South Asia

The Islamist Taliban government has defended banning FM radio broadcasts from two U.S.-funded news media, including the Voice of America, in Afghanistan, alleging they were offending local laws. The ban on VOA and Azadi Radio, an Afghan extension of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, or RFE/RL, went into effect Thursday, a …

In India’s western state of Gujarat, voters began choosing a new state government on Thursday in an election where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to cruise to an easy victory. Political analysts say that while there is disenchantment with the BJP in a state that it …

Kashmiri apple growers are demanding that the Indian government take strong action to stop the alleged illicit movement of Iranian apples through Afghanistan to markets in India, saying the practice is depressing prices and undermining a $150 million (12 billion Indian rupees) in annual regional industry. The growers say there …

Taliban authorities have announced a ban on VOA and RFE/RL radio broadcasts on FM stations in Afghanistan, citing complaints they have received about programming content.  The ban will be enforced on December 1, according to a directive issued by the Taliban’s ministry of information and culture.  Taliban spokespeople have not …

After playing an outsized role during the nearly two-decade-long U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, Pakistan was not included in the Biden administration’s national security strategy this year. Sarah Zaman looks at how U.S.-Pakistan ties evolved in 2022 and the impact of U.S-China competition on stability in South Asia.

Democracy is being degraded around the world because people are losing faith in the legitimacy of elections and see freedom of expression being stymied, among a range of other problems, according to a global body founded to promote democracy worldwide. The 34 member-country International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, …

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Wednesday that at least 15 students were killed and 27 others wounded when a bomb ripped through a religious school, or madras, in northern Samangan province. Imdadullah Mahajer, the head of provincial information and culture directorate, confirmed the casualties to VOA by phone. He did …

A suicide bombing of a police truck in southwestern Pakistan early Wednesday killed at least four people and injured 24 others, mostly police officers.    The outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.    Ghulam …

Pakistan’s new military chief, General Asim Munir, took command Tuesday of the country’s nuclear-equipped armed forces amid renewed threats of terrorism and growing calls for him to take the powerful institution out of politics. The former head of the country’s main spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), assumed his three-year stint …

Ajmal Zazai, who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover, now runs a store in San Antonio, Texas, selling traditional Afghan clothes and carpets For VOA, Zabiullah Ghazi has the story, narrated by Nazrana Yousufzai. Roshan Noorzai contributed.