Russian bounty killing forces Trump’s hands on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

Pakistan army chief Gen. Qamar Bajwa (L) met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (R) in Kabul, June 9, 2020 As expected, the controversy over Russia’s alleged bounties for killing American and NATO troops in Afghanistan is steadily snowballing. The New York Times has come out with more leaks such as bank transfers from accounts identified with …

US leverages Delhi-Kabul nexus. But what’s in it for India?

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval (L) and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar (C) met the US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad (R), Delhi, May 7, 2020 The two-hour stopover in Delhi on May 7 by the US special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, accompanied by the White House official in charge of …

Don’t threaten Afghans. It will be counterproductive.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani appointed his political rival  Mohammad Haneef Atmar, as acting foreign minister, Kabul, April 4, 2020 The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the US State Department, Alice Wells dropped a bombshell early morning today on the Afghan government and the country’s political elites …