Topic: Taliban

rss-iconSubscribe to feed
Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui (photo: Mumbairt/CC)

On the death of Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui

The man who captured humanity

In India and beyond, there has been great sadness at the loss of the renowned Reuters photographer Danish Siddiqui, whose images captured the human face of South Asian news. He died while on assignment in Afghanistan. By Natalie MayrothMore

Qantara photo essay: Danish Siddiqui and the people behind the storyPress killings in Afghanistan: Afghan journalists forced to run a murderous gauntletAfghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Interview with the German-Afghan photographer Lela Ahmadzai: The undaunted women of Kabul
A Bundeswehr soldier (l) and an interpreter (r) talk to a man near Kunduz in the district of Char Darreh (photo: dpa-Bildfunk)

Germany and its Afghan interpreters

"Why are you leaving me behind?"

I regret very much that I worked for the Bundeswehr. If the Taliban knock on my door, I hope they shoot me right away. Guest article by Ahmad Jawid SultaniMore

Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid: "The Americans were completely devoid of any strategy"U.S. and NATO withdraw from "the forever war": What we should all know about AfghanistanU.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu KushHRW: Afghanistan – exiting forces should protect interpretersThe fate of Europe's unwanted Afghans: "Deportee Central" – a seedy hotel in downtown Kabul
Taliban fighters in Afghanistan (photo: Rahmat Gul/AP/picture-alliance)

Erdogan's NATO peace offering

Can Turkish forces tame the Taliban in Afghanistan?

Almost all NATO troops have withdrawn from Afghanistan. Turkey is looking to fill the gap and is offering itself as a new protective power. But the Taliban are sending clear threats in the direction of Ankara. By Hilal KoyluMore

Interview with Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid: "The Americans were completely devoid of any strategy"U.S. and NATO withdraw from "the forever war": What we should all know about AfghanistanU.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu Kush
In this photo taken on June 10, 2021, women walk past a beauty parlour in Kabul (photo: Adek Berry/AFP)

"Talibanned": From kite-running to breakdancing – not again!

During their 1996-2001 rule, the Taliban outlawed dozens of activities in Afghanistan. Now, with the insurgents once more making huge territorial gains across the country following the U.S. and NATO withdrawal, people are very fearful of what may come next. More...More

Taliban capture key Afghan-Iran border crossingBiden says U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will end 31 AugustInterview with Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid: "The Americans were completely devoid of any strategy"After the peace conference in Doha: A test match with the Taliban
The renowned Taliban expert Ahmed Rashid (photo: ZUMA Press/imago images)

Interview with Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid

"The Americans were completely devoid of any strategy"

The West is pulling out of Afghanistan after 20 years, but the conflict remains – and the Taliban are stronger than they have been for a long time. And now? The renowned Taliban expert Ahmed Rashid talks to Tobias Matern about mistakes made by the West and the future role of the Taliban in AfghanistanMore

U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu KushU.S. and NATO withdraw from "the forever war": What we should all know about AfghanistanInterview with Afghanistan expert Thomas Ruttig: "The violence threshold is low"
German soldiers in Kunduz (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

U.S. and NATO withdraw from "the forever war"

What we should all know about Afghanistan

United States and NATO troops are leaving Afghanistan after 20 years, despite the fact that the Taliban is still advancing. The German Bundeswehr is already out. Sandra Petersmann examines the key issuesMore

U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu KushAfghanistan's decline and long search for peace: A slide into war and chaosThe fate of Europe's unwanted Afghans: "Deportee Central" – a seedy hotel in downtown KabulNo end to conflict on the Hindu Kush? Islamic State threatens long-term peace in Afghanistan
Memorial to terror: The World Trade Center in New York destroyed in 2001(photo: United Archives International)

Repercussions of 9/11

The West and the Islamic world – mutually radicalised?

In his book "Ground Zero: 9/11 und die Geburt der Gegenwart" (Ground Zero: 9/11 and the Birth of the Present) Islamic scholar Stefan Weidner analyses the consequences of the attacks on the USA in September 2001. Kersten Knipp spoke with him about failures – as well as opportunities – in the West-East dialogueMore

Surveillance and domestic security since 9/11: Like donkeys carrying booksPolitics, inequality and a lack of transparency: Coronavirus and the Middle East's ongoing state of emergencyInterview with Islamic scholar Stefan Weidner: Thinking outside the Western boxInterview with author and essayist Pankaj Mishra: "Secularisation has really created a void of understanding"
The Panjshir ("five lions") is a mountain valley about 150 kilometres north of Kabul, famous for its scenic beauty and its proud inhabitants. The area is named after a legend of five brothers who, during a flood in the 10th century, are said to have held back the waters of a great river that once flowed across the valley from west to east. Today, access to the Panjshir is via a newly metalled road (photo: Marian Brehmer)

Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley and the "Five Lions"

To Afghans, the name "Panjshir" evokes associations with the Tajik resistance against the Soviets during the 1980s. But the special charm of the province lies in its landscape. More...More

U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu KushAfghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Afghanistan's opium trade: A nice little earner – for everyone
Marking 20 years of German armed forces' mission in Afghanistan (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Anja Niedringhaus)

U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan

Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu Kush

The USA and NATO plan to withdraw from Afghanistan by September. The operation is risky, the outcome uncertain. Many Afghans fear civil war. The quake on the Hindu Kush will also impact Germany, writes Stefan Weidner in his commentaryMore

Afghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Afghanistanʹs political future: Is peace with the Taliban possible?After the peace conference in Doha: A test match with the Taliban19 years on from 9/11: Has Germany failed in Afghanistan?
The lobby of Spinzar Hotel in downtown Kabul (photo: Emran Feroz)

The fate of Europe's unwanted Afghans

"Deportee Central" – a seedy hotel in downtown Kabul

Even in times of war and pandemic, refugees are still being deported to Afghanistan. Several deportation flights have taken place in recent weeks alone. Since those affected often have nothing to go back to, many of them end up in a seedy hotel in downtown Kabul. Emran Feroz reports from the Afghan capitalMore

Press killings in Afghanistan: Afghan journalists forced to run a murderous gauntletAfghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Deportations to Afghanistan: No safe country of originFighting the Taliban in Afghanistan: Where the warlords still hold sway
18 year-old Afghan Negin Khapalwak plays the piano (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Jawad)

Afghanistan and civil society

Ban on Afghan girls singing dropped after activist outrage

Afghanistan's government distanced itself from a recent plan to ban girls from singing in public after women's rights activists slammed education officials for promoting a "Taliban-like" policy. By Nasim SaberMore

Negotiating with the Taliban for girls′ education: Treading carefullyPeace talks with the Taliban: Where are Afghanistan's women?Qantara photo essay: Afghanistan's modern past
Destruction of the Buddha statues in Bamiyan | Projection of the original statue

The Bamiyan Buddhas – destroyed 20 years ago

The world's largest standing Buddha statues had survived for a millennium and a half in Afghanistan – until the Taliban destroyed them. More...More

The destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan: The iconoclasm of the TalibanQantara photo essay: Where once the Buddhas kept watch
Protests in Kabul against attacks on the Hazara minority in Pakistan (photo: Reuters)

Sectarian strife in Pakistan

Syria's proxy war widens gulf between Sunnis and Shias

After a period of relative calm, the conflict in Syria is reigniting the tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims in Pakistan: groups from both sects are involved in the clashes in Syria. The authorities fear a new wave of sectarian violence. Background by Mohammad LuqmanMore

Islam in Pakistan: The myth of the Muslim monolithThe Baloch community in Pakistan and Iran: A forgotten conflict that is very much aliveIranian scholars in exile: The Shia shakedownRadicalisation among Barelvis in Pakistan: The spread of violent fanaticism
Afghan journalists on the sidelines of the annual Nowruz celebration in front of the Blue Mosque in Mazar-i Sharif (photo: Marian Brehmer)

Press killings in Afghanistan

Afghan journalists forced to run a murderous gauntlet

In recent months, Afghanistan has been rocked by a wave of targeted killings aiming at civil rights activists and journalists. Marian Brehmer talked to Mujeeb Khalvatgar, director of NGO NAI – Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan, about the dire situation currently facing Afghan journalistsMore

Journalism in Afghanistan: Warlord TVAfghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Afghanistan's decline and long search for peace: A slide into war and chaosTaran Khan's "Shadow City": Taking a fresh look at Kabul and the Afghan people
Afghan girls watch UN workers unloading a helicopter (photo: AP)

ARTE documentary

German couple fights for girls' literacy in Afghanistan

Ofarin is an association working hard in Afghanistan to provide girls an education. Founded by German aid worker Paul Schwittek it has transformed the lives of a generation of Afghan girls, but now his project is coming to an end.More

Negotiating with the Taliban for girls′ education: Treading carefullyHigher education in Afghanistan: Education for progress in AfghanistanReconstruction in Afghanistan: The strong women of Darul Aman
Afghan police guard an entrance to the university in Kabul (photo: Rahmat Gul/picture-alliance/AP Photo)

Afghanistan’s academics under fire

Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?

The latest attack on Kabul University left staff and students feeling desperate and vulnerable. An international letter of solidarity aims to express support for the academic community, who continue to instruct and study under conditions of war, violence and insecurity. By Marian BrehmerMore

Afghanistan's decline and long search for peace: A slide into war and chaosAfghanistanʹs political future: Is peace with the Taliban possible?Women in Afghanistan: In prison for being raped

Pages