Afghanistan

U.S. officials told Afghanistan's Taliban that Washington was open to technical talks on economic stability and discussions on combating narcotics trafficking, the U.S. State Department said on Monday following two days of talks in Qatar.

A rights watchdog said Wednesday that human rights in Afghanistan, especially those of women and girls, should be at the center of a U.N. Security Council-mandated independent assessment of the global response to the country's crisis.

The United Nations says Taliban authorities in Afghanistan continue to arbitrarily arrest and detain individuals suspected of being opposition forces and journalists, in addition to increasing restrictions on women's access to work and education.

The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) announces the release of a comprehensive new report offering a critical analysis of the evolving security landscape in Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover in 2021. … The report details three major security trends in Afghanistan: (1) fragmentation within the Taliban; (2) the presence of regional and global terrorist and violent extremist organizations; and (3) the emergence of anti-Taliban resistance groups. 

The US State Department released 24 pages of its 85-page After Action Review (AAR) report Friday on the controversial US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The remaining 61 pages of the report are still classified.

The supreme leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban declared Sunday that their campaign against illicit drug production in the country had eradicated the cultivation of opium poppies, which are used to make morphine or heroin.

Afghanistan’s UN envoy Roza Otunbayeva tells security council meeting that Taliban rulers seek UN recognition but reject the world body’s key values.

The plight of women and girls in Afghanistan featured prominently at the Human Rights Council on Monday where independent UN-appointed rights experts warned of systematic “gender apartheid” and “gender persecution”.

There is mounting, controversial evidence that Afghanistan is rapidly turning into a cauldron for terrorist activity, with both al-Qaida and the Islamic State terror group’s Afghan affiliate growing substantially, in numbers and capabilities, without U.S. or Western forces on the ground.

Tensions remain high following the deaths of troops from both sides on May 27, with Taliban and Iranian officials digging in on their positions with increased military activity and fresh warnings.