The Afghan Eye

In this episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, host Sangar Paykhar is joined by Afghan Eye’s in-house historian Ahmed-Waleed Kakar to examine a revealing speech by Pakistan’s most powerful general, Asim Munir, delivered to a gathering of religious scholars in Islamabad. The discussion explores how Pakistan’s military leadership is increasingly instrumentalising Islam to assert political authority, delegitimise dissent, and externalise internal crises, particularly by shifting blame onto Afg...

In this episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, Sangar Paykhar speaks with Indian strategic analyst Sushant Sareen about the rapidly shifting geopolitics of South Asia. The conversation examines India’s evolving engagement with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, rising tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, and Pakistan’s deteriorating leverage over Afghan affairs. Sareen offers a candid Indian perspective on regional stability, sovereignty, and why Afghanistan remains central to Asian geopolitics despite ...

In this episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, Sangar Paykhar speaks with retired Pakistani Army Major Adil Raja for a rare, wide-ranging conversation on power, policy, and politics in Pakistan, and what they mean for Afghanistan. Adil Raja discusses Islamabad’s Afghanistan policy, the enduring influence of the intelligence services, the politics of militancy narratives, and why negotiations between Kabul and Islamabad so often collapse. The conversation also explores: - Who act...

In this episode, Sangar Paykhar speaks with Ahmad-Waleed Kakar, about his latest article exploring Pakistan’s deepening identity crisis. Triggered by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remark calling Mahmud of Ghazni a “plunderer”, the discussion unpacks how Pakistan is renegotiating its relationship with the very historical figures that once shaped its ideological foundations. Far more than a debate about medieval history, this conversation traces the crisis through Pakistan’s shifting ...

In this episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, Sangar Paykhar speaks with Muhammed Enes, Chief Editor of MEPA News, about how Turkish foreign policy understands Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the shifting geopolitics of the wider region. Enes explains why Turkish media initially echoed Islamabad’s narrative during the recent tensions along the Durand Line, how public opinion in Turkey began to reassess Pakistan’s role, and why Ankara now views Kabul with growing seriousness. The discussion also...

In this episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, host Sangar Paykhar speaks with American author and broadcaster Scott Horton, for a deep dive into the shifting geopolitical landscape of post-US-withdrawal Afghanistan and Pakistan. Horton, known for his libertarian critique of American interventionism and for books such as 'A Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan' and 'Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terror', discusses: - Afghanistan after 2021 - Pakistan’s inte...

In this Afghan Eye Podcast episode, host Sangar Paykhar speaks with Pakistani investigative journalist Waqas Ahmed about the 27th Constitutional Amendment, a move that could fundamentally reshape Pakistan’s political future. The discussion explores how this amendment, introduced on 8 November 2025, effectively elevates Field Marshal Asim Munir to an all-powerful, constitutionally protected position as Chief of Defence Forces, beyond civilian oversight. Critics say this change dismantles the ...

In this Afghan Eye Podcast, journalist Ali Mustafa joins Sangar Paykhar to explain how Pakistan’s military courted Donald Trump and how that diplomacy helped set the stage for today’s looming conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mustafa, a seasoned international journalist who has covered the Global War on Terror, reveals how Pakistan’s generals flattered and influenced Trump, shaping Washington’s Afghanistan. As tensions now rise along the Durand Line, this conversation exp...

Kabul’s water is vanishing and no one is coming to help. In this episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, host Sangar Paykhar speaks with environmental activist Sayedmuhammad Sulimankhil, co-founder of Samsoor Watan, about the terrifying scale of the water crisis in Afghanistan’s capital. From personal stories of water shortages to broken infrastructure, climate injustice, and international indifference, Sulimankhil paints a sobering portrait of a city on the verge of ecological collapse and ...

In this episode, host Sangar Paykhar sits down with renowned Indian scholar Dr Shanthie Mariet D’Souza to unpack India’s evolving strategy towards Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. With decades of fieldwork and policy research experience, Dr D’Souza offers a rare and candid insight into how New Delhi balances engagement with restraint. We explore: 🔹 Why India hasn’t recognised the Taliban 🔹 The realpolitik behind India’s regional policy 🔹 Afghanistan’s role in India’s Central...

In this powerful episode of the Afghan Eye podcast, host Sangar Paykhar speaks with renown Afghan journalist Ali Latifi about the deepening crisis facing Afghan refugees expelled from Iran. With first-hand reporting from the Islam Qala border and over 15 years covering displacement and migration, Ali shares harrowing testimonies from returnees—many of whom were beaten, robbed, and deported with nothing. From the racism Afghans face in Iran to the disarray they encounter back in Afghanis...

