Exploring Possibilities of Long Lasting Peace In Afghanistan
After two decades of War on Terror that was imposed on the lives of innocent people of Afghanistan, it is time that Afghan people and the youth gather and find…
Pakistan’s Controversial Handling of Afghan Refugees Raises Legal and Humanitarian Concerns
As 28-year-old Zabihullah recalls his ordeal, “Police snatched my money, I had to sell my belongings in order to come home with my family”, his situation represents the anguish felt…
Pakistan’s Role in Afghanistan Stability and Instability
The relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been marked by complexity and contention for decades. Pakistan’s influence on its neighbor extends across multiple dimensions, encompassing geographical proximity, shared tribal affiliations,…
Plight of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan: Uncertain future
A large number of Afghan refugees reside in precarious conditions in different parts of the world. Similarly, Pakistan, sharing a 1600-mile-long border with Afghanistan, has many Afghan refugees under the…
Eco racism in Peshawar
Environmental racism refers to the injustice observed towards low-income and minority communities who are the most vulnerable and easy targets of health hazards due to residing near landfills and toxic…
The Taliban’s Onslaught on Ashura Processions
Afghanistan has been grappling with escalating violence and religious persecution, particularly against the Shia Muslim community. Ashura is a solemn day of mourning observed by Shia Muslims worldwide. It falls…
Protests in South Waziristan
The Pashtun people of Waziristan held a protest sit-in for four days in front of the Pakistan army’s fort in Khesur area of South Waziristan. This protest sit-in was not…
Peace for Asia interviews Ms. Fawzia Koofi
Peace for Asia interviewed Ms. Fawzia Koofi, a former parliamentarian from Afghanistan, who served as the Vice President of the National Assembly. During the negotiations with the Taliban, Ms. Koofi…
Continuing policy of enforced disappearances
On 9th May, Pakistan witnessed massive protests and rioting against the armed forces for their alleged role in Imran Khan’s brief abduction from a court hearing. The present situation also…
Ali Wazir: Tortured but not Subdued
A member of the National Assembly (MNA) from South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader, Ali Wazir released on February 14, from Karachi’s Central…
Remembering Professor Arman Luni
Professor Arman Luni’s father, Mohammad Ismail had a desire in his heart that he and his daughters get justice but his wish could not be fulfilled while he was alive.…
PTM Supporters under threat in Afghanistan
Five-year-old Zarghuna and seven-year-old Ajmal, living in Helmand, Afghanistan, have spent sleepless nights awaiting the return of their missing father, Noorayel Kaliwal. Human rights violations have become serious after the…
Missing Persons in Swat
Swat Valley is a scenic tourist destination and attracted tourists from all over the world in the pre-9/11 times. When the US and NATO invaded Afghanistan, the reactionaries in Waziristan…
Anarchy in Af-Pak region: Reimagining the role of international community
Since the fall of Kabul at the hands of the Taliban, the clock has turned around to 180 degrees. The Pakistani security establishment, which appeared to exercise full control over…
Webinar: Five Years of PTM
On 15th February, Peace for Asia organized a webinar to mark five years of the establishment of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement. The webinar was hosted by Zubair Shah Agha, a…
PTM’s Protest Camp for Missing Persons
The Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM) renewed its struggle against the extrajudicial killings of Pashtuns, with senior lawyer Latif Afridi being the latest casualty. The central leadership of PTM including PTM…
Justice Denied
Recently, the Anti-Terrorism Court in Karachi acquitted SSP Rao Anwar and all other accused in the well-known Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case. Human rights organizations expressed dismay and termed the decision…
Safeguarding the Pashtun Frontier: Learning from the Past
After the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan and the ascendance of the Taliban to the corridors of power, a sense of jubilation engulfed Pakistan as the security establishment felt…
The Plight of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan’s Prisons
The Taliban’s takeover of Kabul had a massive impact on the Afghan refugees in Pakistan but unfortunately went relatively unnoticed in the international media. An estimated two thousand Afghan refugees…
Webinar on Women’s Rights in Afghanistan: A Peace for Asia-WIWIP (Kings College London) Collaboration
On 29th November, Women in War and International Peace (WIWIP) and Peace for Asia co-hosted an event titled “Afghanistan: Human Rights Safeguards and Perspectives on Reconstruction. Based at Kings College…
Our Time, Our Rights, Our Future
Happy International Day of the Girl Child to all Girls, in particular to our brave Afghan girls and women who are fighting for their basic rights. Unfortunately today in my…
The Forty Years of War in Afghanistan and the Slaughter of Innocent People
I told my eyes not to shed tears and my heart not to beat so fast for some seconds, and let me write about my people’s pain and agony. Still…
An appeal to the Global Conscience: Our Presidents message
5th August, 2021: This day is a reminder that it has been a year since the Taliban captured our beloved nation of 35 million. While a lot of families are…
Welcoming Afghan residents in Australia: Peace for Asia’s President addresses Brisbane City Council
Mr Chair, Lord Mayor and Councillors It has been 358 days since the Taliban took power. For most Afghan women and girls, almost each one of these days since 15…
Our Land Has Suffered
Our land has suffered for a long period of time due to the countless internal and external reasons, including the unkindness and unscrupulous of the unmerciful neighboring countries. And essentially,…
We are all Hazaras: Message from our President
We are all Hazaras. Resistant and strong, that if we fall to the ground a thousand times, we will sprout and blossom a thousand more times, rebuild thousands of schools,…
A Never ending Tragedy
Eight months have passed since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Eight months is a simple word, yet the people of Afghanistan are living through the hardest and most horrific…
Message to Afghan Women
This January, the United Nations expressed its concerns over the rise in the cases of abduction of women in Afghanistan. The context was the abduction of two women, namely Taman…
Afghan women strive for basic Human Rights and Equality
Only a few months into Taliban’s rule, the future of Afghan women and girls is in jeopardy. This article examines how the fight for Afghan girls’ education and freedom intersects…
The New Great Game in Afghanistan: Muddied Waters?
