Abubakar Siddique

Rural Afghan Province Still Struggling With Internet Access

Two Years On, Pakistan’s Civilian Government Struggling To Find Its Feet

As Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government completes its first two years in office this week, he and his cabinet members appeared to send out a coordinated message: The country’s rough patch is over.

One Family’s Torment Showcases A Region’s Suffering In Pakistan

For relatives, the fate of their disappeared loved ones in Pakistan is a constant agony.

Afghan Province Grows Bananas To Replace Opium Poppies

Loya Jirga: An Afghan Institution Surviving Tumultuous Centuries

Hopes for ending four decades of war in Afghanistan are high this week after a Loya Jirga or grand assembly of more than 3,000 political elites, tribal leaders, clerics, and activists approved the release of 400 Taliban prisoners.

More Afghan Sikhs, Hindus Migrating To India From Afghanistan

Sardar Gurbachan Singh Ghazniwal, 50, always considered Afghanistan his homeland. He braved all kinds of threats during his country’s four-decade-long war but resisted joining members of his country’s tiny Hindu and Sikh minority community in fleeing Afghanistan.

Taliban Accused Of Kidnapping, Murdering Afghan Policewoman

The family of a young female Afghan police officer is seeking justice after her recent kidnapping and murder in a volatile southeastern Afghan province.

Waziristan Tribes Demand Gov’t Hand Over Resources In Bid For Security

A major gathering of two Pashtun tribes in western Pakistan has requested that the government give their restive homeland its resources if security forces fail to establish peace in the region reeling from years of militant attacks and military operations.

Taliban Bans Music, Mobile Phones In Restive Afghan Province

Residents and officials in a southeast Afghan province say the group has imposed restrictions ranging from bans on music and mobile phones to shaving beards.

Afghan Family That Lost Three Sons Says Nothing Is More Precious Than Peace

As Muslims across the world celebrated the Eid al-Adha festival this past weekend, the 48-year-old spent most of her time visiting the graves of her three sons and trying to console their children.

As Intra-Afghan Talks Loom, Taliban Hark To 1990s Regime

Talks between the Afghan government and the hard-line Islamist Taliban movement finally appear to be on the horizon after the two sides announced a brief cease-fire during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha this week.

Afghans Still Divided Over 1973 Coup That Ended Monarchy And Unleashed Turmoil

The power grab of the July 17, 1973, coup that saw Sardar Muhammad Daud Khan appoint himself president and declared Afghanistan a republic by deposing his cousin, King Zahir Shah, was the trigger for subsequent turmoil that still engulfs the mountainous country of 35 million.

Volatile Afghan Province Sees ‘Threatening’ Rise In Polio Infections

As most of the Helmand’s limited healthcare resources have been diverted to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, authorities recorded 11 new polio cases in the first half of the current year across six of Helmand’s 14 districts.

Despite Protests And Promises, Pakistani Regions Denied Internet Access

As the Internet emerged as the backbone of global communications during the coronavirus pandemic, activists and students in some remote Pakistani regions braved beatings and arrests to protest a lack of Internet access during lockdown.

Truckers Cite Corruption, Distress At Pakistan-Afghanistan Border

Truckers hauling cargo from Pakistan into Afghanistan though the main border crossing between the two countries have complained of bribes, long delays, and harassment by police and transport union officials.

Baluch Separatist Insurgency Torn By Internal Conflict Over Class

The controversy over a recent attack on Pakistan's main stock exchange as exposing a widening divide among the supporters of a separatist insurgency in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan.

Is Pakistan’s PM Khan About To Be Ousted From Power?

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan appears to be fighting for political survival amid crises affecting his powerbase, his relationship with the country’s powerful military, and his performance in the face of multiple challenges affecting the well-being of 220 million Pakistanis.

Taliban Demand Release Of Convicted Afghan Drug Lord

A top leader of Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban movement has demanded the United States release an Afghan drug kingpin serving a life sentence for international narcotics trafficking conspiracy in a U.S. prison.

Explainer: What Does Russia Want In Afghanistan?

Amid major controversy over allegations that Russia offered incentives to Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers, we take a look at Russian-Taliban relations through the years and the Kremlin's motives in Afghanistan.

A Look At The Controversy Over Alleged Russian Bounties For Killing U.S. Troops In Afghanistan

Questions are being raised about Russia's real motives in Afghanistan.