The rugged borderlands of northwestern Pakistan have long had a reputation for lawlessness and militancy, labeled by President Barack Obama as “the most dangerous place in the world.” The Pakistani government, facing global scrutiny over the presence of groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, moved in 2018 to …
In a chilly auditorium in Afghanistan, heaps of freshly mined green emeralds glowed under bright table lamps as bearded gemstone dealers inspected them for purity and quality. An auctioneer asked for bids on the first lot, which weighed 256 carats. With that, the Taliban’s weekly gemstone auction was underway. These …
They draw millions of poor Pakistani children with the simple promise of free education, meals and housing. For devout families, they offer Islamic learning rooted in ancient tradition. But to the Pakistani government and Western counterterrorism officials, the religious seminaries known as madrasas also represent a potential threat. The institutions …
When news of the historic, multi-country prisoner swap resulting in the release of three Americans who had been detained in Russia broke last week, Anna Corbett absorbed it slowly, fighting back tears. “People kept texting me, emailing me about it, saying, ‘Oh, we wish it were Ryan,’” she said. “It …