Afghanistan

Obama has an Afghan game plan

Credit: Asia >Times Barack Obama’s surprise visit to Kabul on Tuesday provides telling evidence that he has a game plan for Afghanistan going into and beyond his bid to be re-elected United States president. Everything in the strategy, including renewed traction for closer ties with neighboring countries, is built around […]

Taleban attack Afghan capital

By ASSOCIATED PRESS ARABNEWS KABUL, Afghanistan: The Taleban launched a series of coordinated attacks across the Afghan capital and at least three eastern provinces on Sunday, targeting NATO bases, parliament and foreign embassies in a complex assault that shows the insurgents can still penetrate Afghan security and hit Western and […]

An Afghan wedding (in 1970)

During the early 1970s – during the days of King Zahir Shah – Afghanistan was a more open society than now. Schools were available for boys and girls. Ladies could wear the burka or not wear it. In Kabul many ladies wore European clothing. Still, Islamic values were adhered to. […]

The Afghan girls who live as boys

Source: BBC Author: Tahir Qadiry For economic and social reasons, many Afghan parents want to have a son. This preference has led to some of them practising the long-standing tradition of Bacha Posh – disguising girls as boys. When Azita Rafhat, a former member of the Afghan parliament, gets her […]

Taliban’s peace options limited

Credit: Asia Times: By Brian M Downing Over the past 10 years, the Taliban have recovered from their ouster and established a presence in half of Afghanistan’s districts, where they have become a de facto government in many of them. The Afghan government is frail and unwilling to reform. The […]

Mad scramble for Afghan exits

Credit: Asia Times: The continuing lull in US-Pakistan relations complicates the Afghan withdrawal process for European forces, with Central Asian routes more expensive and diplomatically complex than the Pakistani link closed over last November’s friendly fire incident. Anger at “negative acts” by US troops is also high among US allies. […]