The Pakistan Army's Public Relations Office announced that it has handed over the body of an Afghan militant who was killed in a clash with Pakistani security forces in Zhob, Balochistan, to the Taliban.
The Pakistani military has identified the militant as Mohammad Khan Ahmadkhel, 48, an Afghan citizen.
Mohammad Khan Ahmadkhel, a native of Wazakhwa District of Paktika Province, was killed on January 11 after a clash with Pakistani security forces, the Pakistani military's public relations said on Tuesday, January 21.
"This incident is irrefutable evidence of the involvement of Afghan citizens in terrorist activities in Pakistan," the Pakistani military statement said.
Pakistani officials once again called on the Taliban to fulfil their commitments to prevent the use of Afghan soil to carry out "terrorist" acts against Pakistan.
The Taliban's spokesman announced the unexpected visit of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group's interior minister, to the UAE and his meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the country's president.
An official Emirati media outlet also wrote that Haqqani spoke with Sheikh Mohammed about the recent developments in Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on his Facebook page that Abdul Haq Wasiq, the group's intelligence chief, is also accompanying Haqqani on his trip to the UAE.
According to the Taliban spokesman, Haqqani's meeting with Sheikh Mohammed "discussed issues of interest to the two countries, mutual stability, economic strengthening of Afghanistan, and some other important issues".
The state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) also reported that Sheikh Mohammed held talks with the Taliban's interior minister on Tuesday at Qasr al-Shati in Abu Dhabi about the recent developments in Afghanistan and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
According to the report, the two sides also discussed Afghanistan's reconstruction and stability, ways to develop and prosper the Afghan people.
The news agency wrote that Haqqani appreciated the UAE's humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.
A few days ago, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister, visited the United Arab Emirates along with a delegation. During that visit, Muttaqi met with the UAE president as well as India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has hosted important meetings of Western delegations with Taliban representatives in recent years since the group came to power in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's special envoy to Afghanistan said that he had discussed with his Iranian counterpart the international geopolitical situation and the regional challenges facing the two countries.
Mohammad Sadiq Khan said that the two sides agreed to jointly address these challenges.
Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan affairs wrote on his account on the social media platform X, "Today, I hosted Hashem Ashjazade, Iran's special representative for Afghanistan affairs and director general for South Asia at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
The meeting was also attended by Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iran's ambassador to Islamabad, and Mohammad Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan's ambassador to Tehran, Sadiq Khan said.
The Islamic Republic and the government of Pakistan were among the few countries that established diplomatic relations with the Taliban at the very beginning and kept their embassies open in Kabul. However, due to the Taliban's lack of cooperation on the issue of Iran's water rights, as well as the group's unwillingness to suppress the Pakistani Taliban, Islamabad and Tehran's relations with the Taliban have been strained.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the United States is considering returning its military infrastructure to Afghanistan.
He told a meeting of the country's Security Council on Monday that the policy goes back to the Joe Biden administration.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday, January 20, stressed that the United States is using Afghanistan's neighbouring countries to achieve this goal. He said that his remarks were a reference to the policies of former US President Joe Biden's administration.
"We will also not forget Afghanistan," he said at a meeting of the Russian Security Council. “The Americans are also trying to re-establish their presence to some extent, and they are using neighbouring countries for this purpose. They are thinking of restoring their military facilities there,” he added.
In early 2021, Joe Biden announced the end of the long-running US foreign military operation in Afghanistan, and only a few months later, the Taliban entered Kabul without any resistance, taking control of the city within hours.
Some Republican politicians and US veterans have repeatedly criticised the Biden administration for its handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A US official told Reuters news agency that flights of 1,660 Afghan refugees, including family members of US military partners, who were scheduled to travel to the United States have been cancelled on Trump's orders.
The group also includes unaccompanied children waiting to be reunited with their families in the United States, as well as Afghans who are at risk of Taliban reprisals for cooperating with the former US-backed government.
The White House and State Department, which oversees US refugee programmes, have not yet responded to requests for comment, Reuters reported.
Shawn VanDiver, a veteran of the Afghan war and a member of an organisation supporting the evacuation of Afghans, told the news agency, "Afghans and advocates are panicking,” said VanDiver. “I’ve had to recharge my phone four times already today because so many are calling me.
“We warned them that this was going to happen, but they did it anyway. We hope they will reconsider,” he said of contacts with Trump’s transition team.
Although Reuters quoted VanDiver as saying that the flight was cancelled, he wrote on his account on social media platform X that the flights had not yet been cancelled.
Reuters wrote that with this decision, the United States has put thousands more Afghans who have received approval to resettle in the United States as refugees, but have not yet been offered flights from Afghanistan or neighbouring countries such as Pakistan.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly took a tough stance against immigrants and made it one of his main promises.
Nearly 200,000 Afghans have been transferred to the United States by the administration of former US President Joe Biden after the Taliban takeover.
According to Reuters, Afghans who had been confirmed to be settled in the United States have been removed from the passenger list of flights scheduled to operate until April.
These include nearly 200 family members of Afghan-American military personnel who were born in the United States or Afghans who came to the United States, joined the military, and became US citizens.
Zhao Xing, China's ambassador to Kabul on Monday said at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and China that Beijing does not interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs.
Xing added that the relations between the two countries have now entered a new phase.
On Monday, Taliban-controlled national television broadcast the remarks of the Chinese ambassador, who gave a speech on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and China.
In his speech, the Chinese ambassador said, "At present, China-Afghanistan friendly relations have entered a new phase. China has always been a friendly neighbour of Afghanistan and has supported Afghanistan's development, peace and stability."
"China is committed to friendly relations with Afghanistan and respects Afghanistan's independence and territorial integrity," he added.
The Chinese ambassador added that his country respects the independent choice of the Afghan people, the country's national ceremonies and religious beliefs, and does not interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs and does not pursue personal interests.
He also said that China has supported Afghanistan at the United Nations and in addition to calling for increased humanitarian aid, it has also taken a position on the lifting of sanctions and the release of Afghanistan's frozen funds.
China interacts with the Taliban, and both sides have accepted each other's ambassadors, however, China has not yet recognised the Taliban.
At the same ceremony, Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, said that "China has firmly supported the struggles and jihad of Afghans against the occupation of the former Soviet Union and the United States".
"China is the only neighbour that has not had any border dispute with Afghanistan so far," he added. Stanekzai stressed that Afghan soil will not be used against any neighbour, including China.