Afghanistan: Taliban Border Control Puts a Chokehold on Kabul

The Taliban now controls more Afghan border crossings than the government in Kabul, the latest sign the militant outfit is winning a strategic upper hand in the country. In many areas where the Taliban has seized control border trade has come to a halt, a strangulation strategy that will cut Kabul’s revenues and supplies. The Taliban has taken control over as many as seven big and small freight transport routes with a combined import-export volume of US$2.9 billion in Herat, Farha, Kandahar, Kunduz, Takhar and Badakhshan provinces linking Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, according to recent reports. President Ashraf Ghani’s…