Stay updated with breaking news from முனிப் முகமது. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Taliban advances in 2021 are not very much different from the advances of 1994-1998 except that this time the advance is much faster than the earlier time. Within a span of three months, they have captured almost all major cities barring Kabul and are poised to take over the entire Afghanistan in next few weeks. ....
The Taliban today undoubtedly has a stronger hold over how the US militarily plans to withdraw from the conflict in Afghanistan. This raises questions about the continuing challenges to security in South Asia in particular, the influence of IS Khorasan (IS-K), the group’s Afghanistan avatar, and its rise both as an ISIS-aligned entity and a big-tent brand for various jihadist groups in the country. As the ‘Khorasan’ project of ISIS gets more attention, and the US and the Taliban stand amidst a winded peace negotiation, this paper looks into how the IS-K is taking advantage of political uncertainty in Afghanistan to expand its footprint not only in the country but in the entire region. ....