The Afghan Eye

In this episode, host Sangar Paykhar sits down with renowned Indian scholar Dr Shanthie Mariet D’Souza to unpack India’s evolving strategy towards Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. 

With decades of fieldwork and policy research experience, Dr D’Souza offers a rare and candid insight into how New Delhi balances engagement with restraint. We explore: 

🔹 Why India hasn’t recognised the Taliban 

🔹 The realpolitik behind India’s regional policy 

🔹 Afghanistan’s role in India’s Central Asia strategy 

🔹 Tensions with Pakistan and their impact on connectivity 

🔹 Outcomes of the Termez Dialogue and future regional cooperation 

Dr D’Souza explains how India navigates its historical ties, security concerns, and economic interests—all while maintaining a cautious diplomatic posture toward Kabul’s new rulers. Contact Dr D'Souza: [email protected]

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In this powerful episode of the Afghan Eye podcast, host Sangar Paykhar speaks with renown Afghan journalist Ali Latifi about the deepening crisis facing Afghan refugees expelled from Iran. 

With first-hand reporting from the Islam Qala border and over 15 years covering displacement and migration, Ali shares harrowing testimonies from returnees—many of whom were beaten, robbed, and deported with nothing. From the racism Afghans face in Iran to the disarray they encounter back in Afghanistan, this conversation uncovers the systemic failures of international aid, the neglect of returnees, and the global complicity in turning Afghans into scapegoats. 

We also discuss: The political motives behind Iran’s mass deportations The dire situation at Afghanistan’s border camps The failure of NGOs and international donors What Afghans themselves are doing to help Why the diaspora must raise its voice 📌 Follow Ali Latifi on X/Twitter: @alibomaye 🔔 Subscribe for more interviews and in-depth analysis on Afghanistan’s geopolitics, history, and society.

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Join host Sangar Paykhar on the Afghan Eye Podcast as he sits down with veteran journalist Haq Nawaz Khan to unpack the fallout from Pakistan’s recent “Operation Sarbakaf” in Bajaur’s Mamund region and explore the shifting dynamics of Pakistan–Afghanistan relations since the rise of the Islamic Emirate in Kabul.

🔍 In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How the sudden three-day curfew and targeted strikes under Operation Sarbakaf have impacted local communities
• Firsthand civilian reactions and mass protests led by tribal elders, students, and former MPs
• The role of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in cross-border militancy and what it means for regional security
• Haq Nawaz Khan’s analysis on the balance between military action and meaningful dialogue

📲 Follow Haq Nawaz Khan on X (formerly Twitter) to join the conversation: @khan_haq
 🎧 Listen to the full podcast and subscribe for more deep-dive interviews

 👍 If you found this video insightful, please Like, Comment, and Subscribe for regular updates on Afghanistan’s geopolitics, history, and conflicts.

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Join host Sangar Paykhar and Eurasian affairs analyst Eldaniz Gusseinov as they revisit the inaugural Termez Dialogue in southern Uzbekistan. In this episode, they explore how Afghanistan is poised to become the linchpin of trade, commercial growth and geopolitical shifts across Central Asia, Russia and South Asia. 

Key topics include: 

* Russia’s recognition of Afghanistan’s de facto authorities and the region’s great-power dynamics 

* Shared Silk Road heritage and people-to-people cultural ties 

* Concrete recommendations: annual Dialogues, thematic working groups, legal frameworks for water treaties, pilot projects and SCO-backed financing 

Connect with Eldaniz Gusseinov: [email protected] 

linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eldaniz-gusseinov/ 

Nightingale Intelligence https://nightingale-int.com/

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In this compelling episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, host Sangar Paykhar sits down with Mir-Ali Askerov, a political scientist from the Higher School of Economics in Saint Petersburg, to discuss the recent high-level Russian delegation visit to Kabul, led by Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia's Security Council.

