Taliban Refutes Pakistan's Allegations of Afghan Role in Attack on Chinese Engineers

Residents of Faizabad reported that the blast destroyed at least one Taliban ranger vehicle.

According to our sources, a motorcyclist bomber detonated explosives near the convoy, leading to significant damage, including the destruction of a vehicle.

As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Taliban officials are yet to comment on the incident.

This attack coincided with a period of extensive anti-Taliban protests in several districts of Badakhshan, including Argo and Darayim. Protesters have criticised the deployment of Taliban forces from southern provinces, who reportedly do not speak the local language and have been accused of mistreating residents. The protesters are calling for the expulsion of these "non-native" Taliban forces from Badakhshan.

Additional reports indicated that Wednesday's explosion in the Pul-e Jozgun area specifically targeted Taliban forces of Pashtun descent.

The Front posted on the X social media network that the attack took place near one of the group's bases in the Sarai Shamali area of the city.

On Tuesday night, some Kabul residents informed Afghanistan International that they heard an explosion in the Khairkhana area.

According to the Front, the Taliban wanted to "transfer some detained citizens from the Khairkhana area to the center of the city”.

The Taliban has not yet commented on this matter.

Previously, the Pakistani police had been instructed to start the second phase of deportation of Afghan migrants.

However, according to an official letter from the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions of Pakistan on Monday, migrants with UNHCR registration cards will be allowed to stay in Pakistan for less than two additional months.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations of Taliban reported on Monday that 913 individuals had been forcibly expelled from Pakistan.

According to reports from Pakistani media, since the approval of the bill to deport Afghan migrants in November last year, roughly half a million migrants have been repatriated to Afghanistan.

In the upcoming second phase of deportations, Pakistani media estimate that nearly one million Afghan migrants will be expelled from Pakistan.

UNHCR statistics indicate that approximately 2.18 million Afghan migrants reside in Pakistan, including 1.3 million registered refugees holding UNHCR cards.

Furthermore, an additional 880,000 refugees obtained temporary residence permits after registering in 2017.

The refugees say that their asylum pleas have been disregarded for years.

They have warned that their protests will persist until they receive a response from the organisation.

The refugees accuse the Indonesian police of resorting to violent measures against protesters. They allege that following their demonstrations, the local police have detained an Afghan woman.

The protesters called for attention to their immigration cases and for relocation and resettlement to other countries. According to official figures, nearly 12,000 refugees reside in Indonesia, with the majority being Afghan nationals.

Over the past year, Afghan protesters in Indonesia have staged multiple demonstrations in front of the United Nations office, yet their cases remain unaddressed.

The ministry's announcement on Monday detailed that the returnees included 308 families, as reported by border officials at Islam Qala.

However, the specifics of how many migrants returned forcibly versus voluntarily had not been disclosed.

Included among the returnees were 21 orphaned children, who have been identified and referred to the International Organisation for Migration for further assistance and family tracing efforts.

In a related statement, Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi declared that Iran expelled 1.3 million "illegal" migrants last year and emphasised that Iran is not accepting new citizens, insisting that all "unauthorised" nationals must exit the country.