Afghanistan Is Trying to Save Its Child Bombers
In a room full of loud teenagers, 17-year-old Mohammad Ehsan is the quietest. (The names of the boys in this piece have been changed to protect their identities.) The other boys in this juvenile ...
The much-delayed results of Afghanistan’s presidential election, held in September, were announced on Sunday, with the two leading candidates already heading into political dispute. But more importantly for women in Afghanistan are their concerns about the fair and inclusive participation of women in the new government, one that is likely to enter into prospective negotiations...
Bilal Mohammadi sits protectively close to his younger brother Abdul in a large crowded hall filled with loud chatter from hundreds of Afghans surrounding them. Most of the surrounding crowd at the refugee reception centre at Zero Point on the western borders of Afghanistan in Herat Province, comprises of Afghan men, women and child refugees,...
Afghanistan’s incumbent President Ashraf Ghani has won a small majority after long-delayed preliminary results from September’s election were announced on Sunday. Mr Ghani gained 50.64 per cent of the vote with 923,868 votes while Afghanistan’s Chief Executive, and Mr Ghani’s main rival, Abdullah Abdullah polled second with 720,990 votes or 39.52 per cent. He immediately...
Few other foreign nationals have perhaps received as much love and admiration from the Afghans as Tetsu Nakamura, a Japanese doctor who dedicated his life to improving healthcare, water availability and agriculture in Afghanistan over the last four decades. Affectionately referred to as Kaka Murad, the 73-year-old was killed, along with five others, by armed gunmen in...
A powerful suicide bombing on Wednesday killed one and injured more than 100 at an under-construction medical centre near Bagram Air Base north of Kabul. Abdul Shukoor Qudosi, district governor of Bagram, confirmed to The National that over 100 civilians are injured in the attack that is still ongoing more than eight hours after it...
It’s 4 a.m. on a cold November morning and still pitch dark outside. The streets of Kabul are deserted, and the only souls on the street are the few Afghan soldiers patrolling heavily militarized checkpoints nearby. But there is a bustle of activity ongoing in the small bakery run by 64-year-old Assadullah, who like most...
Thousands of people gathered in Kabul on Friday to protest over the recount of votes in the presidential election held on September 28. Most of the demonstrators were supporters of Abdullah Abdullah, the country’s current chief executive and one of the leading candidates, but there were also many supporters of other candidates who have boycotted...
A plan to free an Australian teacher held captive for three years in Afghanistan was ditched at the 11th hour after the Taliban reneged on promises made in a prisoner swap deal, officials have revealed. Last week, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani confirmed speculation that New South Wales teacher Timothy Weeks and US man Kevin King...
After days of speculation, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani confirmed that the government has decided to free convicted terrorist Anas Haqqani in exchange for two foreign nationals, who were abducted in 2016. In a statement, Mr. Ghani announced that the Afghan government would conditionally release three key members of the Haqqani network, an insurgent group with...
On Oct. 24, a video surfaced on Afghan social media, showing a former fighter of the Islamic State surrendering to the Afghan government. The man, who claimed to be Jordanian, says that he came to this country looking for jihad. “On the internet, they told us there is jihad here, but I came here I see [no jihad], Muslims...
