Taliban

Under the Taliban, Afghan light entertainment accrued unusual weight

8 June 2024 9:00 am

For a television talent show, Afghan Star had unusually high stakes. When it first hit Afghanistan’s screens in 2005, four…

Ahmad Massoud: ‘I’m 100% sure I can topple the Taliban’

18 May 2024 9:00 am

It’s fighting season in Afghanistan again. When the Americans were in charge, after the poppy fields had been harvested in…

Isis is wreaking havoc in Afghanistan

4 October 2022 12:10 am

The bomb tore through an examination hall in Kabul on Friday, where students – mostly minority Hazara, mostly young women…

A letter won't educate Afghan girls

26 March 2022 3:26 am

Well, that’ll show ‘em. Liz Truss has released a joint statement with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declaring themselves…

Could an uprising succeed against the Taliban?

6 February 2022 6:30 pm

The social media accounts of the new so-called ‘National Resistance Front’ (NRF) in Afghanistan give the impression of a raging…

Should we listen to Shamima Begum's verdict on the hijab?

16 September 2021 5:00 pm

What should one make of Shamima Begum’s appearance on Good Morning Britain? The London schoolgirl left the UK in 2015 to…

How stable is the Taliban government?

13 September 2021 7:38 am

Some western governments and media have been involved in a collective act of wishful thinking in recent months over the…

The rise of Taliban Twitter

12 September 2021 8:00 am

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was swift, but this victory wasn’t won overnight. For years, the Taliban has been waging…

Life under the Taliban’s charm offensive

11 September 2021 9:00 am

The Taliban Cultural Commission sounds a contradiction in terms but for all foreign journalists it’s the first stop in the…

The 9/11 anniversary marks a painful moment for squaddies

10 September 2021 8:00 pm

The sweet salvation of the summer recess over, we returned to Sandhurst for our final term of officer training. It was…

How the fight against terror in Afghanistan will change

7 September 2021 8:40 pm

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the West entered a new age: it was the era of the ‘shadow…

The West is being played by the Taliban

6 September 2021 8:37 am

There have been some curious juxtapositions in Afghanistan this week. On the one hand, the under-19 Afghan cricket team was…

America, the Taliban and a farewell to arms

4 September 2021 9:00 am

It was quite the handover at Kabul airport this week. The last American troops to exit Afghanistan reportedly left facing…

The descent of Afghanistan

28 August 2021 7:45 am

The bomb attacks at Kabul airport were what US and allied commanders overseeing the mass evacuation had most feared. In…

How will Europe respond to a wave of Afghan refugees?

27 August 2021 11:25 pm

On Tuesday, Franek Sterczewski made a break for the border. Wearing a long trench coat and carrying a blue plastic…

What will happen to those left in Kabul?

26 August 2021 3:43 pm

The Afghan evacuation is feared to be entering its final hours, and with it a new desperation is building among…

Pakistan’s masochistic support for the Taliban

24 August 2021 10:10 pm

Taliban flags are already flying in Islamabad. Among those hoisting the white flag of the group is the women’s madrassa…

Joe Biden must go

23 August 2021 8:10 am

Joe Biden is unfit to be President of the United States. It was obvious when he was running for office…

China’s Great Game in Afghanistan

23 August 2021 7:00 am

China greeted America’s chaotic retreat from Afghanistan and the Taliban seizure of power with a mixture of glee and trepidation.…

A childhood in old Kabul

23 August 2021 6:00 am

They say the city you most fondly remember is the one you grew up in. In my case that’s Kabul.…

Panjshir valley and the last resistance to the Taliban

22 August 2021 6:02 pm

The Panjshir valley, about three hours’ drive north of Kabul, has a mythical hold on the Afghan imagination. It is…

Defence contractors were the real winners in Afghanistan

22 August 2021 8:00 am

The fall of Kabul, like the fall of Saigon, will be taught in classrooms for decades to come. But the…

Afghanistan and the end of the American hegemony

21 August 2021 4:15 pm

We used to sneer at the way the Russians were chased out of Afghanistan by a ragtag of mujaheddin armed…

France is nervous about welcoming a wave of Afghan refugees

20 August 2021 5:13 pm

Emmanuel Macron has once more infuriated many in France, but this time it has nothing to do with Covid passports…

Afghanistan will once again become a breeding ground for terror

20 August 2021 6:57 am

‘Bin Laden is dead and al Qaeda is degraded in Afghanistan and it’s time to end the forever war’. So…