Politics

Taliban fighters outside the Interior Ministry in Kabul in August 2021, after the militant group retook power in Afghanistan.
Your Week in Asia

Taliban takeover anniversary, Japan GDP, Greater China earnings

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

11 August 2024
A Taliban delegation attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 5. Russia has been exploring closer ties with the Afghan regime.
Afghanistan turmoil

Taliban defy West at U.N. talks while China, Russia eye closer ties

Afghan mineral reserves, Islamic State threat open door to potential recognition

2 July 2024
Afghan cargo is loaded at Chabahar for shipment to India in 2019: Budding multilateral cooperation centers on the Iranian deep-water port.
Opinion

Pakistan's moves to further isolate Afghanistan are backfiring

Estrangement is driving the Taliban to work with Iran and India at Chabahar port

13 May 2024
"Not enough time, not enough support": Uzbekistan, a landlocked country slightly bigger than California, is facing the consequences of a history of poor irrigation, with rising salinity slashing the size of usable growing areas.
Asia Insight

Uzbek farmers battle to save cotton, wheat crops from mortal enemy: salt

Growing salinization crisis bites as cotton exports to Bangladesh skid 80% in 5 years

7 May 2024
Russian officials have been speaking with Taliban leaders and working to remove the group from its terrorist list. (Source photos by AP and Reuters)
13 April 2024
An Afghan repairs a carpet in Kabul. Carpets are one of Afghanistan's primary items of exports to Pakistan.
International relations

Pakistan and Taliban to expand trade despite lingering tensions

Two countries agree on 'separation of business from politics'

5 April 2024
A Russian law enforcement officer near the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following the attack on March 22.
Terrorism

Moscow attack reveals ISIS-K's widening strategy of deadly disruption

Afghanistan IS-offshoot blamed for Russia's deadliest terror attack in two decades

26 March 2024
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, far left, and top military officials attend a funeral on March 17 for officers killed in a militant attack.
International relations

Pakistan's strikes in Afghanistan hint at new government's hard line

Experts warn tackling Pakistani Taliban threat will be more difficult than ever

20 March 2024
Journalists attend a news conference in Kabul in January 2023.
Afghanistan turmoil

No pictures: Afghanistan journalists fear clampdown on visual reporting

Taliban official tells media personnel to focus on growing beards

27 February 2024
Afghan men under a billboard bearing the message: "Hijab is honor, not captivity" in Kabul. 
Politics

Afghan women scared to step out after Taliban arrests over hijab

Officials claim the detained broke code, but HRW says 'walls closing in' on girls

20 January 2024
An Afghan girl looks out from a car window near a refugee repatriation center in Nowshera, Pakistan: More than 500,000 refugees have so far been returned to Afghanistan. 
Opinion

Expelling Afghan refugees won't boost Pakistan's security

Mass repatriation is creating a recruitment opportunity for militant groups

14 January 2024
Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada poses for a portrait In this undated photo from an unknown location. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Politics

Taliban supreme leader's existence remains a mystery

Some analysts say he's dead; spokesman says he simply refuses to be photographed

27 December 2023
Afghan children play cricket in a park in New Delhi. Cricket has become increasingly popular among young refugees since the World Cup. (Photo by Shefali Rafiq)
Life

For Afghan refugees, World Cup cricket wins are a beacon of hope

Mixed feelings remain over lack of women and ethnic minority participation

23 December 2023
The Afghan Taliban says China has accepted its choice for ambassador to Beijing with the release of this photo of an unidentified Taliban representative.
Afghanistan turmoil

Taliban says China has accepted its envoy to Beijing

Afghanistan 'last piece' of strategic puzzle as Beijing looks to shut out West

10 December 2023
Afghanistan's under-construction Qosh Tepa irrigation canal aims to turn some 550,000 hectares of desert land into usable farmland.
International relations

Taliban vow to finish disputed canal at 'any cost'

Afghanistan's Central Asian neighbors cry foul over plans to tap shared river

9 December 2023
Afghan Taliban fighters stand guard as Afghan refugees line up to register in a camp near the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan on Nov. 4.
Afghanistan turmoil

