“I am here in Kandahar on a short vacation,” says the young man, about 27, who we will call Mullah Kalam. His beard is trimmed neat; he is wearing a black leather jacket and a striped beige turban. Kalam has been a student for …
Afghanistan
Look the Other Way, Please: What Are Those Secret Talks in Paris All About?
Hush-hush talks staged near Paris by independent organizers bring leaders of enemy sides in the Afghan war together for informal talks. Will this lead to official peace negotiations?
Tale of the Taliban Bomber: Behind the Plot to Kill Afghanistan’s Spy Chief
For Asadullah Khalid, the morning of Dec. 6 — the day the Taliban tried to kill him — was as routine as any other. Dressed in an embroidered beige shirt, Kabul’s recently-appointed intelligence chief signed papers and …
What Iran and Pakistan Want from the Afghans: Water
Iran and Pakistan depend on river basins that flow out of Afghanistan. And Afghans are growing paranoid that its neighbors are trying to take more water than the country can afford to give
The Bank Bust That Nearly Took Down Afghanistan
A new report details the ponzi scheme that clobbered the impoverished country’s financial system—a grievous assault bigger than anything the Taliban could have devised
Bullets Fly Around Provincial Peace Talks in Afghanistan
Taliban ambushed a provincial governor’s convoy en route to peace talks, killing two police and one civilian — but the international coalition calls the Helmand meeting a success
Bombs Away: Will Afghanistan’s Artillerymen Learn How to Shoot Right?
TIME goes to the frontlines in Afghanistan where U.S. and NATO forces are trying to train a fledgling army how to fight effectively in the mountains
Has the Time Come for a Kabul Stock Exchange?
Two young Afghans are working hard to start up an Afghan bourse. It may be one way to goose a moribund economy.
Drones: A Non-Issue in U.S. Presidential Debate Riles Pakistan
The two U.S. presidential candidates found no reason to quarrel over the American use of drones overseas. But Pakistanis see it differently.
France Holds Seven Suspects Thought to Be in a ‘Terrorism Cell’
French prosecutors announce the indefinite detention of seven suspected Islamist extremists arrested on Oct. 6, after raids unearthed guns, bombmaking equipment and evidence of recruiting French radicals to join militias in Syria
Is the U.S. Admitting Defeat in Afghanistan?
The law of diminishing returns — and rising costs — appears likely to bring Western troops home from Afghanistan even as the Taliban insurgency rages
A Dangerous Day in the Life of an Afghan District Governor
Saleem Khan Rody runs one of the most strategic spots in Afghanistan. He’s doing a good job—and the Taliban are out to stop him.
Afghans Without Americans: A Preview of Soldiering When the U.S. Withdraws
The curtailment of U.S.-Afghan patrols because of so-called “green on blue” killings focuses attention on how ready local troops are