🐅🐆The human toll of big-cat conservation – Southasia Weekly #102
This week, new reporting revealed a rift within the Taliban, and the real story behind why the internet blackout in Afghanistan in September 2025 only lasted two days. We felt this story deserved more attention, as it’s a rare story of rebellion against Taliban leadership, and provides us the opportunity to shine a light on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. We hope that you value our coverage of the region – and we hope you’ll sign up to our Patron programme, and support our work!
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This week in Himal
Aditi Vajpeyi writes about the human costs of Madhya Pradesh’s tiger and cheetah reserves, with state officials violating forest protection laws and the rights of Adivasi forest-dwellers in the name of receiving wildlife and conservation funds.
This week in Southasia
A rift deepens within the Taliban leadership
This week, investigative reports revealed the reason that Afghanistan’s internet blackout in September 2025 lasted only two days, in the process exposing a deepening rift within the Taliban leadership as Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada clashed with more pragmatic commanders over his harsh policies. Two distinct groups have emerged within Taliban leadership – one loyal to Akhundzada and his vision of a strict Islamic Emirate, and a second group of powerful Taliban members based in Kabul, including Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who want to engage with the world outside Afghanistan, build the country’s economy and allow women and girls access to education. It was the Kabul faction which intervened when the Taliban imposed a nationwide internet blackout in September 2025, which the regime claimed was due to damaged fibre optic lines, restoring internet access after public backlash – a rare example of rebellion against Akhundzada’s leadership. In a newly released audio clip Akhundzada warned that internal disagreements would lead to the fall of the emirate.
Since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, Afghans have faced economic collapse, mass displacement, and sporadic violence from rival militant groups like Islamic State Khorasan Province, exemplified by a recent Kabul hotel explosion that killed six Afghans and a Chinese national, with Chinese citizens increasingly being targeted by the Islamic State. Akhundzada’s ultra-conservative stance, including on women’s access to education, is a further point of internal strain for the regime, alienating the more pragmatic leadership figures in Kabul and risking governance paralysis amidst Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, with over 21 million people reportedly in urgent need of assistance in 2026.
Elsewhere in Southasia:
Kashmir-based journalists from The Indian Express and Hindustan Times summoned to Srinagar police station after reporting on police profiling of mosques, asked to sign pledge vowing not to “disturb peace”; government criticised for intimidation of journalists
67 people lose their lives, 84 reported missing after mall fire in Karachi, Pakistan
India and United Arab Emirates sign bilateral trade and defence agreement in wake of Pakistan-China joint arms deals with Saudi Arabia, North African countries
Maldives president contests UK efforts to return Chagos Islands to Mauritius after UN tribunal, reiterates Maldives’ claim as US condemns any change in sovereignty to US-British military base site ‘’
India withdraws family members of embassy personnel in Bangladesh, citing safety concerns ahead of elections
Fire in Rohingya refugee camp displaces over 2000 in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh as USAID funding gap leaves humanitarian infrastructure vulnerable
Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah resigns, declared as Rastriya Swatantra Party candidate contesting former PM KP Sharma Oli as Nepali Congress rallies around Gagan Thapa ahead of 5 March elections
Man accused of taking part in 2017 murder of Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh wins spot in Maharashtra municipal corporation after being granted bail in 2024
Pakistan joins US-led Board of Peace committee on Gaza, strengthening Trump’s challenge to multilateral UN ceasefire efforts, India has received invite but has not accepted or rejected the offer
20-year-old victim of 2023 Manipur gang rape dies from sustained injuries, drawing renewed attention to treatment of women in the state, lack of accountability
Kerala woman who publicly accused man of sexual assault on social media arrested after he took his life on 18 January, generating conversations about cyber-harassment
Revisit the below archival stories from Himal adding more context to this week's news updates from Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh