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FILE - In this file photo taken on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012, Pakistani Taliban patrol in their stronghold of Shawal in Pakistani tribal region of South Waziristan. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said in November 2014 there was no Islamic State group presence, only militants using its name. However, a letter written by the federal government a month earlier and later obtained by The Associated Press warned local officials that the Islamic State group had begun courting area militants and that the extremists claimed the support of up to "12,000 followers" in northwest Pakistan. (AP Photo/Ishtiaq Mahsud, File)(The Associated Press)

FILE - In this file photo taken Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, an Afghan soldier inspects a damaged bus at the site of a suicide attack by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan. The country and Pakistan, home to al-Qaida and Taliban militants and the focus of the longest war in U.S. history, face a new, emerging threat from the Islamic State group, officials have told The Associated Press. For now, the Taliban remain the region's most prominent insurgency, with nearly 20 years of experience battling Afghan warlords and international troops. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)(The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Dec. 28, 2011 file photo, a former Taliban fighter places a range of bullets before surrendering it to Afghan authorities, as part of a peace-reconciliation program in Herat, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. The Islamic State group controls a third of both Syria and Iraq, where it declared a caliphate governed by an extremely harsh interpretation of Shariah law and demanded the allegiance of the worlds Muslims. The Taliban, by contrast, are narrowly focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and some leaders have even responded to past peace overtures. (AP Photo/Reza Shirmohammadi, File)(The Associated Press)

In this Monday, Jan. 5, 2015 photo, foreign security forces arrive at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Analysts and officials said the number of Islamic State supporters in the country and Pakistan remains small and that the group faces resistance from militants with strong tribal links. However, the rise of even a small Islamic State affiliate could further destabilize the region and complicate U.S. and NATO efforts to end the 13-year Afghan war. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)(The Associated Press)

In this Monday, Jan. 5, 2015 photo, Afghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Analysts and officials said the number of Islamic State supporters in the country and Pakistan remains small and that the group faces resistance from militants with strong tribal links. However, the rise of even a small Islamic State affiliate could further destabilize the region and complicate U.S. and NATO efforts to end the 13-year Afghan war. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)(The Associated Press)

CAMP SHORABAK, Afghanistan Afghanistan and Pakistan, home to al-Qaida and Taliban militants and the focus of the longest war in U.S. history, face a new, emerging threat from the Islamic State group, officials have told The Associated Press.

Disenchanted extremists from the Taliban and other organizations, impressed by the Islamic State group's territorial gains and slick online propaganda, have begun raising its black flag in extremist-dominated areas of both countries.

In Pakistan, an online video purportedly shows militants beheading a man while pledging their allegiance to the IS. In Afghanistan, there have even been reports of militant rivalries, with clashes erupting between Taliban fighters and Islamic State militants.

Analysts and officials say the number of IS supporters in the Afghan-Pakistan region remains small and that the group faces resistance from militants with strong tribal links. However, the rise of even a small Islamic State affiliate could further destabilize the region and complicate U.S. and NATO efforts to end the 13-year Afghan war.

The Taliban remain the region's pre-eminent insurgency, with nearly 20 years of experience battling Afghan warlords and international troops. But the Taliban are "not a particularly sexy ideology or military force, and the risk lies in the Taliban looking increasingly out of date," said a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

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After Mideast gains, Islamic State group reaches to Taliban heartland of Afghanistan, Pakistan

17 January 2015 The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has today welcomed a recent national conference during which local road maps for achieving sustainable, inclusive and just peace in the country were presented to participants.

The Mission said in a statement that the conference, held in Kabul on 15 January, saw presentation of 12 out of the 34 local road maps developed by Afghan civil society organizations and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), and provided an important chance for those involved to develop advocacy strategies so that provincial and national policy makers act upon their findings.

“The national conference was a unique opportunity for civil society to develop their advocacy plans to ensure that the voice of the Afghan people is heard,” said the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, promising that the United Nations would support those efforts in any way it could. “This advocacy could not be more important or timely.”

Development of the local road maps was part of the civil society-led Afghan People's Dialogue for Peace initiative, conducted over the past three years. Some 6,000 Afghans from all walks of life took part in the Dialogue, sharing their grievances and aspirations, and identifying the main drivers of conflict and proposed solutions.

Conference participants highlighted the need to strengthen security institutions, promote responsive State institutions and end corruption among the main priorities for addressing the root causes of the conflict and achieving durable peace. They also stressed the need to promote human rights and women's rights, along with the rule of law, and to tackle impunity. Illegal armed groups needed to be disarmed and employment opportunities were needed, especially for young people.

The work builds on a June 2014 report on the national findings of the second phase of the Dialogue process. The UN Mission's statement welcomed the 10-point national road map to peace contained within the June report, which calls for advocacy efforts with Governmental authorities and anti-Government elements.

“In peace and reconciliation processes, UNAMA is firm that human rights must not be sacrificed and that women must play a strong and active role in any peace negotiations - both are critical for a sustainable peace,” said Mr. Haysom. “The youth of Afghanistan are the country's future and their views must also be heard.”

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Afghanistan: UN Mission welcomes civil society efforts to promote sustainable peace

To Western eyes, the contradiction is mind-boggling.

In Afghanistan, a society in which women's lives were so constricted under the Taliban that they couldn't even walk unescorted down the street, some young girls enjoyed unprecedented freedom by posing as boys.

The tradition of bacha posh exists to this day. These girls wear male clothes, adopt boys' names, roughhouse with boys and enjoy privileges accorded to boys. What's more, they do it at the behest of their families and with the tacit consent of the entire community at least until they reach puberty, when they're expected to change back.

That gender-bending, cross-dressing tradition is at the heart of "The Pearl That Broke Its Shell," the debut novel by Nadia Hashimi, an Afghan-American, pediatrician, Maryland resident and mother of three.

"Basically every Afghan knows of a bacha posh, either within the family or within the community," Hashimi, 37, says over the phone from her home in Potomac. "Mobility-wise, a young boy has different access to the world than a young girl has. He can work outside the home."

The book weaves together two stories separated by 100 years. One plot, set in the early 20th century, tells the story of Shekiba, who becomes a pariah after suffering a disfiguring accident as a young girl. Shekiba toils as a servant until she is presented to the king, who uses women dressed as men to guard his harem.

The second story takes place in 2007, when the Taliban no longer were in power but still exerted enormous influence over the lives of women. It follows Shekiba's great-great-granddaughter, Rahima, who becomes a bacha posh so she can barter at market, attend school and perform other activities that keep her nearly all-female family afloat. But Rahima's days of freedom are numbered when the brutal warlord who runs the village takes a shine to the 13-year-old.

Hashimi will discuss bacha posh and other Afghan customs when she appears Wednesday at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. An edited conversation with the author appears below.

Where does the title come from?

The title was my agent's moment of genius. It's a line from a poem by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi: "Seawater begs the pearl to break its shell." I thought it was a perfect fit for a story about a girl breaking out of her shell and constraints and realizing the pearl that she is.

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Novel explores Afghanistan's gender-bending tradition

Dad Coming Home From Afghanistan Surprise
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At Least Two People Killed By Bomb Blast In Afghanistan
Kabul Bomb Blast Breaking News Today January 13, 2015 English News Today January 13, 2015 Top Stories News Updates 13/1/2015 World and International News Today 13th January 2015, Top .

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At Least Two People Killed By Bomb Blast In Afghanistan - Video