Join host Sangar Paykhar on the Afghan Eye Podcast as he sits down with veteran journalist Haq Nawaz Khan to unpack the fallout from Pakistan’s recent “Operation Sarbakaf” in Bajaur’s Mamund region and explore the shifting dynamics of Pakistan–Afghanistan relations since the rise of the Islamic Emirate in Kabul. 🔍 In this episode, you’ll hear: How the sudden three-day curfew and targeted strikes under Operation Sarbakaf have impacted local communitiesFirsthand civilian reactions and mass prot...

Join host Sangar Paykhar and Eurasian affairs analyst Eldaniz Gusseinov as they revisit the inaugural Termez Dialogue in southern Uzbekistan. In this episode, they explore how Afghanistan is poised to become the linchpin of trade, commercial growth and geopolitical shifts across Central Asia, Russia and South Asia. Key topics include: * Russia’s recognition of Afghanistan’s de facto authorities and the region’s great-power dynamics * Shared Silk Road heritage and people-to-p...

In this compelling episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, host Sangar Paykhar sits down with Mir-Ali Askerov, a political scientist from the Higher School of Economics in Saint Petersburg, to discuss the recent high-level Russian delegation visit to Kabul, led by Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia's Security Council. Together, they dive deep into the historical context of Russia-Afghanistan relations, the implications of Shoigu’s visit, and the broader geopolitical shifts at play. Key topics incl...

In this episode of the Afghan Eye podcast, hosts Sangar Paykhar and Ahmed-Waleed Kakar dive into the implications of Afghanistan’s attendance at the recent 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan. We discuss Afghanistan’s potential strategic interests, regional cooperation, and the impact of BRICS on a multipolar world order. Amid ongoing economic sanctions, political isolation, and recent infrastructure developments with BRICS members, what could Afghanistan gain from aligning with BRICS countries? We’ll...

On 18th March 2024, Afghanistan's remote and southeastern Paktika province found itself subject to aerial bombardment. The airstrikes, carried out in the early hours of the morning, were conducted by Pakistani military planes from across the Durand Line. A statement soon released by Islamabad confirmed the airstrikes, claiming these were in response to a recent a deadly TTP attack in Mir Ali, South Waziristan, that had killed scored of Pakistani troops. The target of the airstrikes was ...

Qatar again has served as the location for Afghanistan-centred gatherings. As a UN-convened conference kicked off, representatives from different countries, international bodies as well as Afghan civil society gathered in Doha as part of what was supposed to be a discussion on how to transition Afghanistan out of its state of diplomatic and legal isolation following the Taliban's takeover in 2021. More important than those who attended, as events transpired, were those who were absent. Follow...

Pakistan concluding fiercely contested elections amidst turmoil and mass claims of irregularities is only the latest development in an eventful 2024. The year has been similarly eventful for Afghanistan's foreign relations. On 29th January, the Taliban-led Afghan government organised an unprecedented conference in Kabul attended by the representatives of neighbouring and regional countries. These included India, Russia, Kazakhstan and China. Meanwhile, an interview of Pakistani interim Prime ...

Amidst deteriorating relations between Kabul and Islamabad, news emerged on 18th December. The Afghan ambassador to Pakistan confirmed that an invitation had been extended to Pakistani politician Maulana Fazlur Rahman to visit Kabul. The visit, according to many sources, was intended to defuse tensions between the neighbours; Fazlur Rahman, an influential politician and religious scholar, could mediate between the two. In Episode 5 of Season Two of The Afghan Eye podcast, Ahmed-Waleed Kakar ...

On 1st December 2023, the Taliban's ambassador was greeted by an official at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bilal Karimi formally presented his credentials to and was received by Hong Lei: the Director General of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Protocol Department. The picture was shared triumphantly by the Taliban on X (formerly known as Twitter) and thereafter quickly circulated across social media as it was reported by various global outlets. Analysts and commentators quickly jum...

On 24th November 2023, a conference was convened in the Russian capital of Moscow. Attendees included Russian politicians and an Iranian government representative. The conference was also attended by a number of exiled Afghan politicians: Shukria Barakzai, Fawzia Koofi, Muhammad Muhaqqiq, Ahmad Wali Massoud, and Ahmad Massoud. The event follows months of conflicting statements made by Russian officials about Afghanistan. In particular, Russian Special Envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov has r...

