Afghanis inside and outside the country have been angered by the BBC's interview with a Taliban spokesman directly after a suicide attack, in which he announced a new target.
The obviousness of simple facts often get so tainted by political antagonism and conspiracy theories that they pull nations apart, making us forget that no one’s blood is darker than the other.
The capture of Taliban number two Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has been hailed as indicating a change of approach by Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI. With a reformed image and important bargaining card, Pakistan looks set to benefit from the move.
In a bid to sweeten talks with disaffected Taliban, Karzai has revived a controversial amnesty law praising the mujahedin as national heroes while ignoring their crimes. If enforced, hopes that the toppling of the Taliban in 2001 might still bring about government in line with justice, democracy a
Pakistan's military and political class have obsessed over gaining 'strategic depth' in Afghanistan for years, but the at times absurd concept is incompatible with Pakistan's zero-sum approach to regional politics.
The longer the war continues in Afghanistan, the more likely it is that disparate Taliban groups will unite and join forces with international Islamist militant groups