After their defeat in Vietnam, the Americans were looking for a similar opportunity to avenge their humiliation from the erstwhile Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had limited influence on the…
Media and women under the Taliban shadow: Institutionalising Oppression
A few days ago, the Taliban Foreign Affairs Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi gave a statement in support of women empowerment. He claimed that girls had been going to schools till…
Afghanistan’s Future Generations at Stake
This short essay is by our Peace Ambassador Rita Anwari. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. Dr.Rita Anwari is thankful to Kat Battino for her…
Unbothered and Unconcerned: Australia’s Faint-Hearted Response to Refugees Fleeing Afghanistan
Notorious for its rigid immigration and refugee policies and for committing countless human rights violations against its refugees and asylum seekers, Australia has failed to fulfil its responsibility and obligation…
Afghanistan, Then & Now: Reflections of an Education Activist
This short photo-essay by our Peace Ambassador Rita Anwari reminisces her visit to Afghanistan in 2017. The post 9/11 phase leading up to August 2021 was market by certain complexities…
Afghanistan: Reflections on the “War on Terror”
To watch the Webinar click here. On 15th September 2021, Peace for Asia held a webinar with Prof. Ebrahim Afsah, who shared insights on the current situation in Afghanistan, related…
Taliban Resurrection & its Implications for Hazara Community
On the 30th of August, the Taliban killed 14 men of the Hazara community in Khadir district of Afghanistan’s Daikundi province (Pic 1). Only a month back Taliban tortured and…
Over 60 former UK government officials call for urgent improvements to the Afghan resettlement and refugee schemes
Sarah Hearn OBE New York University I am part of a group of over 60 former UK diplomatic and development officials who served the British Government in Afghanistan since 2002.…
The Hazaras: Centuries-long Oppression
Afghanistan has a heterogeneous population of 40 million that includes ethnic groups such as Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens, and others. Among these groups, Pashtuns are the largest one and…
The refugees of Kunduz
Note: Our consulting editor Jessica Kroner brings exclusive images of Afghan refugees who crossed Pakistan through the Chaman border. Unfortunately, they were turned back by the Pakistani authorities citing lack…
The Situation in Afghanistan: Interview with Kevin Rudd and Dr Abdullah Abdullah
CLCIK HERE TO WATCH ENTIRE EVENT The events unfolding in Afghanistan portend difficult times for the elected regime in Kabul and may spillover into outright violation of the Universal Declaration…
Interview with Ms Shinkai Karokhail on the present situation in Afghanistan
Peace for Asia spoke to Ms Shinkai Karokhail, Member of Afghan National Assembly and Chairperson, Women Parliamentary Caucus. The sudden exit of American and allied forces from Bagram base, accompanied…
Women Social Security and Challenges in Afghanistan
A prerequisite for any economic, social, cultural and political development is a sense of security – especially the security of a woman. Awareness of such sense among inhabitants of a…
Not fit for purpose: Afghanistan’s broken judiciary
The Afghan justice system is in a state of disrepair, with corruption rife within both the judicial system and the government. Following the reconstruction of the judiciary in the post…
Peace for Asia condemns the targeted blast of Peace Ministry vehicle in Kabul
On February 1, 2021, the vehicle of Khushnood Nabizada was targeted with IED explosive devices. Reports have so far declared that there have been no casualties as of now. The…
Afghanistan: Unprecedented opportunity for peace is under high pressure
This article was originally published as an opinion piece by The Khaama News Agency. Click here to read the article on their website. Afghanistan, war-torn for more than 40 years,…
Human Rights Defenders in Afghanistan: Living Precariously
Afghanistan, over the past year, has been experiencing a heightened level of violence against its Human Rights Defenders (HRD). Already exceeding last year’s figures for deaths and attacks, the situation…
International Community of Scholars Condemn Attack on Kabul University
On November 2, 2020, Kabul University was brutally attacked by three gunmen resulting in the deaths of at least 22 people and dozens injured. The assault was conducted in broad…
Top Human Rights News of the Week: Another Afghan Journalist Killed
Elyas Dayee, a radio journalist who worked for Radio Free Afghanistan was killed in a blast on November 11, 202o in Helmand, Afghanistan. As noted by officials, this was a…