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RFE/RL Gandhara

RFE/RL Gandhara provides incisive analysis and in-depth coverage of security, political, social, economic, diplomatic, and human rights issues in Afghanistan and Pakistan through features expanded news, interviews, and multimedia stories.

gandhara@rferl.org

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December 06, 2021
Rights Group: Services For Female Survivors of Gender-Based Violence In Afghanistan 'Decimated'

“Women and girl survivors of gender-based violence have essentially been abandoned in Afghanistan. Their network of support has been dismantled, and their places of refuge have all but disappeared,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
November 27, 2021
Afghanistan's Taliban Premier Gives First Speech To Nation

Afghanistan’s Taliban prime minister delivered his first public speech since the Islamist group took power more than three months ago, saying the government wants good relations with other countries and would solve economic problems.
November 21, 2021
Taliban Says Government Employees To Be Paid Overdue Salaries

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers announced that they would begin paying three-months of overdue salaries to government employees from November 20.
November 19, 2021
Germany Holds First Talks With Taliban In Afghanistan

Germany has sent high-ranking diplomats to Kabul to meet with the Taliban for the first time since they took power in Afghanistan.
November 16, 2021
South Waziristan Grenade Attack Wounds Seven

Seven people were reported wounded in a hand grenade attack near a gathering of local tribal elders in Pakistan's restive northwestern district of South Waziristan.
October 30, 2021
First Group Of LGBT Afghans Arrives In Britain To Resettle After Taliban Takeover

More than two dozen LGBT Afghans have arrived in Britain after interventions by Foreign Minister Liz Truss and gay rights organizations to get them out of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power.
September 08, 2021
Despite Gunfire And Lashings, Afghan Women's Protests Grow

Hundreds of Afghan women have been leading protests in several cities across the country demanding the protection of rights for women and denouncing what they say is Pakistan's support for the Taliban takeover. At a Kabul protest on September 7, Taliban gunmen fired in the air.
July 16, 2021
Slain Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui: A Life In Pictures

Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on July 16 while embedded with Afghan special forces battling the advance of the Taliban. The veteran Indian photographer was based in Mumbai and was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography in 2018.
May 25, 2021
Australia To Shutter Embassy In Afghanistan Due To Security Concerns

Australia says it will close its embassy in Afghanistan this week, citing “an increasingly uncertain security environment” as international troops exit the war-torn country.
March 17, 2021
Biden Says Afghan Exit Deadline Will Be ‘Tough’ To Meet

U.S. President Joe Biden has warned that a deadline set out in a deal his predecessor, Donald Trump, made with the Taliban to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by May 1 "could happen, but it is tough."
March 10, 2021
Afghans Commemorate Taliban Destruction Of Bamiyan Buddhas

Twenty years after the Taliban blew up two famous Buddha statues, Afghans commemorated the tragic loss of their historical and cultural heritage on March 9 at a ceremony in the central Bamiyan valley.
March 04, 2021
U.S. Proposes UN Conference To Boost Afghan Peace Talks

The United States has proposed convening a United Nations-sponsored international conference on Afghanistan, a senior U.S. State Department official said.
March 01, 2021
Pakistani Court Grants Bail To Christian Imprisoned As Teenager For Blasphemy

A Pakistani court has granted bail to a Christian man imprisoned for more than four years on alleged blasphemy offenses committed while a teenager.
March 01, 2021
U.S. Envoy In Kabul For Talks On Afghan Peace Process

The U.S. envoy for the Afghan peace process, Zalmay Khalilzad, was back in Kabul on March 1 for talks with Afghan officials over ways to accelerate the peace process aimed at putting an end to decades of war, before heading to Qatar, where negotiations with Taliban representatives are ongoing.
January 29, 2021
Pentagon Says Taliban 'Not Meeting Their Commitments' Under Afghan Peace Deal

The Pentagon says the Taliban are not complying with commitments the militant group reached with the United States last year under an Afghan peace accord.
January 23, 2021
Biden Administration To Review Afghan Peace Deal With Taliban

The United States intends to review an agreement reached with the Taliban last year in order to determine if the militant group is meeting its commitments under the Afghan peace accord.
November 13, 2020
Thousands Demand Pakistani PM's Resignation At Swat Rally

Thousands of opposition activists gathered in the Pakistani city of Swat on November 13. Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and other opposition leaders addressed the crowd to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
November 05, 2020
Balochistan Social-Media Activist Appears In Court After Disappearance

Authorities in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan have arrested a local social-media activist and newspaper columnist on charges of interfering in the work of police.
October 25, 2020
Afghan Security Forces Kill Top Al-Qaeda Leader

Afghan security forces have killed Abu Muhsin al-Masri, a senior Al-Qaeda leader who was also wanted by the United States.
September 17, 2020
Pakistani Lawyers Offer Free Services For Journalists Amid Crackdown

A top lawyer body has offered free legal services to the country’s journalists amid increasing incidents of harassment and intimidation of reporters who have criticized the country’s government and powerful military.

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