Philip Reeves

NPR's Philip Reeves remembers Zabihullah Tamanna, a brave Afghan journalist who brought compassion to his work. Tamanna was killed along with NPR photojournalist David Gilkey in Afghanistan on Sunday.

With a shaky government at the helm, Afghanistan confronts a tanking economy, a widening war with the Taliban, rampant corruption and the departure of thousands seeking a better life abroad.

Pakistan has a democratically elected government, but the power of the army is growing and so is that of the man who runs it.

A teenage girl in a burqa steps out and takes the microphone. She launches into a tirade about the lack of girl's education in her home town of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. In Pakistan, it's unusual for a young girl speak out. It's very rare for her to do so in front of Pakistan's most powerful man, the chief of the armed forces. The general came to Gwadar to listen to people debate a multi-billion plan to make the port a centerpiece of a new "silk road" trading route to China.

President Obama apologized for the attack on a hospital. But six months after the bombing, victims say they're facing a complicated bureaucratic process over compensation.

At least 28 people were killed and more than 320 injured in a suicide car bombing and an assault by armed militants in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on a key government security agency.

A week ago, the Taliban announced they were launching their annual spring offensive in Afghanistan. Tuesday morning, a suicide bomber was followed by gunmen who staged an attack in Kabul.

A crew that thrives on kidnapping and ransom was far more deeply entrenched on an island in the Indus River than expected. Authorities are even considering airstrikes to dislodge the criminals.

It's been six months since 42 people were killed when U.S. forces bombed a hospital in northern Afghanistan. The injured and families of the dead are to receive condolence money of up to $6,000.

The worsening situation with Afghanistan's national unity government triggered a mass exodus of young Afghans. Yet some are staying, hoping to save their nation by pressing for change from within.

Tens of thousands of religious protesters descended on Islamabad and demanded the government keep strict blasphemy laws in place. They left only after they said the government provided assurances.

When the Pakistani government is worried, they turn off phones in the capital city. The phones are blacked out because of the sudden arrival of 2,000 religious extremists protesting the hanging of a murderer.

In the wake of the suicide bombing in Lahore, Pakistanis are struggling to come to terms with the violence. The blast in a park killed more than 70 people and wounded more than 300 others.

In Lahore, at least 70 people were killed by a suicide bomber on Sunday. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. It says its target was Christians, but Muslims were also killed.

A blast believed to have been detonated by a suicide bomber ripped through a park in Lahore, Pakistan, near the children's swings, killing at least 65 people who were enjoying a Sunday off.

Some 150,000 Afghan migrants arrived in Germany last year. But the Germans estimate more than half won't qualify for asylum. A small number have turned around and headed home.

Mohammed Sayed is not one of those people who particularly relish the prospect of hitting young men on the butt with a big stick.

But he is certainly prepared to do so to defend the girls and women who frequent the neatly groomed, palm-dotted municipal park in the Pakistani city ...

Young people's attitude toward sex and relationships is profoundly unhealthy, a study shows. Attention has been paid to women's issues but less so about how young men learn to interact with women.

In Pakistan, there aren't a whole lot of stand-up comics.

"When it comes to satire, I think as a culture, we kind of struggle with it," says Pakistani stand-up pioneer Saad Haroon.

His humor shines a light into some delicate areas.

"I wrote this song called 'Burqa Woman,' which is ...

Decades ago, Pakistan International Airlines was a trendy airline whose flight attendants wore Pierre Cardin uniforms. These days the national carrier is $3 billion in debt and fighting privatization.