U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban and a former deputy to Mullah Omar. Baradar, who spent years in a Pakistani prison, is the Taliban’s political chief and was the head negotiator in talks with the United States. The Taliban’s burgeoning financial might could make the militant group immune to pressure from the international community as it negotiates a role in post-war Afghanistan, according to a confidential report commissioned by NATO and obtained by RFE/RL.

in Diplomacy