Taliban’s Counter-Terrorism Measures Not Enough, Says Moscow

Local sources told Afghanistan International that at least two members of the Taliban had been killed, and one Pakistani soldier had been wounded in this gunfight.

According to local sources, the gunfight between the two sides has ended.

These sources added that some civilians had also been injured in Wednesday's gunfight at the Torkham border.

Abdul Matin Qane, the spokesperson of the Taliban's Ministry of Interior, said that the gunfight took place at Torkham in the Momand Dara district of Nangarhar. He said that both sides have been made aware of this border skirmish and will work to prevent such incidents in the future.

The Ministry of Interior of the Taliban has not given details about the casualties of the group's forces and the injuries of civilians.

Pakistani authorities have not commented on the border skirmish.

Taliban forces and Pakistani border guards engaged in a gunfight at the Torkham border on Wednesday.

According to the sources, the Torkham border had been closed to traffic after the border skirmish.

A video clip received by Afghanistan International shows people and trucks fleeing the border areas as the gunfire could be heard in the background.

According to the sources, the clash began after the Taliban tried to set up an outpost in the border area.

Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said that these individuals were members of the “Jamaat Ansarullah” movement and entered the country from the border area of Darwaz in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Khovar reported that the members of an international terrorist organisation entered the territory of Tajikistan on August 29-30, in order to carry out terrorist activities in the Kuran area of Darwaz district of Tajikistan.

According to the report, they planned to launch their attacks on the eve of Tajikistan's Independence Day.

Khovar quoted the National Security Committee of Tajikistan and said that the country's security forces surrounded the area and killed the "terrorists" as they did not surrender.

It added that along with these people, a number of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and communication devices had been seized.

The Tajik media has reported that after investigating and examining the documents obtained from the fighters, it has been revealed that they are members of the "Jamaat Ansarullah" group.

According to the report, all three individuals were Tajik nationals.

Since the Taliban’s takeover of the power in Afghanistan, it is the second time that Tajik security forces have reported killing of terrorists near the Afghan border.

In April, Tajikistan National Security Committee had announced that two terrorists who entered Tajikistan from the border of Afghanistan had been killed.

The committee had said that these two people intended to conduct terrorist attacks in Tajikistan.

Officials of Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries have repeatedly expressed concerns over the increase of terrorist activities in Afghanistan and its spillover to these countries.

According to the sources, the Torkham border had been closed to traffic after the border skirmish.

A video clip received by Afghanistan International shows people and trucks fleeing the border areas as the gunfire could be heard in the background.

Pakistani and Taliban officials have not commented on the issue yet.

According to the sources, the clash began after the Taliban tried to set up an outpost in the border area.

Meanwhile, sources in Pakistan also said the clash occurred after the Taliban tried to set up an outpost.

Sources in Pakistan also confirmed the closure of the Torkham border.

Recently, the Taliban’s spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said that during the last two years, the group has had around fifty border clashes with Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The ministry said that these people entered Afghanistan from the Islam Qala border in Herat province on Tuesday.

The Taliban Ministry of Refugees said that nearly 1,000 of these migrants have been referred to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to receive humanitarian assistance.

Over the past few months, the Taliban has always announced the "forced and voluntary" return of Afghan refugees from Iran.

Khairkhwa pointed to these countries and said that if the United States, Russia, and China "do not recognise [Taliban], they will not recognise" them.

He called on these countries and asked them to recognise the Taliban government for the sake of Islam.

During a meeting in Takhar, the senior Taliban official addressed the Islamic countries on Monday and said that when the group was engaged in Jihad, they were called "crazy" and no one supported them.

According to him, the issue of recognition of the Taliban is a “test” for Islamic countries.

Referring to the preconditions for the formation of an inclusive government by the Taliban to be recognised in Afghanistan, Khairkhwa said, “Some countries have been ruled by a family for decades, so why has no one objected to them?”

He did not mention any country which is ruled by “a family”, but it seems that he pointed out to some Arab countries, which have been accused of supporting the Taliban.

So far, no country has recognised the Taliban government. The group has been accused of widespread human rights violations, and the international community, including Islamic governments, have criticised the policies of the Taliban, especially towards Afghan women and girls.

The formation of an inclusive government is one of the other demands of the international community for the recognition of the Taliban regime.

The Taliban government consists of members of the group and its senior officials are all Sunni and mostly from the Pashtun ethnic group.