Stories from Afghanistan and India
Thirty-nine-year old Gulpari was forced to make some hard decisions when the Taliban was closing in on her village in the north of Afghanistan six weeks ago. Recalling the terrifying nights her family spent fearing for their lives, she said […]
LAST MONTH, Ajmal Omari found himself stuck in a taxi, waiting at one of the many Taliban checkpoints that have proliferated across Afghanistan over the past year. Omari, a 34-year-old journalist, was traveling with his father, who was weak and breathless […]
As the Taliban and government battle for control of Afghanistan, residents of areas seized recently by the insurgents are already experiencing life under the repressive regime toppled two decades ago. Emboldened by the withdrawal of US and Nato troops, the Taliban launched […]
Kabul, Afghanistan – When 30-year-old Ali Atayee enrolled for his first computer lessons as an Afghan refugee child growing up in Iran, he knew then this is what he would like to pursue as a career in his adult life. When […]
Commanders from Afghanistan’s Mujahideen who fought Soviet occupation in the 1980s are taking up arms again to battle the Taliban, veteran leaders have told The National. In the past year there have been Taliban victories across the country, accelerating sharply with the sudden […]
A Taliban official said on Friday that the insurgents have seized of 85 per cent of territory in Afghanistan. This claim was dismissed by experts, even as government officials expressed concern about the insurgents’ gains in border areas. “We control […]
Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents advanced to the gates of a northern province on Sunday and seized several districts after mounting attacks across the country at the weekend. The Taliban were fighting on edges of Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, after […]
For nearly 10 days, Private Fazulrahman Salangi’s battalion held off a Taliban attack in Anaar Dara district of Afghanistan’s Farah province, waiting for reinforcements. Finally, the group of about 40 soldiers decided to pull back, allowing the militants to overrun […]
Baghlan, Afghanistan – Aqa Mohammad has not spoken much since he found out that his father, Ghulam Mohammad, a mine clearance professional in the Baghlan province of Afghanistan, was murdered by armed gunmen last week. “My father was a brave man and accomplished […]
Zainullah Stanekzai hasn’t seen his family since he was forced to leave his home in southern Afghanistan last year in November, after his name appeared on a “kill list” of alleged Taliban targets that was being widely circulated on WhatsApp […]