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Latest Articles about Afghanistan
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Briefs
Afghanistan: Peace Talks Remain a Distant Prospect Peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government appear further off than ever after unofficial attempts to restart discussions coincided with an attack on a luxury hotel in Kabul. Taliban gunmen attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul... MORE
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A Year in Review: Uzbekistan Pursues Liberalization at Home, Neighborly Relations Abroad
When Uzbekistanis elected Shavkat Mirziyoyev as their president on December 4, 2016, they entered 2017 with a healthy dose of skepticism that real change would follow. Indeed, during his first public address as the interim head of state, Mirziyoyev, previous president Islam Karimov’s prime minister... MORE
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The Dynamics Driving Uzbekistan’s Warming Relationship With Afghanistan
Uzbekistan’s leadership has been increasingly focused on its southern neighbor Afghanistan since Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power in late 2016 (see EDM, June 27). As President Mirziyoyev attested on December 5, he and his Afghan counterpart met five times already in the past year (Kun.uz,... MORE
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Lapis Lazuli: A New Transit Corridor to Link Asia and Europe via the South Caucasus
Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey signed a new agreement dedicated to launching the Lapis Lazuli transit corridor during a pentalateral meeting at the seventh Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA), held on November 15, in Ashgabat (Azernews, November 15). The finalized document was... MORE
The Future Leader of the Taliban? A Brief Sketch of Taliban Deputy Chief Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob
The announcement of the death the Taliban movement’s founding leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, in July 2015, almost two years after his actual demise, set off a succession battle within the Taliban’s ranks (Dawn (Karachi), July 29, 2015; Daily Pakistan, August 31, 2015). Despite vehement opposition... MORE
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Uzbekistan Alters Its Vision for Afghanistan
After the change of leadership in Uzbekistan, it has been widely acknowledged that the country’s new president, Shavkat Mirziyaev, is pursuing a more proactive and constructive regional diplomacy in Central Asia than his predecessor (see EDM, October 26, 2016; December 15, 2016). Along with Mirziyaev’s... MORE
IS Khorasan’s Renewed Leadership Question: A Profile of Slain Leader Sheikh Abdul Haseeb Logari
The Islamic State’s Khorasan (IS-K) group in Afghanistan suffered a major setback in late April 2017 when a joint U.S. and Afghan military raid killed Sheikh Abdul Haseeb Logari, the Wali (governor), along with many IS-K militants in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. [1] The group,... MORE
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The Taliban’s Spring Offensive: Afghanistan Faces a Crucial Year
With its spring offensive this year, the Afghan Taliban is seeking to add momentum to its insurgent campaign to topple the country’s Western-backed government. For its part, Kabul hopes a peace deal with the notorious Islamist warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and the renewed resolve of Washington... MORE
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Afghan Forces’ Unexpected Win: The Killing of Qari Saifullah Akhter
The death in a clash with Afghan forces of long-time Pakistani jihadist Qari Saifullah Akhter, the emir of Pakistan’s Harkat ul Jihad e Islami, is both a surprising victory for Afghanistan’s security forces and an indication of the Taliban leadership’s recent attempts to rebuild frayed... MORE