls for Afghanistan’s rulers to allow girls’ … Read more
New Delhi – According to analysts, the first high-level diplomatic meeting between India and the Taliban leadership is an important step in rebuilding New Delhi’s influence in Afghanistan. He says New Delhi’s growing engagement with the Taliban is driven by strategic considerations in the Central Asian country, which has significant implications for its security and … Read more
Patrick Healy, the deputy Opinion editor, hosted an online conversation with the Times Opinion columnists David French, Lydia Polgreen and Bret Stephens about the biggest risks and challenges facing America in the world today and the leadership of President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump. Patrick Healy: President Biden is about to hand back national security … Read more
President Ronald Reagan is often credited with defeating the Soviet Union by helping Afghan insurgents, but it was the administration of President Jimmy Carter that laid the foundation. When Carter entered the White House, he was considered by many to be a foreign policy novice, making an early decision to provide covert aid to Afghan … Read more
The Taliban say they will close all national and foreign non-governmental groups that employ women in Afghanistan. This comes two years after he called on NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they did not wear the Islamic headscarf correctly. x In a letter published Sunday night, the Economy Ministry warned that … Read more
Islamabad — Taliban officials in Afghanistan said on Wednesday that at least 46 people were killed in the eastern border area due to aerial bombardment allegedly carried out by Pakistan overnight. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack on Tuesday evening targeted four locations in the remote mountainous district of Barmal in the Afghan … Read more