Karzai in Washington
As I write this on Tuesday morning the drama of the ‘long march’ of the Tehrik Minhaj-ul-Quran dominates the air waves. Whatever its outcome we must recognise that it reflects…
Afghan toys inspire giant ‘dandelion’ anti-mine device
Childhood toys lost in a war-torn field have inspired an odd-looking invention which its young Dutch inventor hopes can help save thousands of lives and limbs in his native Afghanistan.…
Shooting in the dark
Indian and Pakistani armies have slammed each other for violating the Line of Control this week. Pakistan said Indian troops killed one of its soldiers in the Haji Pir sector…
Unpleasant twists
Pakistan has been making almost heroic efforts over the last few months to put its relations with Afghanistan on an even keel and make a vital contribution to the reconciliation…
UK and Afghan endgame
In Kabul on a surprise visit last week, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned the Afghan Taliban: “you cannot wait this out till foreign forces leave in 2014 because we…
Another crucial juncture
The Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar has many idiosyncrasies. When he came to power, he did not live a single day in the President House in Kabul, but preferred to…
An indispensable relationship
Even after 30 years of conflict, there appears to be no end in sight to the war in Afghanistan. As the US begins its military withdrawal following Obama’s decision last…
Utterly inhuman
AS if the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui disappearance more than five years ago was not horrifying enough the discovery of her 12-year-old son in a Kabul prison has brought…
Afghanistan security not without the Taliban
Deteriorating security situation, continuing crisis of governance, the excessively limited writ of the Karzai government, the failure of any substantive breakthrough in the Kabul-Taliban dialogue, the continuing military capacity to…
What does Karzai want?
When I was in Kabul in the last week of November the main news was that President Hamid Karzai and his senior aides and political allies had a long meeting…
