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Afghan peace deal will sideline Kabul's interests

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

Several rounds of US-Taliban talks have acquired a dynamism of their own and appear to be close to a deal. Because one element of such an agreement -- a US troop withdrawal -…

Afghan talks start despite multiple unresolved issues

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

The Taliban agreed to talk to Kabul's delegation only reluctantly, under US pressure. The Kabul authorities were scarcely any keener. The insurgents' negotiating strategy appears…

Pakistani Taliban are redefining their goal

Location:

PAKISTAN

In late April, it bombed the car park of a luxury hotel in Quetta, capital of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The organisation is currently in merger talks with various insurgent…

Afghan Taliban use violence to hasten US troop exit

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

At the same time as pursuing peace talks with the Afghan government, the Taliban are using calibrated armed force to push the United States into withdrawing all its troops. In an…

Islamabad may compromise with Pakistani Taliban

Location:

PAKISTAN

The TTP, emboldened by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, has intensified its insurgency in recent weeks. The group was formed in 2007 in North Waziristan, at that time part of…

US drawdown delay will not deliver Afghan security

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

Outlook for Afghan security.

Al-Qaida death reveals uncomfortable Afghan truths

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

Three al-Qaida members were reportedly killed in Ghazni province on August 6, again by a missile fired from a US unmanned aerial vehicle. At a time when the Taliban government was…

Afghanistan’s marginalised groups face increasing woes

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

The Taliban have increasingly fraught relations not only with Shia, most of whom are ethnic Hazaras, but also with other marginalised communities, including Salafis -- a small…

US troop timetable strengthens Afghan Taliban position

Location:

AFGHANISTAN

The end-date is uncertain, after O'Brien and others contradicted President Donald Trump's Christmas deadline. Nevertheless, the US haste should focus minds in Kabul. Instead, the…

Pakistan’s talks with key enemy are at a crossroads

Location:

PAKISTAN

Days earlier, reports emerged that peace negotiations between the TTP, an enemy of the Pakistani state, and Islamabad had ended in deadlock. It is unclear if the talks have ended…