Dr. Saleem Ali, Director of IEDS, proposes in an article this week that the West should consider the possibility of granting the Taliban its own autonomous Islamic republic in the historically conservative border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. By doing so, the Taliban would be forced to “prove their political bona fides”, and shoulder the burden of governing – with all its complexities and pressure towards moderation. Dr. Ali’s article, “The Islamic Republic of Talibanistan”, is available here.
