The negotiations that led to an expected deal between the U.S. and the Taliban excluded the Afghan government. But Afghan officials are waiting with hope –- and concern — for the next step

Afghanistan held a presidential election in September, but the result was contested. The incumbent has been declared the winner, but the challenger says he'll form a parallel government.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban says a peace deal with the United States will be signed by the end of the month. Its chief spokesman said this would be preceded by a period of reduced violence.

The United States and the Taliban appear to be taking the first steps towards an Afghan peace deal.

Hundreds of Pakistani students have been stuck for weeks in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic. They say Pakistan is refusing to evacuate them as not to embarrass its powerful ally, China.

In the far northern region of snow-capped peaks, glaciers, rivers and orchards, domestic visitors are earning a bad reputation.

The short documentary is called Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're A Girl. "This movie is my love letter to the brave girls of that country," says director Carol Dysinger.

Copies of a new Urdu edition of Mohammed Hanif's 2008 novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, were seized Monday. Rights groups say it's another sign that freedom of expression is threatened in Pakistan.

Environmental advocates in smog-choked Lahore say the Pakistani government has long downplayed the problem of air pollution. That might be changing.

The Pakistani city of Lahore has some of the world's worst air pollution. For years the government played down the extent of the problem. Now activists are pushing back.

Pakistan and China are hoping to transform the Karakoram Highway into a vital trade link that connects China to the Arabian Sea and beyond.

If you want to know where the world's demographics are trending, look at the babies born this New Year's Day.

Over half those births will happen in just eight countries, according to the U.N. agency.

A few years ago, Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif wrote A Case of Exploding Mangoes, a novel that lampooned the Pakistani military. Now, it's been translated into Urdu, Pakistan's national language.

Former Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf was sentenced to death in absentia. The sentence was handed down by a court for treason over his 2007 imposition of emergency rule.

Defending the former leader, a military spokesperson says that someone who "served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the defense of the country can surely never be a traitor."

The Karakoram Highway revamp is a key part of China's trade and infrastructure initiative in the region, and local communities' expectations are high.

We remember the life of Tetsu Nakamura, a Japanese doctor who dedicated decades of his life to helping people in Afghanistan. He was killed by gunmen in eastern Afghanistan earlier this week.

Locals in Pakistan's northern highlands call tourists "guests," often welcoming them into their homes. But with domestic tourists nearly outnumbering locals, patience is wearing thin.

Pollution and global warming are causing glaciers to melt and form unstable lakes in the north of the country. NPR visits a valley where farms were destroyed by glacial floods.