Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar

How smouldering discontent affects the Taliban rule in Afghanistan

Factional rift and competing interests to move up the power ladder are among the key factors pushing the former insurgent group to the brink of implosion.

CIA head meets Taliban leader as group refuses to delay evacuation deadline

The clandestine meeting came ahead of a G7 virtual summit in which leaders will likely seek more time to evacuate foreigners and Afghans from Kabul.

Taliban co-founder Baradar in Kabul for talks on new Afghan government

Within hours of his return, the Taliban announces that its rule would be "different" this time and an official says the Taliban will be accountable for its actions and will investigate reports of reprisals and atrocities.

What role did US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad play in the Taliban's victory?

Questions surround Khalilzad, an enigmatic diplomat who presided over US failures in Iraq and now the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan catastrophe necessitates an international investigation

The state of Afghanistan today is the result of one strategic failure after the other, demonstrating the ineptitude of international interventions.

How international actors laid the groundwork for Taliban rule

The current regional balance of power, in which Russia and China see the Taliban as the lesser of two evils, and a hasty US withdrawal helped the group march across Afghanistan, experts say.

Afghan govt gathers local militias to halt advancing Taliban

Key politicians with background of anti-Taliban or anti-Soviet resistance are converging in their areas of influence to mobilise forces for a likely face-off with the marching Taliban. But rights groups fear such militias could become abusive force.

Taliban: Only 'genuine Islamic system' can lead to Afghan peace

The Afghan Taliban said they are committed to peace talks as officials raised concerns over the stalling negotiations between the militants and government representatives in Qatar ahead of foreign troops' withdrawal in September.

US and Taliban resume talks on ending America's longest war

A Taliban member familiar with, but not part of, the talks that resumed in Qatar says US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met one-on-one with the Taliban's lead negotiator, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

'Occupation' must end for Afghan peace – Taliban in Russia conference

Taliban is "really committed to peace, but think the obstacle for peace should be removed first," Taliban co-founder and political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar says in a rare televised appearance at the start of the two-day meeting in Moscow.

US envoy says 'real strides' made in longest Taliban talks

The longest peace talks between the US and the Taliban to end America's 17-year war in Afghanistan concluded on Tuesday night in Qatar, with both sides saying progress had been made, but no final agreement could be reached.

US, Taliban talk troop pullout at Qatar peace talks – officials

The talks are being seen as the most promising yet between the warring parties after Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar joined for the first time, flying in from Pakistan.