In the months after the United States-backed government of Afghanistan first fell to the Taliban, international condemnation of the regime and support for Afghan refugees were swift and widespread. But now, the shifting tides of international immigration policy have definitively turned against Afghan refugees. As Iran, Pakistan, and the United States all begin to either […]
Tag: Taliban
Pakistan Moves Forward with Mass Deportation of Afghan Migrants
Over 450,000 migrants have fled Pakistan for Afghanistan amid a worsening rift between the two governments. This wave of migration comes after the passing of the Pakistani government’s November 1st deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country or face deportation. Pakistan’s policy has sparked significant humanitarian concerns, as well as an increase in tensions […]
Rise in Terrorist Attacks Sparks Tensions on the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border
A recent bombing of a Peshawar mosque by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban or Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has prompted fears that Pakistan’s terrorism problem is growing. The attack killed over 100 people, many of them police officers. The TTP initially claimed responsibility, although TTP leadership later denied involvement and blamed a breakaway faction. January […]
The First One Hundred Days of the Taliban Administration
The United States completed its official mission to remove troops from Afghanistan in August. Before the final plane departed the Taliban had already reclaimed Kabul, and with it the governance of the country. In 100 days since the administration took office, there has been little opportunity for quiet thought or reflection, to examine in one […]
Is the End in Sight? Seeking an Exit from Afghanistan
U.S. Marines departing from Helmand province from Camp Bastion, October 27, 2014. – Image released by the US Marine Corps, Wikimedia Commons. “We will not waver. We will not tire. We will not falter. And we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail.” – Former President George W. Bush announcing the beginning of the […]
Captain of the Team, But Is He the Captain of the Country?
Imran Khan is a cricket-star-turned-politician who used a mixture of religious zeal and anti-corruption anger to catapult himself from the cricket ground to the office of the Prime Minister in August 2018. He ran a bruising campaign that damaged his relationships with other political parties in Pakistan. However, upon deeper reflection, there were forces other […]
Afghan War: the Never Ending Struggle
The US war in Afghanistan is now entering its sixteenth year. Countless lives and tax dollars have been spent fighting it. Yet, despite administrative changes at the federal level and fresh vows to bring an end to the war, the US is still embroiled in a painfully long struggle with no exit strategy in sight. […]
Paris, Baga, and Peshawar
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] World leaders gather at the unity rally in Paris, France on January 11th to show solidarity for survivors of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. On January 9th, African militant group Boko Haram carried out a violent attack in the northeastern Nigerian town of Baga, killing an estimated 2,000 people and causing the mass flight of […]
The Afghan Honeymoon: Why Post-Election Optimism Won’t Last
The international community has recently showered Afghanistan with much praise. Yet, despite the handful of developments that call for celebration, the nation’s future is nonetheless littered with obstacles for both the Afghan government and its constituents. The Presidential election this June between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah deteriorated into an acrimonious stalemate, as the latter […]
2014 Nobel Peace Prize Winners Fight to Give Children a Voice and an Education
Last Friday, Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi were named the co-winners of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that the two shared the prize for “their struggle against the suppression of children and for the right of all children to an education.” Yousafzai is a 17-year old Pakistani education activist, who […]