Afghanistan’s “official” security forces rape with impunity and engage in sale and trafficking of women, while the Taliban reap the backlash, imposing harsh vigilante “justice” over growing swaths of the country. Freedom’s on the march, eh? First this, from the… Read moreHuman trafficking in Afghanistan; Taliban reap backlash
Pakistan’s army admitted Oct. 31 it had killed up to 80 in an early-morning strike on a supposedly al-Qaeda-linked madrassa in a tribal area near the Afghan border. The military action sparked protests in the area, and in the neighbouring… Read morePakistan: protests as air strike wipes out madrassa in Tribal Areas
From CTV, Oct. 28: NATO’s top commander apologized Saturday for civilians killed during battles between NATO-led forces and the Taliban militia in Afghanistan this week. The death of a civilian “is something that causes anybody in uniform to lose a… Read moreAfghanistan: NATO blames civilian deaths on “asymmetric warfare”
Still cheering on the heroic Afghan resistance? From Index on Censorship, Sept. 26: A senior Afghan official working for women’s rights has been shot dead by suspected Taliban gunmen. She was the highest placed female official to be assassinated in… Read moreAfghanistan: women’s rights defender assassinated
More evidence that Pakistan, the USA’s closest ally in the region, is ironically serving as a staging ground for the destabilization of US-occupied Afghanistan. First this, from The Guardian, Sept. 19: A chain of suicide bombings killed 19 people, including… Read moreAfghanistan: “Mullah Dadullah” pledges more terror
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan army troops killed 92 Taliban fighters in the southern province of Kandahar, NATO said in statement Sept. 11. The statement said the figure was separate from the 94 insurgents reported as killed in… Read moreAfghanistan: NATO occupation reaps terror, opium
While highly dubious supposed terror plots in the US and UK continue to dominate the headlines, the Real McCoy in Afghanistan generates barely a flick of interest these days. This was buried in the inner pages of the New York… Read moreAfghan terror escalates —with media invisibility
From the New York Times, July 4: WASHINGTON, July 3 — The Central Intelligence Agency has closed a unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials confirmed Monday. The… Read moreCIA closes bin Laden unit
A taped message purported to be from fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar was broadcast on Geo TV, a commercial station in Pakistan June 25. The voice on the tape issued a challenge to the Afghan government and foreign troops fighting… Read moreMullah Omar speaks —again
Remember all those wacky conspiracy theorists who said that “liberating” Afghanistan from the Taliban was really about building an oil pipeline through the country? From India’s Rediff.com, May 19: India joins Afghanistan gas pipeline project The Cabinet on Thursday approved… Read moreAfghanistan pipeline project advances
From The Jurist, May 8: Afghan parliament descends into chaos as lawmakers attack female legislator The floor of the Afghan parliament has witnessed its first outbreak of violence, with lawmakers physically and verbally assaulting a controversial female legislator who called… Read moreAfghanistan: woman legislator physically attacked on parliament floor
From AP, March 22: KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Authorities launched a probe today into the killings by Afghan security forces of at least 15 people, who an Afghan army commander claimed were Taliban rebels but locals said were tribesmen wanting to… Read moreAfghanistan: threats, violence meet Nowruz
