Ali M Latifi

Taliban appoint new UAE consul general in latest diplomatic push

Afghanistan's rulers have stepped up efforts to replace diplomats in neighbouring countries even without official recognition By Ali M Latifi in Kabul Afghanistan's Taliban government appointed a new consul general to the United Arab Emirates on…

After the Taliban ban on women NGO work, local and foreign aid groups take different approaches

On a chilly February morning, an anxious crowd gathers in the stands of Kabul’s Afshar sports complex. They’ve come not to watch a match but to receive blankets, robes, rice, lentils, flour, sugar, oil, beans, and tea being handed out by an all-male…

Afghan diplomats return to Turkey and Iran as Taliban pushes for relations thaw

Despite being shunned by much of the international community, the Taliban government has made diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East and Central Asia A Taliban fighter stands guard at the Islam Qala border between Iran and Afghanistan on 19…

The second-hand clothes sellers who bask in the cold when Kabul tries to stay warm

The brutal Afghan winter is an ordeal for most - but an opportunity for some This winter in Afghanistan has been the coldest in a decade ― temperatures have dropped as low as -35°C, forcing people already struggling with an economic downturn to find…

No, Karen, #BlackGirlMagic won't save Afghanistan from the Taliban or the US's mess

US diplomat Karen Decker's recent tone-deaf tweet suggesting Afghan women could benefit from the likes of Beyonce and Lizzo shows the ignorance and lack of reflexivity that pervade Western perceptions of Afghanistan, writes Ali M Latifi. For most of…

Afghan Taliban deny banning contraceptives

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has denied banning the sale of contraceptives, dismissing reports of the ban in the British press as “fake news”. Pharmacies in the country’s capital, Kabul, were freely selling the family planning products when The…

For disaster-hit Afghans, a brutally cold winter and shrinking aid

‘These small amounts won’t possibly be enough to rebuild the lives of people who lost everything.’ On a remote hillside in Afghanistan’s Logar province, the tents of some 300 families stretch across the snow-covered ground. This makeshift village has…

Afghans rush to Kabul airport as Turkey earthquake rumours spread

Thousands of Afghans hoping to go to Turkey to take part in earthquake relief work were turned back by Taliban guards On Wednesday evening, Habib received a call from a friend telling him to head to Kabul International Airport. Turkey was asking for…

Kabul airport chaos after rumours of flights to Turkey for quake relief volunteers

Taliban security forces fire into the air to disperse crowds seeking escape route from Afghan capital Thousands of men hurried towards Kabul’s international airport on Wednesday evening after a rumour spread that Turkey’s government were organising…

The Taliban Can’t Stop TikTok

As Sikandar Najib stands to leave the Prime Steakhouse in Kabul’s Majid Mall, two young men sipping coffees stop him to ask for a selfie. The mall is the place where the city’s more well-to-do youth go to hang out, dine, exercise, and study, and…

Gangs torture Afghan refugees on Iran-Turkey border for ransom

Armed men film horrendous videos to blackmail families of undocumented Afghans fleeing war at home Afghan refugees collected by the Turkish border army sit in a truck after being deported by Greek army officers on 9 December 2018 (AFP) In one video,…

In Afghanistan’s battered healthcare system, power cuts can prove fatal

Every time Dr. Noor Ahmad Jamal buys heart monitors, ECG machines, and ultrasound scanners for his Kabul cardiology hospital, he must spend thousands of extra dollars to make sure each device stays powered through Afghanistan’s all-too-regular…

Afghanistan: Worried Muslim countries meet over Taliban’s bans on women and girls

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation convenes after condemning Islamic Emirate's latest decrees, though its impact may be little more than symbolic As international outrage grows over the Taliban’s recent decrees banning Afghan women from universities…

Taliban ban on Afghan women working for NGOs creates confusion and despair

Doctors concerned about effect on maternity and other healthcare services as they seek clarity on enforcement of the decision On the evening of December 26, Najmussama Shefajo’s family had gathered to celebrate an engagement. But while her family…

Aid operations hit as Taliban bars Afghan women from working for NGOs

‘We cannot reach 50% of the population under this ban.’ Several international aid organisations have suspended their work in Afghanistan in response to a new Taliban edict barring Afghan women from working with any local or foreign NGO until further…

How James Cameron’s Titanic became an under-the-surface sensation in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

KABUL—When the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, all forms of entertainment were banned. Residents of Kabul and other cities often recall seeing ribbons of video and audiotapes hanging in shreds, as if they, too, had been put to death.…

Chinese hotel attack shows Daesh efforts to target international interests in Afghanistan

Chinese-run hotel and residential complex in Kabul came under a deadly attack on Monday Since September, Afghan affiliate of Daesh has targeted Russian, Pakistani and Chinese nationals KABUL: A string of Daesh attacks on foreigners in Kabul over the…

Inside Dubai's cut-throat luxury watch industry

Even in the flashy emirate where anything goes, securing high-end timepieces can only be done through years of reputation and relationship building - or huge amounts of cash On a breezy early December evening, a group of young men in their 20s and…

How Dubai is winning big at the 2022 Qatar World Cup

The glitz and glamour of Dubai is enticing fans to Qatar's erstwhile rival World Cup host Qatar is not the only Gulf country benefitting from the influx of football fans to the region. Across the water, neighbour and erstwhile rival the United Arab…

Afghans brace for a bitter winter

Gol Mohammad has spent the past five years selling wood in a market in Pol-e Alam, the capital of Logar province. Long considered one of Afghanistan’s most insecure and underdeveloped regions, its residents are facing particular challenges this…