Together, they dive deep into the historical context of Russia-Afghanistan relations, the implications of Shoigu’s visit, and the broader geopolitical shifts at play. Key topics include:

• Russia's plans for economic cooperation with Afghanistan, including mineral extraction and the trans-Afghan railway.
• The legal and political significance of removing the Taliban from Russia’s blacklist.
• The historical legacy of the Soviet-Afghan war and its influence on Russia’s modern policy.
• Afghanistan’s potential observer membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
• Shoigu’s sharp critique of U.S. policies, including the freezing of Afghan assets.

This episode offers an in-depth analysis of Russia’s strategic pivot to Afghanistan amidst increasing global tensions. Don’t miss this insightful discussion that unpacks what Shoigu’s visit means for Afghanistan, Russia, and the wider region.

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In this episode of the Afghan Eye podcast, hosts Sangar Paykhar and Ahmed-Waleed Kakar dive into the implications of Afghanistan’s attendance at the recent 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan. We discuss Afghanistan’s potential strategic interests, regional cooperation, and the impact of BRICS on a multipolar world order. Amid ongoing economic sanctions, political isolation, and recent infrastructure developments with BRICS members, what could Afghanistan gain from aligning with BRICS countries? We’ll also cover the summit's calls for peace, human rights, and the future of international relations. Join us as we explore Afghanistan's evolving role on the world stage.

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 On 18th March 2024, Afghanistan's remote and southeastern Paktika province found itself subject to aerial bombardment. The airstrikes, carried out in the early hours of the morning, were conducted by Pakistani military planes from across the Durand Line. A statement soon released by Islamabad confirmed the airstrikes, claiming these were in response to a recent a deadly TTP attack in Mir Ali, South Waziristan, that had killed scored of Pakistani troops. The target of the airstrikes was reported to be Abdullah Shah: a commander in the TTP's Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction, rumoured to be hiding in Afghanistan. 

The airstrikes triggered a barrage of artillery fire from the Afghanistan side in response, whilst locals in Paktika Birmal said that the airstrikes had only killed civilians. Videos soon circulated on social media purportedly showing Abdullah Shah alive and in South Waziristan. 

In this episode, Sangar Paykhar hosts Ali Mustafa to discuss what the unexpected flare-up between the two neighbours means for their complex and difficult relationship, and what the attack reveals about the fragility of Pakistan's own domestic politics in the aftermath of a controversial election marred by allegations of fraud and rigging. 

Ali Mustafa is a Pakistani-Canadian journalist and a graduate from Columbia University's School of Journalism. He has produced content for Canadian Broadcasting’ Corporation, Dawn News Network and CNBC as a producer, video-journalist and news-anchor, and later worked at TRT World as a correspondent in which he covered the Afghan peace process and the end of the US occupation in 2021. He supports the SAMRKAND initiative for better journalism in South Asia. 

Ali Mustafa's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Xnp1RiTRPCrtLsXZyqCYg

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Qatar again has served as the location for Afghanistan-centred gatherings. As a UN-convened conference kicked off, representatives from different countries, international bodies as well as Afghan civil society gathered in Doha as part of what was supposed to be a discussion on how to transition Afghanistan out of its state of diplomatic and legal isolation following the Taliban's takeover in 2021. More important than those who attended, as events transpired, were those who were absent. Following a series of diplomatic breakthroughs, and amidst expectations that it too would attend, the Taliban-led government announced abruptly that it would not be attending the conference. Its conditions to attend the meeting, per its spokesman, had not been met. Kabul's conditions, UN Secretary General António Guterres later claimed, essentially amounted to a demand for full recognition of the Taliban-led government as the legitimate representative of the Afghan state.

Elsewhere, controversy in Pakistan continues. After weeks of instability following controversial elections, a coalition government was formed between the parties that came second and third in recent elections was formed. Independents affiliated with now jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan remain excluded. 

