by AT editors,
The month of March produced a rash of frictions between the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Barbs escalated into open allegations of subterfuge, undermining of the peace process and support of the Taliban against the other. Cross-border visits by parliamentarians and military officials were cancelled. The developments are typical of clashes that sullied bilateral relations in recent years. But while these get thrashed out at an inter-governmental level, daily routine goes on for millions of people who live across a shared and historically disputed frontier. In a new series of stories, Afghanistan Today looks at life across the borderline. read more
Af-Pak focus: Class across the border
Af-Pak focus: Class across the border
by Naqib Ahmad Atal & Aftab Ahmad, Torkham/Nangarhar/
Among the daily traffic at Torkham there is a separate flow of pedestrians who occupy a special niche in the often strained relations between the neighbouring states: hundreds of Afghan children who have to go abroad to attend school. read more
Af-Pak focus: Dice roll at Chaman
Af-Pak focus: Dice roll at Chaman
by Hayat Kakar and Nang Durrani, Chaman/Kandahar
Every day, around 9,000 people from southern Afghanistan pour into Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province through Chaman, a border crossing town located 126 kilometres from Quetta. Around half of them pass between the countries without valid travel documents, some to visit family, others to do business, all of them taking their chances on one of the world's most volatile, strategically vital and arbitrarily policed frontiers. read more
Af-Pak focus: There's drama in the air
Af-Pak focus: There's drama in the air
by Ataullah Khan and Fareedoone Aryan , Peshawar/Kabul
While music still accounts for most content of radio broadcasters, Pashtun dramas have come into their own on both sides of the border, pushing the limits and shaping public and private debate. In the last of our current Af-Pak focus series, Afghanistan Today looks at radio as a springboard for discussion of current events and some testing issues. read more
by Asghar Noor Mohammed , Pul-e Khumri
A coalmine that once employed 12,000 people 50 years ago now employs less than 1,000. It runs with dilapidated machinery and sees hundreds of men go deep into the earth with nothing but faith and a helmet. Asghar Noor Mohammed felt the dust firsthand in the Karkar mine in Pul-i-Khumri. read more
Af-Pak focus: Running the trade gauntlet
Af-Pak focus: Running the trade gauntlet
by Haqmal Masoodzai & Arif Shafi, Paktia/Peshawar
Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan is increasing steadily by the year. But the risks and challenges for entrepreneurs trading across the border grow accordingly as everyone with a pocket to fill zeroes in on the flow of goods. read more
Af-Pak focus: The final journey
Af-Pak focus: The final journey
by Zarwali Khoshnood and Arman Khan, Khost/Peshawar
Images of flag draped, repatriated coffins of soldiers became all too familiar in recent years. But what of the large numbers of insurgent dead, and especially those whose remains must be transported home across the border to Pakistan for burial? Formal and informal channels exist to perform this fundamental rite, bringing closure and even peace to grieving families. read more
Af-Pak focus: Soft hands, hard labour
Af-Pak focus: Soft hands, hard labour
by Farid Shinwari and Naqib Ahmad Atal, Torkham, Afghan-Pakistani border
State authorities and child welfare NGOs say they are working to eradicate child labour in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But at the busy border crossing point at Torkham, the practice and associated ills such as sexual abuse of minors seem impervious to efforts to curb them. read more
by Naqib Ahmad Atal, Jalalabad
Nicknamed 'Bulldozer' for his rampant pace with reconstruction projects, Nangarhar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai now faces increasing scrutiny and local opposition over alleged abuse of office. Hundreds of opposition figures, but also Sherzai's supporters, demonstrated in the streets of Jalalabad in recent days over the Bulldozer's future at the provincial helm. read more
Af-Pak focus: The repatriation question
Af-Pak focus: The repatriation question
by Khalil Rahman Omaid & A Zia, Lashkar Gah/Peshawar
An estimated three million Afghan refugees live in Pakistan. The Pakistani government encourages a policy of 'voluntary repatriation,' but the realities show that for many it is far more complicated than just going 'home'. especially when they've never been there before. read more
Af-Pak focus: Migrants of academia
Af-Pak focus: Migrants of academia
by Abdul Qayum Afridi and Nang Durrani, Kandahar/Peshawar/Jalalabad
Afghanistan's higher education landscape is slowly improving. But students say methods, resources and language make moving east across the border to Pakistan a better study and career prospect. Unless you are a Pakistani lecturer looking for work, in which case, go west. read more
Beyond the borders: Tajikistan and Pakistan
Beyond the borders: Tajikistan and Pakistan
by Fakhriddin Kholbek and Nick Allen, Dushanbe/Berlin
Afghanistan Today takes its journalists abroad at the start of new projects that tie in with two of the country's neighbours. With an introduction by AT chief editor Nick Allen, Fakhriddin Kholbek, a veteran Tajik journalist with extensive experience of working in Afghanistan, presents AT's cross-border focus on Tajikistan. read more
by Khushqadam Usmani, Faizabad
Deemed to restore the tarnished reputation of a husband or family, so-called honour killings are rarer today in Afghanistan. But they still occur and highlight the darker sides of family and community relations. One village in Badakhshan is now at the centre of a police investigation over the suspected honour killing of a young woman over her stormy marriage. read more
by Zafar Shah Rouyee, Kabul
In the past 11 years, the Taliban movement has seized every opportunity to advance its struggle for control of Afghanistan, up to and including the assassination of government and security officials inside mosques. Now these places of worship have become both targets and, depending on their proximity to strategic objects, security strongholds in themselves. read more
Af-Taj focus: Tajik terror comes of age
Af-Taj focus: Tajik terror comes of age
by Tilav Rasulzoda, Khujand
After 20 years of upheavals and deprivation, from civil war to rampant poverty to kidnappings by human trafficking rings, a new generation of militant Tajik youth has reached maturity. And it appears to be increasingly active in the conflict in Afghanistan. read more
by Afghanistan Today journalists, Various Afghan provinces
While the war between Afghan and NATO troops versus insurgent groups rages around them, most Afghans are busy with another day of work. From marble cutters to female thespians, Afghanistan Today journalists present a cross-section of the Afghan workforce. read more
by Sada Soltani and Riffat Anjum, Mazar-e Sharif/Peshawar
Hundreds of female journalists now work in radio, print and TV in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. And despite cultural constraints on their talking to strange men or even driving a car, especially in conservative Pashtun areas, they still tough it out in one of the world's most demanding media environments. read more
by Sada Soltani and Riffat Anjum, Mazar-e Sharif/Peshawar
by Sada Soltani and Riffat Anjum, Mazar-e Sharif/Peshawar
by Sada Soltani and Riffat Anjum, Mazar-e Sharif/Peshawar
by Sada Soltani and Riffat Anjum, Mazar-e Sharif/Peshawar
by Sada Soltani and Riffat Anjum, Mazar-e Sharif/Peshawar