Diplomatic Cross

So-called Islamic State began to appear in what it calls Khorasan (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, Iran, and India) in 2014. Reports of its presence were at first dismissed as propaganda, but during 2015 it became clear that IS had a serious presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan at least. In June 2014, when the Islamic State (IS) declared itself to be a caliphate, with Abu Bakr al Baghdadi as its leader, there was barely presence of the extremist group outside its immediate area of influence in Syria and Iraq. However, in just over a year, the IS has grown into a terror organization with presence across the globe and a sanctuary in Syria and Iraq. The IS sees itself to be a worldwide caliphate with a territorial claim from Spain to Eastern India and Bangladesh. The ‘Khorasan Province’ of the caliphate engulfs India, Pakistan and other neighboring nations.  The Islamic State’s Khorasan province (IS-K) is led by a core of former Ban Tehrik-e-Taliban ...

President Ashraf Ghani  Image: DOD/US Air Force Staff Sgt. Jette Carr Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani declared a provisional three-month ceasefire with the Taliban in a televised broadcast. Kabul-Anticipation had been mounting ahead of Ghani’s speech following mixed signals from the presidential palace over whether the government would offer a fresh truce – following a brief ceasefire in June. Pakistan Fully support, recent peace initiatives in Afghanistan “The conditional ceasefire will start tomorrow and it will continue as long as the Taliban preserves and respects it,” Ghani said on Sunday, August 19, Reuters reported. Ghani said the ceasefire, which begins on the Eid al-Adha holiday, would continue until the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday which Afghanistan celebrates on November 21, AFP reported. Ghani said his administration removed “all obstacles” to peace with the announcement following consultations with religious scholars, political parties and...