On 6th November 2023, senior and former American diplomat Annie Pforzheimer wrote an article for World Politics Review. In the article, Pforzheimer, who has previously worked extensively as an American diplomat in Afghanistan, highlighted the signs that the Biden Administration was mulling widening and upgrading its ties with the Taliban, now the government of Afghanistan. Pforzheimer argued that, based on lingering concerns regarding human rights as well as the Taliban's perceived ties to te...

On 2nd October 2023, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti announced that illegal immigrants residing in the country would be given one month to return to their home countries. Whilst not explicitly aimed at Afghans, the majority of projected deportees, roughly numbering 1.73 million, would be Afghans. Since 1st November, with the passage of a month's deadline, deportations have been carried out in earnest. Disturbing reports have surfaced; Afghans have been subject to physi...

In the beginning of April 2023, the Taliban notified the United Nation mission in Afghanistan that Afghan women are no longer permitted to work for the U.N. There are approximately 400 Afghan women who work for the U.N mission in Afghanistan. This decision was condemned by the international community and the U.N. is currently assessing whether to continue or halt all aid activities in Afghanistan. In this episode, Sangar is joined by seasoned conultant and academic Sepi Azarbaijani-Moghaddam...

A flurry of diplomatic activity over the past months has seen Afghan embassies and consulates in Iran and the UAE handed over to the new Afghan Taliban government. As this diplomatic momentum increases, reports circulate that Tajikistan, initially hostile to the Taliban government, is poised to follow suit and submit control of Afghan consular premises to the Taliban. What does this mean for the new Afghan government and its lack of recognition so far? What does it mean for Afghanista...

In this episode of The Afghan Eye podcast, Sangar hosts Jeff Rigsby. Jeff Rigsby was a US military contractor and aid worker during the occupation who is currently living in Afghanistan. Jeff sheds light in the lack of transparency in the Western NGO industry and details his experiences as an American living in the new, post-occupation, and Taliban-governed Afghanistan. Jeff Rigsby on Twitter: @JeffRigsby2 Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ♦ PayPal: https...

What is liberalism? What makes liberalism an aggressive ideology that motivates the militarism of Western states? How can dissecting liberalism help us understand the American occupation of Afghanistan? To answer these questions further, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar dive into The Great Delusion by the renowned political scientist Dr. John J. Mearsheimer. Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ♦ PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/afghaneye ♦ Instagram: https://...

The Afghan Eye is back! In 2023's first episode, Sangar interviews Ahmed-Waleed on his recent article on the history and legacy of politicised education in Afghanistan. Amidst increasing Taliban restrictions on Afghan women's right to work and a ban on female secondary and university education, the duo discuss predictions for the directions that could be taken by Afghanistan under the Taliban's government. The article: https://afghaneye.org/2022/12/21/afghanistan-girls-education/ Support th...

This episode of The Afghan Brief focuses on the three day long 'Scholar's Conference' gathered by the Taliban in Kabul and its 11-point Declaration. Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar discuss the assembly's Declaration, its lack of political inclusivity and the Declaration's reference to women's rights and modern education. and analyse why it wasn't labelled, as per national custom, a 'jirga'. Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ♦ PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/afgh...

Who is to blame for the current diplomatic deadlock between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the West? Have the Taliban really changed? Is there such thing as Taliban 2.0? If so, how and why is it different from Taliban 1.0? To discuss these questions and more, Ahmed-Waleed Kakar hosts former humanitarian aid worker Cathal Ó Gabhann (@AnOGabhannOg) to discuss his latest oped for the National Interest: 'The West is Getting Afghanistan Wrong, Again'. Cathal Ó Gabhann has s...

In the third episode of The Afghan Brief, the latest issue of national significance from Afghanistan is discussed. Sangar and Ahmed-Waleed dissect the convening of a grand assembly of three thousand religious scholars and tribal elders from across Afghanistan. They analyse the name given to the gathering, the ambiguity surrounding its stated purpose, the lack of female participation and its potential effects on the Afghan government and Afghanistan going forth. Support the show ♦ Patreon: htt...

In the second episode of The Afghan Brief, Sangar and Ahmed-Waleed discuss ongoing rescue efforts by the Afghan government and the international reaction to a devastating earthquake in Afghanistan's southeast Loya Paktia region. They also discuss the crippling constraints posed by continued US sanctions on Afghanistan, as well as the earthquake's potentially accelerating pre-existing geopolitical and regional trends. Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ...

