Haqqani Met Taliban Leader Akhundzada in Kandahar After Mediation, Sources Say

The discussions centred on key areas, including Iranian investment in Afghanistan’s mining sector, streamlining customs procedures, enhancing trade, and resolving existing obstacles. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to enacting the 92-article economic agreement in full, with plans for ongoing joint meetings to ensure its execution.

The Taliban’s office highlighted a “significant increase” in trade with Iran since the agreement was signed. Official trade between the two nations is currently valued at approximately $4 billion, making Iran the largest trading partner of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

The meeting builds on prior engagements, including a November 2023 visit by Taliban officials to Tehran, where five documents were exchanged. These covered economic cooperation and international road transport, among other areas.

In a related development, the Governor of Iran’s South Khorasan Province recently announced initiatives to deepen trade and economic ties. As part of these efforts, an Iranian consulate will be established in Farah, while a Taliban consulate will open in Birjand.

The punishments, which included between 25 and 39 lashes, were accompanied by prison sentences ranging from one to three and a half years.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Taliban’s criminal court in Sar-e Pol announced that a woman received 39 lashes and a one-year prison term for suspected “illicit relations.” The flogging was carried out in a public setting.

In a separate announcement, the judiciary reported that its primary court in Jalrez district, Maidan Wardak province, sentenced four men to 25 lashes each for alleged theft. Two of the men were also handed three-and-a-half-year prison sentences, while the other two received terms of two years and eight months. The floggings took place publicly.

According to the Taliban Supreme Court, the punishments were administered in the presence of local officials, government employees, court visitors, and members of the public.

Despite widespread international criticism of corporal punishment and accusations of torture, the Taliban continues to employ public lashings as a means of enforcement and intimidation.

The group’s Supreme Court provided no details on the judicial process, including whether the accused were granted access to legal representation. International human rights organisations have repeatedly raised concerns over the absence of fair and transparent legal proceedings under Taliban governance.

On Tuesday alone, authorities repatriated 3,669 individuals to Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing.

The Express Tribune reported on Wednesday that the figures highlight a significant escalation in deportation efforts targeting Afghan nationals. Immigration department sources further revealed that more than 2,000 Afghan migrants voluntarily departed Pakistan on Tuesday.

This nationwide operation reflects Pakistan’s ongoing policy to address undocumented migration. The Express Tribune noted that police have been directed to detain and deport not only asylum seekers but also family members of individuals linked to criminal activities.

The Pakistani government had previously outlined plans to expel approximately three million Afghan migrants in 2024, a decision that has faced widespread criticism from international organisations and human rights advocates.

“Afghanistan faces many challenges, but it also has potential—and they are awaiting our presence,” Overchuk told the Russian daily.

He noted that the Taliban views Russia positively and is keen to expand economic ties. According to Overchuk, Moscow has already established contact with the group, which has expressed a clear willingness to develop economic relations with Russia.

His remarks follow a recent move by Russia’s Prosecutor General, who submitted a request to the country's Supreme Court seeking to suspend the Taliban’s classification as a terrorist organisation. The Supreme Court is scheduled to review the request on 17 April, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti.

Overchuk emphasised that, should the court approve the suspension, new avenues for economic cooperation with Afghanistan could emerge. He also suggested that this shift could support broader efforts to enhance Russia's logistical infrastructure in the region.

On 28 December 2024, President Vladimir Putin signed amendments to Russian legislation allowing for the temporary suspension of designated terrorist organisations’ activities. This legal framework enables judicial authorities to conditionally and temporarily remove groups such as the Taliban from the official list of banned organisations.

Russia’s Supreme Court originally classified the Taliban as a terrorist entity on 14 February 2003, prohibiting its activities within the country.

In January 2025, Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, announced plans to form a joint Russia-Taliban working group in the spring of 2025. Although the Taliban has not been formally recognised by Moscow, the working group is expected to serve as a substitute for the previous intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.

In March last year, the TTP released footage of its fighters undergoing military training with advanced US-made equipment. The video shows TTP militants shouldering the Javelin, which costs approximately £160,000 and is specifically designed to defeat tanks and other armoured vehicles. The militants are seen training with the missile, suggesting growing familiarity with its use.

The Javelin is a man-portable, fire-and-forget anti-tank missile that can also be deployed against buildings, bunkers, and even helicopters. Once launched, the missile automatically locks onto and destroys its target. The US military often refers to the weapon’s advanced guidance system as “fire and forget.”

After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, Russia’s Ministry of Defence stated that more than 100 Javelin missiles fell into the hands of the Taliban following the US withdrawal.

A Pakistani security official told The News International that while there is no confirmed evidence of Javelin missiles being present in Pakistan, the real concern is the potential for such weapons to be deployed anywhere in the country if militants choose to do so. The official added that this situation underscores the Taliban’s failure in Afghanistan to secure leftover US military hardware.

The TTP’s access to Javelin missiles raises concerns that these advanced weapons could be used to target Pakistani military outposts or breach border defences along the Afghanistan–Pakistan frontier. Pakistani security sources have warned that the presence—and potential use—of such advanced weaponry by TTP-linked groups significantly escalates the threat level in the region. Analysts have cautioned that access to Javelin missiles could intensify militant violence in Pakistan.

This report follows a recent telephone conversation between Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which the issue of abandoned US military equipment in Afghanistan was discussed. In an official statement, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Rubio agreed on the urgency of addressing the matter.

US President Donald Trump has also called for the retrieval of American military equipment left behind in Afghanistan—a move that Pakistan has publicly supported.