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Afghanistan

Does America have a right to preach?

When Nimrata (Nikki) Haley married Michael Haley, there was the obligatory Sikh wedding. When Usha Chilukuri married JD Vance, there was the obligatory Hindu wedding.

Seeking a righteous path in diplomacy

Festivals like Dussehra are more than just celebrations; they reflect the spirit of a nation. These events, deeply rooted in cultural traditions, often simplify complex historical experiences, making them more accessible and meaningful

Lesson learnt?

After cutting and running from Afghanistan last year, and having earlier effectively Balkanised an Iraq which under the Ba’ath Socialists/Saddam Hussein was a functional, secular ~ albeit criminally oppressive ~ state, the US Administration has now clarified that nation-building is expressly not a part of Washington’s agenda in countries where it has intervened militarily, more often than not on a dodgy legal basis.

Sartorial clock back

Monday’s advisory has directed drivers not to play music in their cars carrying women. Still more crucially, drivers have been told not to pick up female passengers, if they are not wearing the hijab, covering the hair. Taliban’s police have erected checkpoints across the capital of Kabul to keep track of taxi drivers and ensure whether they were complying with the government’s orders. Of a piece with these directives is the Taliban decision to shut down all public bathhouses for women in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.