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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.
Smoke and flames rise from an area hit by air strikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday. Photo: AFP
Afghanistan

400 dead after Pakistan strikes hit Kabul drug rehabilitation hospital: Taliban

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

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War and conflict

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

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Pakistan

Blasts in Kabul as Afghan government says responding to Pakistan attacks

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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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.

Taliban security staff stand guard next to the debris of houses destroyed during an overnight Pakistani air strike at Balish village in Urgun district, Paktika Province, Afghanistan on Sunday. Photo: AFP
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.

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.

This photograph taken on January 6, 2026 shows a diorama depicting the Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion of 1979, with figurines of Afghan mujahideen fighters plastered for censorship at the Manzar-e-Jahad or the Jihad Museum in Herat. An Afghan who fought against Soviet forces still visits a museum celebrating the resistance, but, in keeping with rules by the Taliban authorities, the displays have undergone notable changes recently. When the museum opened in 2010, the figurines showed the faces of these women and men; now those faces are covered in plaster. The Taliban government, which took power for the second time in 2021, has banned depictions of living things under its strict interpretation of Islamic law. In 2024 the government’s morality police ordered the rule’s gradual nationwide enforcement. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) / TO GO WITH ‘AFGHANISTAN-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-HISTORY-MUSEUM’ REPORTAGE
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.

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.

A makeshift memorial in Washington a day after two National Guard members were shot. Photo: Reuters
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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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.

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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.

Men look out from a damaged building hit during an alleged Pakistani strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE
US-China relations

Trump’s Afghan airbase gambit unites India, Pakistan and China in opposition

At Moscow talks, regional rivals joined Russia and Iran in rejecting US president’s bid to reclaim Bagram airbase from the Taliban.

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Afghanistan

Mobile and internet restored in Afghanistan after Taliban-ordered cut

The 48-hour outage caused chaos, disrupting finance, trade and online learning.

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Taliban

US citizen released by Afghanistan’s Taliban after visit by envoy

The foreign ministry identified the prisoner as Amir Amiri and said he had been handed over to Adam Boehler, US special envoy on hostages.

US citizen Amir Amiri, second from left, poses before boarding a plane in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday after being released from an Afghan prison. With him, from right, is Deputy Assistant to the US President Sebastian Gorka, an unidentified Qatari diplomat, Charge d’Affaires of the Qatari embassy in Afghanistan Dr Mirdef al-Qashouti, centre, and, US Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler. Photo: Qatar Foreign Ministry via AP
US-China relations

Beijing leads push against Trump’s bid to reclaim Afghan airbase

In a joint statement, China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan call for ‘respect’ for Afghan sovereignty to counter US military presence.

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Afghan soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint outside Bagram airbase as the last American troops vacated it in 2021. Recent remarks by US President Donald Trump about a bid to reclaim the base have stirred unease among several countries, including China. Photo: Reuters
Central Asia

Trump demands Bagram airbase, ‘not possible’ Taliban says

Trump threatened punishment against Afghanistan if the base was not returned, four years after it was abandoned by US troops in a deal he brokered.

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US-China relations

Does Trump’s push for Afghan air base risk inflaming US-China rivalry?

US leader says he wants to regain control of Bagram Air Base because of its proximity to Chinese nuclear facilities in Xinjiang.

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Donald Trump

Trump says ‘bad things’ will happen if Afghanistan does not return Bagram base

The US president has often lamented the loss of access to the facility, noting its proximity to China.

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Afghan soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint outside Bagram airbase, on the day the last of American troops vacated it in July 2021. Photo: Reuters
Afghanistan

Taliban free UK couple held for months in Afghanistan on undisclosed charges

There has been no explanation for the detention of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, aged 80 and 75, who remained after the Taliban seized power.

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Peter and Barbie Reynolds at an unknown location. The British couple have been freed in Afghanistan after several months in detention following mediation by Qatar. Photo: AFP/Family handout
China's military weapons

Trump vows US push to reclaim key Afghan air base, ties it to China

Trump has repeatedly stressed the base’s strategic value and alleged it was under Chinese control, a claim Afghan authorities have denied.

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Earthquakes

Taliban asks world for help in wake of deadly Afghanistan earthquake

China among nations ready to provide disaster relief as the Taliban-ruled country struggles with a sharp drop in foreign aid.

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