April 10, 2024

The GTTAC Speaker Series continues with featured presenters Andrew Watkins and Haroun Rahimi sharing the latest intelligence on current Taliban operations in Afghanistan.

Andrew Watkins is a senior expert with the U.S. Institute of Peace, and has worked in and on Afghanistan in a number of roles. Last year, he served as an advisor to the UN Special Coordinator for Afghanistan, whose recommendations were adopted in a Security Council resolution. He has worked in the country as a researcher, analyst, and policy advisor with the International Crisis Group, the United Nations, and with numerous humanitarian organizations. He has conducted extensive field research and published widely on the Taliban’s insurgency, their rule as de facto authorities, and generally on conflict, counterterrorism and politics in Afghanistan.

Haroun Rahimi is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Law Department at the American University of Afghanistan. Rahimi is also a research fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Rahimi’s research focuses on religious education, religious authority, rule of law, Islamic finance, economic laws, and institutional reform. Rahimi’s book examines the reform and regulation of economic institutions in Afghanistan. Rahimi’s research has appeared in reputable local and international journals.