Tag Archives: Kabul

his past December, a fleet of colorful swan-shaped boats lined the muddy banks of Qargha Lake, a reservoir on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. The boats’ owner, 50-year-old Shah Maqsoud Habibi, said his business has vanished, along with much of the lake, a once popular weekend destination for war weary Afghans. Over the past few years, a series of droughts …

America's top official overseeing Afghanistan's reconstruction warns return of civil war if President Ghani's government stops "lip service" to international donors and gets serious in fighting the endemic corruption in his country.

After nearly four decades, Pakistani state institutions have miserably failed in providing a decent, mutually beneficial framework for the Afghan refugees and the children born to them.

Imtiaz Gul discusses the non-negotiable constants that underpin the Pakistani and American attitudes to each other and which are unlikely to change any time soon.

The degraded condition of Kabul’s largest wetland area, and its declaration as a heritage site, are emblematic of Afghanistan’s challenges and efforts to save its water resources.

By any metric, the three-pronged American campaign in Afghanistan — nation-building, fighting against the Taliban and curbing the illicit drug commerce — has not yielded tangible results. But the amount spent on the mission is simply staggering: $1 trillion and counting. The reconciliation drive is a track that has lamentably gone cold and deserves the best possible shot, argues one Pakistani analyst.

New possibilities on regional cooperation are emerging, which India should not hesitate to explore.

Decades of conflict have left Afghanistan’s water infrastructure in a mess, and as refugees return to the country the prospect of water-related conflicts rises.

The rumors that followed the crash-landing of a Pakistani helicopter in Afghanistan point to deeper problems.

Regardless of what Afghan leaders say the India-factor remains imposing in Kabul’s governance and security structures. It drives apprehensions — however misplaced — in Islamabad. Alleviating those apprehensions in a credible way would probably be the key to turn a leaf in Pak-Afghan relations.