On the first ever episode of The Afghan Brief, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar cover the latest news coming out of Afghanistan, including a travel ban on two officials of the Afghan government. They also discuss signs of seemingly warming ties between Westminster and Kabul. Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ♦ PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/afghaneye ♦ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afghaneyeinsta/ ♦ X: https://X.com/AfgEye ♦ Spotify: https://t...

What the Afghan national identity? Where does nationalism and ethno-nationalism come from? How should we interpret the call for partition by some fringe groups online? In this episode, host Sangar Paykhar and Historian Ahmed-Waleed Kakar attempt to answer all these questions. Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ♦ PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/afghaneye ♦ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afghaneyeinsta/ ♦ X: https://X.com/AfgEye ♦ Sp...

Gulmakai Saleh: https://gulmakai.com/ https://twitter.com/GulmakaiSaleh https://www.youtube.com/user/gulmakai https://www.instagram.com/gulmakaisaleh/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/gulmakai-saleh-937a82a3/ https://www.facebook.com/GulmakaiSaleh/ Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ♦ PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/afghaneye ♦ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afghaneyeinsta/ ♦ X: https://X.com/AfgEye ♦ Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yb4sz7bh&nb...

After the fall of the previous regime on 15 August, the Taliban are now the de facto government of Afghanistan. Sangar Paykhar spoke to professor Ashok Swain about the prospects of a government led by the Taliban. Ashok Swain is a Professor of Peace and Conflict Research, UNESCO Chair of International Water Cooperation, and the Director of Research School of International Water Cooperation at Uppsala University. He has been a Mac Arthur Visiting Fellow at the University of Chicago, Fel...

Ahmed-Waleed Kakar & Sangar Paykhar discuss the subsequent fall of provincial capitals in Northern Afghanistan, the UN Security Council discussion about Aghanistan, the demand from Kabul to sanction Pakistan and Sun Tzu's the Art of War's application to current situation in Afghanistan. Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ♦ PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/afghaneye ♦ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afghaneyeinsta/ ♦ X: https://X....

Habib Wardak is a political analyst who graduated with an MA in Defence and Strategic Studies from the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies in the University of Pune. He worked as a lecturer at Kardan University's Department of International Relations and has extensive experience working with the international community in Afghanistan. Most recently, he worked as a senior official at the Afghan Ministry of Defence; a job he left for ethical reasons. In this episode, Ahmed-Waleed ...

In the 25th episode of The Afghan Eye Podcast, Sangar and Ahmed-Waleed host Fatima Ayub: a senior political analyst with over two decades of experience working on Afghanistan in organisations like Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group and the European Council for Foreign Relations. Sangar asks Fatima about what drove her, as an Afghan woman, to study about Afghanistan, as well as the fallacies Fatima encountered when working within international organisations with regard to Afg...

On April 28th 1978, Afghanistan witnessed the Saur Revolution. The Saur Revolution was the name given to the communist coup d'etat launched against Afghanistan's first President: Sardar Muhammad Daud Khan, who was killed alongside 20 of his family members. The Saur Revolution inaugurated a dark period of Afghan history, plunging the country into a war from which it is yet to recover. On the 43rd anniversary of the Saur Revolution, by popular demand, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar dissect and ...

Sangar and Ahmed-Waleed host Dr. William Ruger: Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and Vice President for Research and Policy at the Charles Koch Institute. Dr. Ruger was President Trump's nominee for US Ambassador to Afghanistan and was also recently published in NYT with an op-ed titled ‘Why President Biden Must Withdraw From Afghanistan’. Dr. William Ruger's Twitter handle: @WillRuger Some of the topics Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar quiz Dr. Ruger are: 1) Dr. Ruger's...

The founder of the Afghan Eye: Ahmed-Waleed Kakar, recently published his seminal article on the Durand Line. Within just a week, the article became the most read article on The Afghan Eye website, receiving widespread praise from all quarters and from all around the world. In this episode, Sangar hosts Ahmed-Waleed, asking about some of the criticism his article received, and Ahmed-Waleed expands on issues surrounding the Durand Line. Link: https://afghaneye.org/2021/03/28/the-...

On 3rd February 2021, the Afghanistan Study Group published a report recommending the Biden administration to keep US troops in Afghanistan past the May deadline. This will effectively violate the US-Taliban Agreement signed in February 2020. Ahmed-Waleed Kakar and Sangar Paykhar scrutinize the report, its key arguments, the implications of its suggested courses of action, and the motivation of its authors. Link to the report: https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/02/afghanistan-study...

Afghan photographer and journalist Lynzy Billing reports from Afghanistan and Iraq. Her most recent scoop was about a Taliban attack on Camp Chapman, a CIA base in Khost province of Afghanistan. Lynzy, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar discuss the way Afghanistan is being covered by local and international news organizations, the role of Afghan women in media portrayals of Afghanistan and the Afghan peace process. You can follow Lynzy's work here: https://www.instagram.com/lynzybil...

In this episode, we are reviewing Barnett Rubin's latest book. Our guest is Suzanne Schroeder, an independent researcher on Afghanistan. Dr. Barnett R. Rubin's book is titled: ‘Afghanistan: What Everyone Needs to Know’. This episode contains a song based on Quincy Jones titled 'Back on the block'. UMG (on behalf of Universal Music Enterprises); Warner Chappell, ASCAP, ARESA, CMRRA, LatinAutorPerf, Abramus Digital, LatinAutor - PeerMusic, BMG Rights Management (US), LLC, and 3 mu...

Hamid Helmandi, a specialist in urban development and agriculture, was the cofounder of the First Afghanistan Construction Company along with the family members of former president Hamid Karzai. Helmandi tells his story of being involved in a state of the art urban development project called Ayno Mina in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province. Below are links to Hamid Helmandi, his current position and news articles related to his story. Abdul Hamid Helmandi,...

King Amanullah Khan is hailed by many for his reforms and his progressiveness. Ahmed-Waleed Kakar and Sangar Paykhar take a closer look at Amanullah Khan's reforms and how they have led to the downfall of his reign in 1929. ♦ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afgeyeinsta/ ♦ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfgEye ♦ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afgeyeFB/ ♦ Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yb4sz7bh ♦ Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/ycjlytsz ♦ Google Po...

In this episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar comment on president Ashraf Ghani's announcement of holding a Consultative Loya Jirga to discuss the issue of the last 400 Talib prisoners pending release as per US-Taliban Peace Agreement. They firstly break down what a Jirga actually is, the role it has played in the evolution of Afghan society and how Afghan governments since the 18th century have saught to use the legitimacy of the Jirga as an institutio...

In this episode, Ahmed-Waleed Kakar and Sangar Paykhar are hosting Amina Khan. She is the Director Centre for Middle East & Africa (CMEA) at the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISSI), Islamabad, where she oversees research and advocacy-related work on all facets of CMEA. Prior to this, she served as a Research Fellow and a Senior Research Fellow at the ISSI, focusing on Afghanistan and FATA. Amina Khan has a Masters degree in Democracy, Politics and Governance (DPG) from Royal Holloway Un...

Our guest in this episode is Nikko Norte. He a former member of the Dutch Commando Corps served in Afghanistan as part of the Dutch mission in Uruzgan province. Nikko Norte has recently published a book in Dutch about his experience in Afghanistan titled 'Onvoorspelbaar Verleden'. The title translated into English is 'Unpredictable Past'. Nikko Norte's website: https://en.nikkonorte.com/ Nikko Norte's publisher: https://webwinkel.uitgeverijprometheus.nl/book/nikko-norte Nikko...

Sangar and Ahmed-Waleed host an American war veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan. He has recently published his first book titled: 'Un-American: A Soldier's Reckoning of Our Longest War'. For more information, please visit Edstrom's website: https://www.enedstrom.com/ Please support consider supporting the Afghan Eye. Visit our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/afghaneye-to-37388126 Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ♦ PayPal: https://www.paypal....

John Bolton, former National Security Advisor of Donald Trump has written a book title'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir'. Ahmed-Waleed Kakar and Sangar Paykhar review the book and focus on what John Bolton has written about Afghanistan. Support the show ♦ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Afgeye ♦ PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/afghaneye ♦ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afghaneyeinsta/ ♦ X: https://X.com/AfgEye ♦ Spotify: https://tinyurl.c...

In this episode, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar discuss the recent assassinations of two very prominent imams in Kabul. Ayaz Niazi of Wazir Akbar Khan Masjid and Azizullah Mufleh of Sher Shah Suri Masjid were both assassinated inside their masjids. Sangar and Ahmed-Waleed also reflect on the first 10 episodes and discuss what they have learned from our previous guests. At the end of the show, there is a big announcement but since you are reading this, it means you already know what they're go...