The new Prime Minister is Shahbaz Sharif: a former Prime Minister and brother of two-time ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Asif Ali Zardari: former President, husband of ex-PM Benazir Bhutto and father of Bilawal Bhutto (leader of the Pakistan People's Party), is to serve as new President.

As fragile coalitions are formed and widespread allegations of election rigging, Pakistan's powerful military continues to crack down on social media and supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. 

Amidst Pakistan' persistent political instability, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar discuss whether and how the South Asian country's woes will impact Afghanistan.

Links/references:

Chinese envoy 'regrets' Taliban absence at Doha conference:
https://www.khaama.com/china-regrets-the-un-doha-meetings-failure-to-engage-in-dialogue-with-taliban/

US Special Envoy Thomas West's reflections on Doha Conference: https://twitter.com/US4AfghanPeace/status/1760815035419381856

UN Secretary General: 'We want a peaceful Afghanistan': https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146657

Pakistan's dire economic situation:
 https://www.ft.com/content/fbdf57c2-cce4-4c35-827a-1528899f5fb7

Mawlana Fazlur Rahman on his links to Afghanistan: https://x.com/adilkha89345692/status/1757789279839797482?s=46

Mawlana Fazlur Rahman on Imran Khan's ouster:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1814484

Pakistan's new coalition government: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/2/21/pakistan-parties-agree-deal-to-form-coalition-government

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Pakistan concluding fiercely contested elections amidst turmoil and mass claims of irregularities is only the latest development in an eventful 2024. The year has been similarly eventful for Afghanistan's foreign relations. On 29th January, the Taliban-led Afghan government organised an unprecedented conference in Kabul attended by the representatives of neighbouring and regional countries. These included India, Russia, Kazakhstan and China. Meanwhile, an interview of Pakistani interim Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar seemed to indicate a shifting attitude toward Afghanistan from trouble South-Asian country, whilst the Afghan embassy in Uzbekistan was handed over to diplomats of the Taliban-led government in Kabul.

Those developments, however, were shadowed by the events of 30th January. At a ceremony in Beijing attended by the diplomats of over 40 countries, Afghan ambassador-designate Bilal Karimi was formally received and accepted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Karimi had previously been received by officials at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (covered in S.2 E.4) but his reception by the Chinese President was unparalleled as far as Kabul's quest for diplomatic recognition is concerned. International media quickly reported the meeting's significance, whilst the US State Department publicly called on China for 'clarity' on whether the reception constituted its formal recognition of the Taliban's government.

Speaking amongst themselves as well as to experts, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar discuss whether the events mark the beginning of greater overseas legitimacy of the post-2021 Taliban-led government, the effects of these developments, and what they reveal about Kabul's diplomatic priorities.

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Amidst deteriorating relations between Kabul and Islamabad, news emerged on 18th December. The Afghan ambassador to Pakistan confirmed that an invitation had been extended to Pakistani politician Maulana Fazlur Rahman to visit Kabul. The visit, according to many sources, was intended to defuse tensions between the neighbours; Fazlur Rahman, an influential politician and religious scholar, could mediate between the two.

In Episode 5 of Season Two of The Afghan Eye podcast, Ahmed-Waleed Kakar discusses Maulana Fazlur Rahman: who is he, what is his background, and why is he important enough to serve as a mediator between Afghanistan and Pakistan? Ahmed-Waleed Kakar also asks experts about their views on the prospects of any mediation being successful.

Fazlur Rahman invited to visit Kabul:
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2450369/fazl-invited-to-kabul-amid-rising-tensions

Fazlur Rahman to visit Kabul on Wednesday: https://www.ariananews.af/maulana-fazal-ur-rehman-to-visit-kabul-on-wednesday/

Fazlur Rahman interview with BBC Pashto: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldg-oLctJ2M

US sanctions on two Taliban leaders:
https://www.state.gov/promoting-accountability-in-support-of-the-75th-anniversary-of-the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights/

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