Taliban To Elevate Diplomatic Ties With Pakistan To Ambassador Level

Sources told Afghanistan International that shortly after the NRF flag was raised, Taliban forces disrupted the rally and dispersed the demonstrators.

The Taliban had staged rallies in multiple cities across Afghanistan on Friday to express solidarity with Palestine and to condemn the killing of Palestinians in Gaza by Israeli forces.

However, in Andarab, the demonstration reportedly shifted from a pro-Palestinian event into an anti-Taliban protest. Local sources said the rally initially featured chants in support of Palestine, but tensions rose after participants displayed NRF flags.

Images circulating on social media show a group of protesters holding black, green, and white flags, colours associated with the NRF.

Sources further said that the NRF flags were raised for only a few minutes before Taliban forces intervened, removed the flags, and forcibly broke up the gathering.

Andarab, located in Baghlan province, has long been a stronghold of armed resistance against Taliban rule. Over the past four years, the region has witnessed numerous violent clashes between NRF fighters and Taliban forces. In response, the Taliban have conducted multiple operations in the area, employing airstrikes and carrying out mass arrests in an effort to suppress the resistance.

Safari, who served in security and operational missions in Kabul, Nimruz, and Helmand provinces before the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, said she was arrested at her home in western Kabul on August 31, 2021. She described enduring “brutal” torture during her detention.

Recounting the raid, Safari told Rukhshana Media: “It was 1 AM, I had barely fallen asleep, anxious and terrified, when pounding on the door jolted me awake. Six or seven armed men entered harsh-faced, in traditional Afghan clothes, with dishevelled hair.” She said her five years of military service prompted her arrest.

Held for five days in a shipping container at Kabul’s District 13 police station under “inhumane conditions,” Safari alleged the worst abuse occurred at night.

“The first night was lashes and beatings, but on the second and third nights, their savagery knew no bounds. Three or four of them attacked and gang-raped me,” she said, claiming her assailants called her an “infidel Hazara and a whore” and justified the assault as punishment.

Photographs provided to Rukhshana Media showed lash marks, extensive bruising, bite marks, and other signs of beating on her body. Safari said she was released after her family paid the Taliban 200,000 Afghanis. The trauma silenced her for nearly four years.

This is not the first report of sexual violence in Taliban custody. In February 2025, 10 women told Afghanistan International that they experienced sexual assault or harassment while detained.

Eight reported rape, and two said Taliban officials filmed them naked during interrogations. Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, confirmed to Afghanistan International that investigations into these allegations were underway.

Local sources confirmed to Afghanistan International that Qari Yasser, the deputy commander of District 8, was killed along with his bodyguard in the village of Shora Khak, located within Kunduz province.

In a statement issued on Friday, 30 May, the NRF said the attack occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, 29 May, while the Taliban official was inspecting the group’s checkpoints in the area.

The NRF further stated that none of its fighters nor any civilians were harmed during the operation.

The Taliban have yet to issue any comment regarding the incident.

Local sources corroborated the deaths of Qari Yasser and his bodyguard, confirming that they were killed in an armed attack. Initial reports shared with Afghanistan International indicated that the Taliban official and his guard were assassinated in a gun assault.

The individuals were arrested several months ago in Peshawar on espionage charges, according to local sources. Pakistani officials have previously reported detaining Afghans accused of sabotage within the country.

In February 2025, Pakistani security forces reported killing eight militants in North Waziristan, including one identified as an Afghan Taliban member from Chak District in Maidan Wardak province. The individual was allegedly linked to both the Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban.

On January 30, 2025, Pakistani security sources told Afghanistan International that Badruddin Yousuf, the son of the Taliban’s deputy governor in Badghis, was among three militants killed in a military operation in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Yousuf, a trainer at a Pakistani Taliban training centre, was initially refused burial by the Taliban but was later interred in Bala Murghab district, Ghor province.

Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said patients, patient attendants, businesspeople, students, UN diplomats, and those entering India are now eligible for visas. Speaking at a press briefing, Jaiswal noted that the emergency visa system for Afghans has been replaced with a new process effective since April 2025.

Jaiswal stated that the move was intended to strengthen ties between India and Afghanistan.

Afghans currently in India with visas issued under the previous system must update or convert them to comply with the new policy.

India halted visa issuance for Afghans and cancelled thousands of existing visas following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, when the former Afghan government collapsed. India was among the first countries to close its embassy in Kabul and consulates in other provinces, withdrawing entirely from Afghanistan.

Recently, Indian media, citing government officials, reported the resumption of visa issuance. In parallel, India has cautiously expanded diplomatic engagement with the Taliban. Notably, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar held a phone call with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, the first such contact, days after a military clash between India and Pakistan.