The election seem to have been conducted without any major security lapses. However, in the coming weeks, the military situation in Kandahar could tilt in the Taliban's favour, notes Aveek Sen.
The Taliban have been known for using violence to force the people to accept their agenda and views, he added.
All hopes of a breakthrough between the Afghan Taliban and the Hamid Karzai administration came to an end when Mulla Umar refused 35,000 government jobs for his fighters, the News International, Pakistan reported.
'Afghan people will not accept a governing structure that excludes women and minorities'
Sections in the US State Department and Pentagon have always felt more comfortable dealing with all powerful Pakistani generals instead of elected civilians, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The announcement on expansion of CPEC was made following a meeting among Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Beijing, according to a Pakistani readout.
I am staying here for the last five years. The situation is really bad there (in Afghanistan). The people staying there are far from the normal situation. People are trying to come out and move to either Iran, Tajikistan or India just to save themselves.
In an unusual comment, Afghan Taliban has praised India as a "significant country" in the region and said New Delhi has done well to resist United States calls for greater military involvement in Afghanistan.
"China and the Afghan Taliban have unimpeded and effective communication and consultation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing in Beijing.
"We have from time to time reminded all stakeholders about the red lines that was drawn by the world community and certainly by the participants should not be touched, should not be erased and should not be violated," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told media persons.
Ahead of the second anniversary of its grabbing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban has banned women's beauty salons in the country.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has decided that the outfit will now focus on jihad inside Afghanistan, reports Tahir Ali
Zakia Khudadadi completed a remarkable journey to become the first athlete from the refugee team to win a medal at the Paralympics when she clinched a taekwondo bronze on Thursday.
In a surprise move, Pakistan's powerful intelligence chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed on Saturday dashed to Kabul, amidst the Taliban struggling to finalise and install an inclusive government in Afghanistan that would be acceptable to the international community.
The offer of peace talks came at a time when the Pakistani military operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas on the Pak-Afghan border had had little impact on the operational capabilities of the Tehrik-e-Taliban. Amir Mir reports.
Even though the Taliban has managed to capture Afghanistan and form a government, an internal rift between the faction has started emerging, according to media reports.
On January 30, a suicide bombing at a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines area claimed the lives of at least 101 people
August 15, 2023 marked two years since the Taliban captured power in Afghanistan and Talibs celebrated the fall of Kabul on the street near the US embassy on Tuesday.
Rejecting General David Petraeus' claim that thousands of Afghan Taliban have either 'laid down' their arms or moving towards doing so, Mullah Omer-led Taliban vowed continuing their war until the establishment of Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan.
"The man, Noor Mohammad Ajiz Mohammad, 30, was found staying in Nagpur since the last 10 years illegally. He was living in a rented place in Dighori area of the city. Acting on a tip-off, the police had started keeping a watch on his activities. He was finally nabbed and deported to Afghanistan on June 23," he said.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives in the US on Tuesday and is likely to face pressure to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.
The world's attention is on the new Taliban and the imminent announcement of an inclusive government in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
The Biden administration expects the Modi government to continue to remain as its loyal camp follower even as Washington continues to act in self-interests, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The botched car bomb incident at Times Square in New York City indicates the Pakistan Taliban's ambitions are far expanding, says General David H Petraeus, head of United States Central Command, who recently toured Pakistan.
The Tehreek-i-Taliban which claimed responsibility of the brazen attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, is made up of Chechens, Arabs, Afghan Taliban, Uzbeks and Central Asians, has become a fearful force to deal with. Vicky Nanjappa tells you why
Senior analyst B Raman scrutinises the terror attack on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel and says its another bid of the Taliban and the Haqqani Network to make their presence felt.
The Afghan embassy in India has purportedly come out with a communication on closing down its operations and New Delhi is examining its authenticity, sources said on Thursday.
Then 18, Talash crossed the border into Pakistan after Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 before settling in Spain as a refugee the following year. The International Olympics Committee changed break-dancer Talash's life forever by including her in its refugee squad for the Paris Games.
The embassy said it was 'cognisant' that some may attempt to characterise this move as an internal conflict, allegedly involving diplomats who switched allegiance to the Taliban, adding "that this decision is a result of broader changes in policy and interests".
Pakistan's powerful ISI is no longer considered a "friend" of Taliban in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has claimed.
'The worst case scenario for Pakistan is a full-scale Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.' 'Pakistani militants would be inspired and emboldened and seek to replicate the Taliban's successes in Pakistan.'
Afghanistan witnessed a series of terror attacks in the last few weeks as the US aimed to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by August-end, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country.
The Taliban has chosen to interpret the lack of open Indian enthusiasm on the US idea of Indian military training role in Afghanistan as Indian rejection of the US feelers, says B Raman.
The columnist said that Munir was reported as saying on stage at a Brussels gathering that: "God has made me protector of the country. I do not desire any position other than that."
The dreaded Al-Qaeda is trying to install one of its commanders as the new "chief" of Pakistani Taliban, which it fears is in disarray, following the reported slaying of group's leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike.
Describing China as its 'most important partner', the Afghan Taliban has said it looks to Beijing to rebuild Afghanistan and exploit its rich copper deposits as the war-ravaged country faces widespread hunger and fears of an economic collapse.
Biden has ruled out any change in the plan to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan despite the Taliban increasingly gaining control over large swaths of the war-torn country
Haji Omar Khan, a lieutenant of Afghan Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, was killed when two missiles slammed into a suspected militant training camp near Ladha town in South Waziristan close to the Afghan border early on Monday morning, local TV channels reported.
Glimpses of the destruction caused by the earthquake in Gayan, Afghanistan.
Mullah Akhtar, a close aide of Mullah Omar who served as his deputy for the past three years, was chosen as the new leader.
