Mustafa Qadri

The US-led occupation of Afghanistan has transformed the once-reviled Taliban into freedom fighters for the Pashtun people

Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 16 May 2010 13:00 BST

They may be repressive fanatics who enslave women and give sanctuary to al-Qaida, but the US-led occupation of Afghanistan has transformed the Taliban into Pashtun freedom fighters. There are two principal reasons for this.

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With the recent capture of three high profile Taliban commanders, is Pakistan’s relationship to the insurgency changing, asks Mustafa Qadri

In what appears to be a major shift in the war against the Taliban, a joint raid by Pakistani and American security forces has captured the insurgents’ most senior military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.

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Negotiating with the Taliban is too little, too late – western allies need to fix the socioeconomic mess started long before 9/11

Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Monday 8 February 2010 08.00 GMT

Memory spans are short in modern politics, but even by those standards the relative ease with which the discourse on Afghanistan has shifted from fighting the Taliban to negotiating with them is remarkable.

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If the West needed a credible election in Afghanistan to help prove that its war there is a good idea, it sure didn’t get it, writes Mustafa Qadri

In the wake of last week’s seriously flawed election in Afghanistan, NATO staff have expressed their “desperation” to pull out of the country.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an analyst with close contacts inside NATO headquarters in Brussels cited plunging domestic support within member countries for the war, as well as the worsening violence inside Afghanistan as factors contributing to their desire to end military involvement.

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The following report for The Guardian, published today, looks at the recent meetings between the Presidents of the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan in Washington D.C. and the risks to civilians caught up in the war with the Taliban:

‘Collateral damage’ in AfPak hurts the US too

The bombardment of civilians in Afghanistan undermines the security credentials of western forces in the region

o Mustafa Qadri
o guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 May 2009 16.30 BST

The timing may have been a disaster for Washington, but for villagers in Afghanistan’s south it was far worse. A day after a US bombing killed up to 120 civilians in Afghanistan’s southern Farah province, President Obama asked the visiting presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari, to step up their attacks on Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

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A senior UN official says it will be nearly impossible to hold credible elections in Afghanistan in April, as ordered by President Karzai.

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Here, published in NewMatilda.com today, is an analysis of the recent Taliban suicide attack on Kabul and the build of US troops in the country.

“It’s Like Fighting Quick Sand”

As Obama commits another 17,000 US troops to the flagging US war effort in Afghanistan, a commando-style attack by the Taliban in Kabul serves as a reminder of the challenges that lie ahead, writes Mustafa Qadri

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The credibility of the international mission in Afghanistan was dealt a blow yesterday with the announcement that presidential elections have been put back by three months.

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My latest article, on US policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan under President Obama, was published in NewMatilda.com today:

From War on Terror to Plain Old War

Early signs suggest an escalation of the Bush administration’s policies on Afghanistan and Pakistan under the new President, writes Mustafa Qadri

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Mr Baheen said the Afghan government was committed to establishing rule of law. However, its efforts were being undermined as “the international community, including some powerful Nato member countries, has their own favourite warlords” who they back against the Karzai government, he charged.

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Afghanistan and Pakistan Take Centre Stage Called ‘the central front’ by Barack Obama, Pakistan and Afghanistan have endured another year of turmoil, writes Mustafa Qadri. My latest piece for The Diplomat magazine is a review of the political and security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan this year. It is available on subscription from their website [...]

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The following article, a year in review of the countries I’ve covered in 2008, was published in NewMatilda.com today:

Silver Linings in Short Supply

From the Holy Land to South Asia, violence remained a constant in 2008, reports Mustafa Qadri. Will elections in Palestine and Israel – and the inauguration of Obama – promote dialogue or further violence?

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The U.S. is actively considering talks with elements of the Taliban, the armed Islamist group that once ruled Afghanistan and sheltered al Qaeda, in a major policy shift that would have been unthinkable a few months ago.

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Statement by His Excellency Hamid Karzai President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan At the 15th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Colombo, Sri Lanka 02 August 2008 Please Check Against Delivery Your Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Excellencies Heads of State and Government, Distinguished Delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you, [...]

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