There is a strange tragedy that keeps repeating itself in Afghanistan. Nations suffer, learn, rise and move forward, yet the Afghan story seems trapped in a circle that keeps pulling it back toward the flames. It was never written in the fate of Afghans that they must forever mourn and bleed. Their destiny could still change if they embraced the structures of a modern, interconnected world. The question is how long the region and the wider world can afford to wait for that awakening.

Fresh evidence suggests that Afghanistan is rapidly turning into a sanctuary for international terrorist groups once again. The signs are neither subtle nor scattered. They are open, frequent and increasingly dangerous, stretching far beyond Pakistan that has long carried the heaviest burden of Afghan-based militancy.

The most recent example came on 27 November, when a quadcopter launched from Afghan soil targeted Chinese workers in Tajikistan. This attack validated a fear that has been steadily growing among regional intelligence agencies: Afghanistan is becoming a hub for transnational militant networks that are now projecting violence outward.

LHC grants bail to cleric Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza in blasphemy case

Only a day earlier, another alarming incident unfolded in Washington, DC. An Afghan immigrant killed two National Guard........

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