Afghanistan | Analysis & Reports

Will the ‘Grey List’ Turn ‘Black’ for Pakistan at the FATF’s February Plenary?

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog against terrorist financing and money laundering, reviewed Pakistan’s progress during its October 2021 plenary session and decided to retain the country on its Grey List. Pakistan at the time claimed that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar was “untraceable” and a proclaimed offender, while making a […]

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Unravelling of Afghanistan

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

Everything Afghanistan achieved over the last two decades has crumbled within months of the Taliban’s return. Since mid-August 2021, the pace of collapse has been as breath-taking as the disintegration of the former Islamic Republic itself: in just four months, the country has spiralled into hunger, mass unemployment, economic breakdown, an exodus of educated professionals,

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The Aafia Siddiqi Hostage Drama: What It Really Means

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

Ordinarily, the state cannot be held directly responsible for the acts of individuals. Yet Pakistan presents a striking exception. Decades of state-sponsored efforts to construct a religio-political identity have blurred the line between legality and zealotry, creating a culture in which private acts of extremism often mirror official narratives. With poor quality education and widespread

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Pakistan – A Crisis of Governance

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

Pakistan today faces an acute crisis of governance, with serious external policy and national security challenges compounding its already fragile internal situation. The shifting regional landscape—particularly after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan—has exposed Pakistan’s vulnerabilities. Yet, the government appears oblivious to the gravity of the crisis. The Afghan Crisis and Refugee Burden The turmoil in

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International Community Worried Over Pakistani Nukes Falling Into Taliban Hands

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has emboldened radical and extremist forces across the border in Pakistan. With a porous frontier and long-standing ideological ties, fears are mounting that instability could spill over, weakening Islamabad’s fragile control and raising the unthinkable prospect of Taliban access to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Growing Global Alarm Pakistan is

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Terrible Tragedy for Afghanistan’s ‘Unwanted’

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

The collapse of Afghanistan’s government in August 2021 has produced one of the largest forced displacements in recent history, evoking comparisons with the “boat people” of Southeast Asia and the exodus from Syria. The crisis has been compounded by Pakistan’s restrictive border policies, leaving Afghans trapped between Taliban repression at home and hostility abroad. Escalating

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Pakistan Triggers Serious Refugee Crisis

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

The Taliban’s Pakistan-assisted military takeover of Afghanistan has triggered a severe refugee crisis, exposing fragile regional security dynamics and posing complex challenges for international policy. The crisis is not only humanitarian but also geopolitical, with neighbouring states closing their borders and signalling an unwillingness to assume the burden of displaced populations. Scale of Displacement The

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Return of Taliban’s Gender Terror Complete in Afghanistan

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

Women’s protests against the Taliban’s Islamist gender terror are fading. Since mid-September, demonstrations in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and other cities have all but disappeared. It is as if the Taliban never really left Afghan women alone during the last 20 years. Silencing Urban Voices Initially, women braved the streets to demand their right to work,

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Pakistan Triggers Serious Refugee Crisis

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

Pakistan Triggers Serious Refugee Crisis Read More »

Prospects for Women in Afghanistan

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

Have the Taliban truly “returned” after two decades? In terms of power, yes—but only by force. The reality is that they never left Afghanistan. For twenty years, despite US-NATO presence and a non-Taliban administration, the group regrouped, refined its strategies, embraced technology, and propagated its rigid interpretation of Islam, all with the steadfast support of

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Afghan Women Challenge Taliban

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

The fall of the Ashraf Ghani government, collapsing like a house of cards, paved the way for the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan. With their return has come a new wave of rigid, orthodox rules—once again targeting women most severely. Reports of harassment and brutalities against women multiplied as the Taliban advanced across the country,

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Hardliners Dominate in New Afghan Government

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

The Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan last month, have rushed to form a ‘caretaker’ government. Three weeks after storming into Kabul, the movement has awarded the most important positions to religious hardliners and foot soldiers—choices facilitated by the careful midwifing of Pakistan. Pakistan’s Hand in the Power Balance Pakistan’s influence is unmistakable. Field commanders,

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The Taliban’s house of cards

Special Report / Kelly Kassis • Published by The Economic Times

Faced with a crumbling economy, a hostile population, and geopolitical isolation, the Taliban’s divided leadership may lead Afghanistan towards another civil war. More than three weeks after the fall of Kabul, the Taliban has finally announced an all-male Pashtun government comprised mainly of senior Taliban figures. While the news is scarcely surprising, the announcement came

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No Place for Women in Taliban’s Afghanistan

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

“Any state that fails to act to end Pakistan’s invasion & prevent further Taliban brutality are betraying the women & girls of Afghanistan & making a complete mockery of their commitment to women’s rights,” tweeted Christopher (Chris) Alexander, Canada’s first envoy to Kabul. His warning captures the growing sense of betrayal felt by Afghans—especially women—at

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Taliban: Pakistan’s First and Only Choice

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

After twenty years of being wilfully misled by Pakistan, the Western world—led by the United States—still refuses to confront the reality that it has been deceived over Afghanistan. Even now, as the Taliban sweeps across the country, capturing nearly fourteen provincial capitals and forcing the surrender of the Kunduz-based Army Corps, Washington and its allies

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Pakistan is to Blame for the Taliban’s Return

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

The world has been left in shock and sorrow for the people of Afghanistan, who have once again fallen to the Taliban. A two-decade struggle for democracy and freedom has ended in humiliation for those who championed it. Human rights defenders, political leaders, and ordinary citizens fought valiantly against the Taliban’s resurgence, yet they were

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Pakistan’s Support of the Taliban Enrages Kabul

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

When news broke of the death of Hamid Gul, former head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Afghans celebrated in the streets. Gul had been instrumental in ensuring that no government in Kabul succeeded after the 1980s Afghan War and in nurturing the Taliban movement that plunged the country into perpetual conflict. Despite cultural and religious

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Afghanistan–Pakistan: A New Axis of Terror

Special Report / Fabien Baussart Published by The Times of Israel

A new axis of terror is taking shape in the Af–Pak theatre, forged through the convergence of interests between Pakistan, China and Turkey, with the Taliban eager to cooperate. The pretence is over; there is no longer any smoke screen. Pakistan has abandoned any illusion of being a reliable ally of the West, even though

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