Afghanistan

This article was first published on Foreign Policy’s South Asia Channel.

This article was first published by Foreign Policy.

This article, co-written by James P. Farwell, was first published by The National Interest.

Shot in both legs, Shahruh Khan survived the Taliban attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan. “The man with big boots,” Al Jazeera quoted Khan as saying, “kept on looking for students and pumping bullets into their bodies.”

Read the full article on Al-Monitor. 

At first glance, Iran appears to be unconvinced about Afghanistan’s new President Ashraf Ghani, and the feeling is probably mutual. Ghani chose Saudi Arabia, China and then Pakistan as the first countries to visit as president, and has yet to visit Tehran. 

In both general and more informed discussions in Pakistan and beyond, sectarian violence in Pakistan between Sunni and Shi‘i groups is almost without exception referred to simply as Sunni-Shi‘i violence. But such a characterization is a misnomer. Two of Pakistan’s three major Sunni subsects, the Ahl-e-Hadis, and to a lesser extent, the Barelvis, may have antipathy toward the Shi‘a, but rarely express such sentiments through violent activity.

This paper is part of an MEI scholar series, titled “Obama’s Legacy in the Middle East: Passing the Baton in 2017.” Click here to view the full project, or navigate using the table of contents to the right.

This article was first published on BBC News.

There have been a number of rounds of border skirmishes between Iran and Pakistan since the first week of October. However, reports that Pakistani forces have returned mortar fire is highly unusual and represents an increase in tensions that have marred this region for years.

Afghanistan is often thought of as a place where some of the world’s most dangerous Islamists have taken refuge, been nurtured, and been allowed to launch regional and global jihad. Yet, with the agreement to form a unity government, the nation has provided an answer to extremism. Admittedly, the presidential election results were so riddled with fraud that it is probably impossible to determine who actually won. But it may nevertheless result in a victory for democracy. Seven million people risked their lives to vote.

The crisis in Pakistan is coming to a head. Of course it’s been building since the 15th of August, but now we’re faced with a situation in which this government is either going to survive or, very likely, were going to see a military takeover.

The big question is where does the military stand, because everybody realizes that ultimately the outcome will depend on what the military is willing to accept or, indeed, what the military wants.

This article was first published in The Diplomat.