Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan, is a natural fortress, a long verdant valley surrounded by towering mountain ridges leading to the Pamir. 6. The untold secrets of Panjshir Valley Many Indian analysts are ecstatic that the Taliban’s goose is cooked, as Amrullah Saleh, deposed president Ashraf Ghani’s former deputy, is on the march to marshal an anti-Taliban …
The interior of a US Air Force C-27 Globemaster III transport aircraft carrying Afghans from Kabul to Qatar (File photo) 5. Putin: Taliban is the reality The German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Moscow visits invariably draw great attention as she has performed a unique role as intermediary between the West and Russia during her 16 …
The Taliban officially declared the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in a tweet with a photo of the country’s logo, August 19, 2021 4. The ‘X’ Factor in Kabul The Chinese commentaries vehemently reject the western claims of democratic transformation in Afghanistan. A conversation on Tuesday between the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his …
Top Taliban leader from the Haqqani Network called on former Afghan President Hamid Karzai with a delegation to discuss the formation of an inclusive government, Kabul, August 18, 2021 3. The Return of the Native There is immense curiosity about the Taliban’s first moves following the dramatic return to Kabul after two decades. The big question …
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (second from Left) in talks with the visiting composite delegation of senior Afghan politicians of erstwhile Northern Alliance, Islamabad, Aug 16, 2021 2. The green shoots of politics are reappearing The explosion of life is unstoppable. The first buds are edging their roots from the dirt no sooner than Ashraf …
Continue reading “Reflections on the Events in Afghanistan – 2”
The Taliban fighters posing for family photo and relaxing in the Presidential Palace, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug 15, 2021 1. Collapse of the Afghan Army Social media reported that at the Kabul residence of the Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib who post-haste fled to Tajikistan on Saturday with President Ashraf Ghani, three Toyota Landcruiser SUVs …
Fencing of Durand Line is almost complete. Pakistani troops guarding the border with Afghanistan in Khyber The Moscow daily Vedomosti with links to the establishment has reported that Russia will give “limited military support” to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the event of attacks from Afghanistan, including weapons supplies, air support and deployment of special forces, but …
US President Joe Biden (R) called Afghanistan President Ghani to assure US will defend his government, July 23, 2021 If only America’s presidents exercised the option to do muscle-flexing in the White House gym, the world would have been a calmer place. This is the second time that a US president uses Afghanistan as punch …
Continue reading “Biden approves algorithm war in Afghanistan”
Ex-CIA officer Bruce Riedel at Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, whose familiarity with Afghanistan is never in doubt, has held a looking glass to figure out the future course of events even as the US troop withdrawal commences. History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. Riedel sees in the haziness old familiar shapes appearing — the …
Continue reading “Post-American Afghanistan through looking glass”
US to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by Sept 11, 2021 The United States and NATO are yet to begin the withdrawal of their forces from Afghanistan but the eyes are cast over the horizon at what lies after the ‘forever war’ formally ends. The US exit strategy in Afghanistan assumes the look of that random …
