Pakistan and Afghanistan

Stories on Pakistan and Afghanistan, page 2

April 2026

1. 28 Apr

   NEWSROOM

   Afghanistan could lose over 25,000 female teachers and health workers by 2030, UNICEF warns

   UNICEF warns Afghanistan could lose 25,000+ female teachers and health workers by 2030, as restrictions on girls’ education and women’s work continue under Taliban rule.

   

2. 24 Apr

   EDITORIAL

   After Kabul’s fall, the West outsourced its shame to Pakistan

   As Pete Hegseth promises a historic review into the Fall of Kabul, the real accounting must extend beyond the airport chaos to the Afghan families left stranded in Pakistan by Western failure, delay and broken promises.

   

3. 24 Apr

   NEWSROOM

   U.S. vows full review of Kabul’s fall and Afghanistan withdrawal

   Pete Hegseth has promised a historic review of the Afghanistan withdrawal, saying the department will examine the decisions that led to Abbey Gate, the Kabul evacuation and what he described as a wider loss of American deterrence after 2021.

   

4. 18 Apr

   NEWSROOM

   Pravin Sawhney links Pakistan to the rise of a new world order

   Indian defence analyst Pravin Sawhney has argued that Pakistan could play a major role in the emerging world order, describing a multipolar system in which each region is shaped by a key state that acts as a centre of balance, wisdom and influence.

   

March 2026

1. 16 Mar

   ANALYSIS

   The BBC’s one-sided Kandahar narrative

   A broadcaster like the BBC must do more than relay claims; it must test them. When it gives one side’s language prominence while sidelining the other’s evidence and security case, it stops just reporting and starts shaping a narrative.

   

2. 10 Mar

   ANALYSIS

   No talks, only terms: Pakistan tells Kabul to end terror first

   Pakistan has moved to shut down the impression of informal peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, insisting that there will be no dialogue without concrete and verifiable action against cross-border militancy.

   

3. 9 Mar

   ANALYSIS

   Bias masquerading as expertise

   The Diplomat’s piece rests on Ajmal Sohail’s unverified claims, presenting a politically situated Afghan figure as a neutral expert while offering no credible independent evidence for its most serious allegations. It also fails the basic logic test: Pakistan’s all-weather partnership with China makes the claim that Islamabad is targeting Chinese interests extremely difficult to sustain.

   

4. 8 Mar

   NEWSROOM

   Pakistan embassy denies Kabul visa black market links

   Pakistan’s Embassy in Kabul has rejected claims linking it to a visa black market in Afghanistan, saying no private agents or intermediaries are authorised to collect money from applicants.

   

5. 5 Mar

   ANALYSIS

   US weapons are turning up in Pakistan’s war zone

   A claim by US Congressman Ryan Zinke that Taliban fighters in Pakistan are using American Humvees and M16s has revived Pakistan’s long-running warning about post-2021 weapons spillover, as Pakistani reporting cites CNN-linked serial checks and alleged recoveries of US-origin kit in KP and Balochistan.

   

6. 4 Mar

   ANALYSIS

   A screenshot is not a strategy: Pakistan’s position won’t be rewritten by social media

   A viral “Israel War Room” post is being cited as “official sources” to claim Pakistan is joining Israel, but Pakistan’s stance is deterrence and de-escalation aimed at stopping Gulf spillover; screenshots do not make alliances, decisions do.

   

February 2026

1. 28 Feb

   NEWSROOM

   Pakistan security forces take control of 32 sq km Afghan territory in Zhob, Ghudwana Enclave: security sources

   Pakistani security forces have taken control of the 32 sq km Ghudwana Enclave in the Zhob sector, security sources say, after alleged Afghan Taliban raids and unprovoked firing on Pakistani positions triggered a hard and effective response.

   

2. 28 Feb

   NEWSROOM

   Afghan media’s “Pak jet shot down, pilot captured” claim exposed as false

   Afghan media and Afghan-linked accounts pushed a dramatic claim that a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down in Nangarhar and the pilot captured, but Pakistan flatly denied any loss as the supposed “proof” failed scrutiny and several posts driving the story were quietly deleted.

   

3. 28 Feb

   NEWSROOM

   Khawaja Asif to Haqqani: Afghans are our guests, but this is “Made in America jihad”

   Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, in a message addressed to Sirajuddin Haqqani, recalled the anti-Soviet era by saying Pakistan stood “shoulder to shoulder” with the Haqqanis, hosted Afghan families as guests, and still carries millions of refugees on its soil.

   

4. 28 Feb

   NEWSROOM

   US backs Pakistan’s “right to defend itself” after Taliban attacks

   The U.S. has voiced support for Pakistan’s self-defence after Allison M Hooker said she spoke with Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch to offer condolences for the dead, backing Pakistan’s right to respond to Taliban attacks.

   

5. 23 Feb

   NEWSROOM

   Pakistan airstrikes ignite Taliban leadership crisis in Kabul

   Pakistan’s targeted airstrikes inside Afghanistan have triggered more than cross-border tension. According to sources, a high-level Taliban conference in Kabul exposed rare and deepening fractures within the regime, with disagreements over Pakistan policy, militant sanctuaries, and even leadership succession.

   

January 2026

1. 24 Jan

   NEWSROOM

   No decision on Pakistan joining Gaza stabilisation force, parliament to decide, security sources

   Pakistan has ruled out any move against Palestinian interests, rejected participation in any mission to disarm Hamas, and clarified that no decision has yet been taken on joining an international stabilisation force, according to a high-level security briefing.

   

2. 8 Jan

   EDITORIAL

   On the offensive

   There is a certain discipline in Ahmed Sharif’s choice of words as of late. Melodrama is avoided, but denial is not indulged either. If Pakistan is to argue its case internationally, he suggests that it must first lay out its qualms.

   

3. 6 Jan

   NEWSROOM

   Pakistan’s war on terror: zero compromise, clear message to India and Afghanistan

   Pakistan’s military has described terrorism as the country’s most serious threat, pointing to significant gains in 2025 and warning that any future aggression from India or Afghanistan would trigger a decisive response.

   

December 2025

1. 31 Dec

   ANALYSIS

   A year of pressure, progress, and practical statecraft

   From Beijing to Washington, the Gulf to the UN, Islamabad ended the year with more credibility, capability, and room to manoeuvre than it began with.

   

2. 30 Dec

   NEWSROOM

   US blocks Afghanistan from $2bn UN aid over Taliban diversion claims

   The United States has excluded Afghanistan from a $2 billion United Nations humanitarian aid package, saying it has evidence that some previous assistance in the country was diverted to the Taliban.