Ron Synovitz is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
Recent tensions between Kabul and Islamabad show that mutual suspicions still exist in an old dispute known as the "Pashtunistan question." And it is a question with a fundamental bearing on foreign policy.
The Afghan government faces growing international pressure to intervene in a court case in which a man faces a possible death sentence because he converted from Islam to Christianity.
President Hamid Karzai has approved a list of names for his new cabinet, with one name conspicuously absent from the proposed cabinet: Abdullah Abdullah, the man who has been the foreign minister for the past four years.
RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz was embedded with U.S. soldiers as they advanced to Baghdad in March and April 2003. In a "Reporter's Notebook" marking the third anniversary of the U.S.-led campaign to depose Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Synovitz describes the events he witnessed during the first day of major combat by the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division -- the siege of Tallil Airfield and other objectives near Al-Nasiriyah.
A diplomatic row between Pakistan and Afghanistan has intensified in the week since U.S. President George W. Bush toured South Asia. RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan has spoken with prominent experts about the dispute.
Soldiers in Waziristan near the Afghan border (file photo) (epa) Dozens of people have been fleeing a Pakistani village near the border with Afghanistan today in fear of fighting between government troops and pro-Taliban militants. Artillery barrages by the Pakistani army destroyed at least five buildings in Naurak after militants there late on March 7 ambushed the convoy of the top administrator for the tribal region of North Waziristan. Meanwhile, the U.S. military's Central Command chief, U.S. General John Abizaid, is in Pakistan today for talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in an effort to defuse tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
Pakistan says it controls the main town in North Waziristan after intense fighting that killed some 100 Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants. The area is closed to journalists, but RFE/RL correspondents have spoken to refugees.
Presidents Karzai (left) and Musharraf (file photo) (CTK) PRAGUE, March 6, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf has lashed out at Afghan President Hamid Karzai -- accusing elements within the Afghan Defense Ministry and intelligence community of conspiring to malign Pakistan. In an interview late on March 5, Musharraf derided as "nonsense" the accusation from Karzai that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar is sheltering in Pakistan.
Scene from the movie "The Road To Guantanamo" (Courtesy Photo) A sometimes-harrowing film about the Guantanamo Bay detention center garners plaudits just as a UN report puts a critical spotlight on the detention of terror suspects by the United States.
Afghan President Karzai and Pakistani President Musharraf today in Islamabad (epa) Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Islamabad today on a two-day visit that includes talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The Afghan president says he wants Islamabad to work harder to stop cross-border terrorist attacks -- including the growing number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan that Kabul has blamed on "elements within Pakistan." But Pakistan has concerns of its own.
Sectarian violence erupted in the western Afghan city of Herat today at a gathering for the Shi'ite Muslim holiday of Ashura.
At least 11 people have been killed in Afghanistan during violent protests over newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, but some observers say the tide of anger is being exploited for other means.
The new rules for the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force were quickly put to the test amid violent protests.
ISAF troops in Zabul Province last year (Courtesy Photo) The Dutch parliament today is debating whether to send more than 1,100 extra troops to Afghanistan's volatile south as part of a NATO-led security force. NATO plans this year to deploy about 7,000 soldiers to southern provinces formerly patrolled by U.S. combat forces. Many NATO troops will be based in isolated mountain areas where fighting continues against the remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. That has raised concerns in Holland that Dutch forces may be lured into a combat role in Afghanistan. With more than half of Holland's voters opposed to the deployment, the Dutch government wants lawmakers at The Hague to make the final decision.
Afghan officials say they have arrested nine suspected terrorists in the southern province of Kandahar in recent days, including a "high-ranking Taliban commander with links to Al-Qaeda."
Delegates from 70 countries are gathering in London for a two-day conference on Afghanistan's future. Afghan and foreign officials will work to map out development, aid, and other priorities.
As fears grow about the purpose of Iran's nuclear program, some analysts believe the only way to prevent Tehran from building an atomic bomb is through preemptive military strikes. In the second of a two-part series on the possible responses to the Iranian nuclear crisis, RFE/RL speaks with experts about the military options available (see <a href="http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/01/36423915-cffa-4c02-817f-59c491c90b73.html"><strong>Part 1</strong></a><span id="TitleLabel"><a href="http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/01/36423915-cffa-4c02-817f-59c491c90b73.html"><strong>: Diplomatic Efforts On Possible Sanctions Intensify</strong></a>)</span>.
An increase in suicide attacks has raised concerns about whether Taliban militants are adopting the tactics of Iraqi insurgents.
(RFE/RL) Muslim survivors of South Asia's devastating earthquake are observing the Islamic holiday Eid Al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) today. Many are marking the three-day holiday with prayers for the 87,000 people who died as a result of the October disaster. Sheep, cows, lambs, and camels, some donated by aid organizations, have been sacrificed today as part of the festival. But conditions remain dismal for more than 2 million homeless quake survivors in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.
Pascal Lamy in Hong Kong (epa) Ministers from 149 member countries in the World Trade Organization (WTO) opened a six-day meeting in Hong Kong today. The trade talks are aimed at reaching agreements on further moves to break down global trade barriers.
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