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Afghanistan after the US withdrawal

Afghanistan after the US withdrawal
US President Joe Biden committed to withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan by August 31, 2021. The deadline was set after the Taliban took control of the country, seizing the capital city of Kabul as the Afghan government under President Ashraf Ghani dissolved on August 15. The Biden administration had initially announced a full withdrawal of troops by 11 September 2021 – 20 years after the 9/11 terror attacks.
US Army General Christopher Donahue (left) and Polish General Wojciech Marchwica speak to journalists at Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in Poland in February 2022. Photo: AP
United States

General who was last US soldier out of Afghanistan suddenly steps down

Christopher Donahue, commanding general of US Army Europe and Africa, is the latest in nearly two dozen military leaders to depart.

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Central Asia

Afghan government workers face sack, jail after smartphone ban begins

Afghanistan

‘Frightened’: Afghan women detained by Taliban in clothing crackdown

Afghanistan

New Taliban law in Afghanistan implies that child marriage is permitted, UN says

UN says the new family code tacitly permits union with minors, despite Kabul claiming forced weddings are banned.

Afghan burqa-clad women in Kabul. Photo: AFP
United States

Taliban, Congo? Afghans stuck in Qatar who helped US war face more stress

After reports the US could send 1,100 Afghans who assisted the US to the DRC, the Taliban urged them to instead head back to their homeland.

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Afghanistan

Afghan mother demands answers after son dies in Pakistani hospital bombing

Human rights groups have called for an independent investigation into the March 16 strike on a drug treatment centre that killed 411.

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Central Asia

Afghanistan wants US$10 billion in trade deals with Central Asia

Central Asia’s typical trade routes through Russia are hampered by heavy sanctions, while the Taliban is trying to trade with the world despite international sanctions.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (centre, back), along with representatives from Central Asian states, takes part in the Afghanistan-Central Asia Consultative Dialogue at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Kabul on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Afghanistan

Afghanistan releases detained US citizen after more than a year

Researcher Dennis Coyle, 64, was arrested in January 2025 on ‘violations of Afghanistan’s applicable laws’.

Pakistan

Pakistan announces 5-day pause on Afghan strikes for Eid

The temporary ceasefire comes after Monday’s hospital strike, the deadliest in an escalating conflict between the two neighbours.

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War and conflict

Video | Survivors recount deadly air strike on Kabul drug rehab hospital

Afghanistan says 400 killed In hospital strike, Pakistan denies targeting civilian sites.

People, who got injured in what the Taliban said was a Pakistani air strike on a drug users rehabilitation hospital, sit on beds after getting treatment at a hospital, in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 17, 2026. REUTERS/Sayed Hassib
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Afghanistan

‘People were burning’: 400 dead after Pakistan strikes hit Kabul hospital

Pakistan rejected the accusation, saying its air strikes on eastern Afghanistan did not hit any civilian sites.

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Firefighters work at the scene of alleged Pakistani air strikes in Kabul on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
War and conflict

Opinion | Pakistan’s forever war and the politics of exhaustion

What Pakistan needs is not war with Afghanistan but urgent efforts to fix its economy, security and divided society after disruptive decades.

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Pakistan

Blasts in Kabul as Afghan government says responding to Pakistan attacks

Diplomatic efforts have failed to secure a truce between Pakistan and the Taliban, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar engaged in efforts to halt the fighting.

Pakistan

‘Managed escalation’: Pakistan-Taliban stand-off enters dangerous new phase

With positions entrenched, mediation efforts by regional powers are unlikely to deliver a swift breakthrough, observers say.

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A Taliban fighter holds his weapon beside a Humvee after exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces in Momand Dara district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
Pakistan

China seeks to mediate after Pakistan declares ‘open war’ on Afghanistan

Beijing calls on Islamabad and Kabul to stay calm and exercise restraint as relations between the neighbours plummet.

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Taliban security personnel keep watch for air strikes in Khost province, Afghanistan on Friday following overnight cross-border fighting with Pakistan. Photo: AFP
Pakistan

Pakistan declares ‘open war’ with Afghan Taliban, attacks Kabul, Kandahar

The air strikes came hours after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops in what the Taliban government said was retaliation.

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Pakistan

Pakistan claim of killing 80 militants ‘false’, Taliban security source says

The Afghan Defence Ministry said ‘various civilian areas’ in eastern Afghanistan were hit, including a religious madrasa and multiple homes.

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Afghanistan

61 die in Afghanistan, 110 injured, amid heavy snow and rain

The death toll could rise, authorities say, amid checks of affected regions and with over 450 homes completely or partially destroyed.

Afghan men walk along a snow-covered path in Panjshir province on Friday. Photo: AFP
Central Asia

Why are Afghan-Tajikistan border tensions such a headache for China?

A suicide bombing at a restaurant in Kabul is just the latest sign of how Chinese citizens can become caught up in the region’s instability.

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Afghanistan

Video | Resistance museum changes under Taliban rule

The museum no longer has a ‘hall of fame’ gallery featuring portraits of mujahideen commanders, including some who fought against the ruling Taliban.

Afghanistan: All stories

China urges Taliban to tighten security after suicide attack on restaurant in Kabul

Militant group Isis-K claimed responsibility for the attack in the Afghan capital, says it has placed Chinese nationals on its target list.

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Taliban security personnel stand guard at the scene of the attack in Kabul. Photo: AFP
Central Asia

Afghan boy, 13, executes family’s killer in echoes of worst days of Taliban rule

The public execution, the 11th carried out since the Taliban seized power in 2021, has drawn global condemnation.

A Taliban policeman looks on as a crowd heads toward a stadium to attend the public execution on Tuesday. Photo: AP
Gun violence in the US

National Guard shooting suspect pleads not guilty to murder from hospital bed

The judge ordered Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, held in custody without bond, citing the ‘sheer terror’ of the fatal ambush in Washington.

Gun violence in the US

Trump orders review of immigrant visas after National Guard attack

The sweeping new policy follows Wednesday’s attack in Washington by an Afghan national that has caused one death.

Gun violence in the US

National Guard member dies as Afghan attacker’s past CIA link emerges

Shooting suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal is a former member of a CIA-backed Afghan Army unit who entered the US under a special programme.

Pictures of National Guard members Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom, who were shot on November 26 in Washington, next to a picture of the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal. Photo: Reuters
Pakistan

Can mediators prevent war between Afghanistan, Pakistan as tensions spike?

Prolonged proxy warfare could create space for terrorist groups such as Isis-K to regenerate and plot overseas attacks, analysts warn.

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Residents clear debris from houses destroyed in air strikes in Khost, Afghanistan, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
Pakistan

Afghan, Pakistani negotiators to strengthen truce in Istanbul

Islamabad has repeatedly accused its Afghan neighbour of ‘harbouring’ groups it views as ‘terrorist’, primarily the Pakistani Taliban, which Kabul denies.

Pakistan

Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to ceasefire after deadly fighting

Mediated by Qatar and Turkey, the truce came into effect immediately and is intended to pause hostilities that killed dozens and injured hundreds.

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