Abubakar Siddique, a journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, specializes in the coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is the author of The Pashtun Question: The Unresolved Key To The Future Of Pakistan And Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has officially backed Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a move seen as an effort to advance its long-standing irredentist claims over Pashtun regions in neighboring Pakistan.
A break in suspected U.S. drone strikes against Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders in northwestern Pakistan appears to be helping Islamabad's efforts to negotiate peace with the insurgents.
As NATO troops wind down more than a decade of combat operations in Afghanistan, it is increasingly likely that some version of political Islam will be central to politics and governance in the country for the foreseeable future.