Pakistan points Afghan Taliban to militant hideouts, urges action

Islamabad says it shared 'evidence' of Pakistani Taliban presence Kabul denies

17 November 2023
A Pakistani soldier stands guard during Independence Day celebrations in Karachi on Aug. 14. A recent report found that at least 386 security personnel had been killed in the first nine months of the year, an eight-year high.
Politics

Pakistani military adds enigmatic militant group to list of worries

Attack on air base hints at evolving threat ahead of national elections

12 November 2023
Taliban soldiers stand guard in Mes Aynak valley in 2021: A Chinese company won rights to develop a copper mine during the republican era but has not gotten the project running yet.
Opinion

Afghanistan shows the gap between BRI rhetoric and reality

Chinese initiative has not brought stability but rather requires it

8 November 2023
Pakistan ordered possibly 1.7 million undocumented Afghans out of the country by Nov. 1, creating chaotic scenes at Torkham and other border crossings. (Norwegian Refugee Council via Reuters)
Afghanistan turmoil

Taliban warns Pakistan about Afghan expulsions: Reap what you sow

Islamabad's repatriation policy fuels anger over lost businesses and assets

3 November 2023
Afghan citizens gather to cross into Afghanistan on Nov. 1, after Pakistan gave a last warning to undocumented immigrants to leave.
Afghanistan turmoil

Pakistan-Afghanistan border overwhelmed as Afghans face expulsion

Islamabad seeks to enforce vow to deport undocumented migrants

2 November 2023
Afghan women living in Pakistan wait to get registered at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Peshawar in September 2021.
International relations

Pakistan gives last warning to undocumented Afghans and others to leave

State has 'complete data' to begin deportations after Nov. 1 deadline

26 October 2023
Afghan women walk in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat province, on Oct. 10. After major earthquakes and aftershocks, some women in the region say they face obstacles to receiving aid.
Afghanistan turmoil

Female Afghan earthquake survivors face higher hurdles to aid

Taliban officials insist help is being distributed fairly; women say otherwise

24 October 2023
Pakistan's Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan: Islamabad has ordered undocumented migrants in the country to leave or face arrest and deportation. (Photo by Jamaima Afridi)
Afghanistan turmoil

Pakistan's deportation clock ticks on paperless Afghan refugees

Taliban, activists slam order for migrants to leave by November or face arrest

18 October 2023
An Afghan boy who says he lost his father in the recent earthquakes is pictured at a Red Crescent camp in Herat, Afghanistan, on Oct. 10. Many people remain without tents like these, sleeping under plastic or out in the open. 
Natural disasters

Starving Afghan earthquake survivors face reality of aid shortfall

Agencies, Taliban officials and victims stress need for emergency funds

12 October 2023
Children at an Afghan refugee camp in Islamabad in 2020: Pakistan said it will unilaterally deport up to 1.7 million unregistered Afghans.
Opinion

Without respect, Pakistan will not get anywhere with Afghanistan

For Kabul to restrain the TPP, Islamabad must treat regime as its equal

12 October 2023
The Mes Aynak valley, about 40 kilometers southwest of Kabul, is thought to be the world's second-largest unexploited copper mine.
International relations

Taliban urge Japan to invest in Afghanistan's minerals, metals

Japanese ambassador to country met official in Qatar last month

4 October 2023
A new gold mine in Afghanistan's Takhar province is seen in a November 2010 file photo: The Taliban administration has awarded a $310 million contract for a gold mine spanning 12 square kilometers in the province to an Afghan-Chinese joint venture.
Afghanistan turmoil

Afghanistan's $6.5bn mine deals with China, others dig up questions

Taliban face feasibility and security doubts as regime aims to shore up economy

17 September 2023
Zhao Sheng, China's new ambassador to Afghanistan, shakes hands with Taliban Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund, left, at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on Sep. 13. (Handout via AP)
Opinion

China and the Taliban are friends in need of each other

Investment creeps forward amid continued security worries

15 September 2023
The Taliban only permits girls in Afghanistan to go to school until sixth grade. (Photo by Kanika Gupta)
Afghanistan turmoil

Afghanistan's secret schools for girls defy Taliban ban

Teachers and students share stories of underground education

14 September 2023
Stranded trucks are seen during an earlier closing of the Torkham border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in February.
Afghanistan turmoil

Pakistan shuts Afghanistan crossing as deadly clashes raise tensions

Four Pakistani soldiers, 12 militants and several civilians reported killed

7 September 2023