Why Did Taliban Mark Anniversary Without Key Leaders & A Parade?

Hayatullah, known as “Ghalchaki Tangiwal,” urged his supporters on social media to help transport the bodies of those killed in the Zhob incident and to join retaliatory attacks. “Do not leave us alone,” he appealed.

Hayatullah previously commanded the “Fatih Caravan” under Sangeen’s group in the Haqqani Network and led a combat unit in Paktika’s Zerok district.

On 7 August, the Pakistani army used drones to target a group of 33 Pakistani Taliban fighters moving from Paktika’s Warmami district toward Zhob, Balochistan, killing and wounding several.

Sources in Warmami told Afghanistan International that a day later, Hayatullah’s fighters forced doctors from clinics to treat wounded Pakistani Taliban members.

Sangeen’s faction has long been accused of fighting alongside Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against Pakistani forces. The Afghan Taliban has reportedly placed several of the faction’s leaders, including Bilal Fatih, brother of Mawlawi Sangeen, under house arrest.

The group gathered outside the General Directorate of the Pension Fund, accusing the Taliban of ignoring their repeated demonstrations and failing to address their claims.

Abdul Wasi, one of the protesters, said he has lived without pay since 2021 and has no idea how much longer he must wait. He accused pension officials of deliberately delaying payments and evading responsibility.

The retirees said they timed their latest protest with the fourth anniversary of Taliban rule, hoping their appeals would reach the group’s leadership. Former government employees warned they will continue demonstrations until their pensions are restored.

More than 160,000 retirees regularly received pensions before the Taliban takeover, but the system has since been halted. In December 2023, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued an eight-article decree instructing retirees to apply to special courts to claim benefits. The process has yet to be implemented, and no payments have been made.

In a statement, the ministry said Mamundzay praised the Taliban’s cooperation and described Afghanistan’s current security situation as significant for the country’s future.

Abdul Kabir reportedly told him that following the Taliban’s declaration of a “general amnesty,” no one would be questioned over past roles and that “no one would dare to do so.”

However, international human rights organisations have repeatedly challenged Taliban assurances, documenting cases in which former soldiers and officials have been detained, tortured or killed. Rights groups say many employees of the former government were forced to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in 2021.

In a statement on Sunday, the agency said returnees were struggling to rebuild their lives amid growing humanitarian needs inside Afghanistan.

UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that 1.7 million Afghans have returned from the two neighbouring countries since the start of this year. He noted that most had limited ties to local communities and were finding it difficult to secure shelter and livelihoods.

Citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Dujarric stressed that additional funding for Afghanistan remains urgent. OCHA had already warned in June that aid operations in the country were facing a severe budget shortfall.

The event, titled “Towards Unity and Trust,” will be the first public meeting of Afghanistan’s diverse political factions hosted in Pakistan since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. It is organised by the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute in collaboration with Women for Afghanistan, which described the initiative as academic and trust-building rather than political.

According sources who spoke to Afghanistan International, participants will include Geneva-based Afghan envoy Nasir Ahmad Andisha; former economy minister Mustafa Mastoor; women’s rights activist and ex-MP Fawzia Koofi; Habib-ur-Rahman Hekmatyar son of Hizbe Islami leader; Hussein Yasa, spokesperson for the National Resistance Council for Salvation of Afghanistan; Zahra Joya, founder of Rukhshana Media; and Mawlawi Abdullah Qarluq, former governor of Takhar.

The Taliban and their allies have opposed the gathering, but sources said Islamabad has stressed that the group does not represent all Afghans. “This could mark a fundamental change in Pakistan’s stance, showing that Islamabad now wants to view Afghanistan not through the lens of one group, but as it really is,” one informed source told Afghanistan International.

Khalilzad Criticises Conference

Former US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad criticised Pakistan’s hosting of the meeting, warning that some participants back the violent overthrow of the Taliban. On X, he called the move “immature, irresponsible and unfortunate,” describing it as a provocation that would deepen mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad.

He added he would view it the same way if the Taliban hosted Pakistanis seeking to topple their country’s military-led government.

Women’s Rights Groups Welcome Initiative

Fawzia Koofi welcomed the meeting, calling it an opportunity to build trust between Afghans and Pakistanis. She stressed the importance of including women, political figures and civil society in shaping Afghanistan’s future, noting that Afghan women live under “one of the most repressive realities in the world today.”

Responding indirectly to Khalilzad’s criticism, she wrote on X: “Some former diplomats object, is it because they want to be the architects of our country’s destiny forever? Isn’t it time to let us craft what is good for us?”

Taliban–Pakistan Relations Strained

The conference comes amid growing tension between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban. Islamabad has accused Kabul of harbouring fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has escalated cross-border attacks; claims the Taliban deny.