The Taliban’s hard-line government in Afghanistan is making major inroads in garnering legitimacy abroad. Despite its extremist policies, the international community has accepted that the Islamist group is here to stay,

The Taliban government accuses Pakistan of bombing Kabul and a market in eastern Afghanistan. A blast occurred Thursday night in Kabul near key government buildings.

Pakistan cannot blame anyone but itself for the challenges it now faces: it nurtured and supported the Afghan Taliban for decades.

Haqqani said that protecting Afghanistan’s territory remains a top priority, but also noted that the country is still open to dialogue.

When authoritarian regimes sever digital ties, silence becomes their most powerful weapon, and global apathy their most reliable ally.

The Taliban now appear to have significant popular support and have maintained stability in much of Afghanistan, both militarily and politically– which makes enaging with it a strategic necessity

The Taliban should end the arbitrary detention, torture, and other ill-treatment of journalists, discriminatory restrictions on women journalists, and censorship. Countries with Afghan journalists in exile should end their forced return to Afghanistan.

Afghan police say Pakistan’s military carried out strikes in southeastern Afghanistan on just hours after a two-day ceasefire between the neighboring countries expired.