Foreign Support For Opposition Risks Civil War, Warns Taliban Governor In Panjshir

In an article for Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Sergei Shoigu wrote that Russian estimates indicate about 20 international militant groups are present in Afghanistan with a combined strength exceeding 23,000. He said the greatest concern is the Khorasan branch of ISIS, which Moscow believes operates training camps and support bases in the east, north and north-east of the country.

Shoigu said the Taliban government “is taking measures to fight terrorism to the extent it can” and regularly kills ISIS fighters, but argued that Western sanctions have weakened its ability to counter the threat. He also claimed fighters from other regions were being moved into Afghanistan, alleging that Western intelligence services were attempting to destabilise the area by supporting extremist groups hostile to the Taliban.

The Taliban have issued conflicting statements on ISIS’s presence, at times insisting the group has been “suppressed” while also reporting operations against its cells. The UN Security Council has repeatedly confirmed the continued activity of ISIS-K and other groups in Afghanistan, though the Taliban reject those findings.

Shoigu further warned that Western powers, having lost influence in Afghanistan, are planning to restore NATO’s military infrastructure in the region. He noted that envoys from the United States, the UK and Germany have recently travelled frequently to Kabul despite publicly ruling out recognition of Taliban rule.

A recent UN report said the Taliban provide a permissive environment for foreign terrorist groups, with several al-Qaeda-linked training camps operating across Afghanistan, including three newly established sites where al-Qaeda and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters are reportedly being trained.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the ministry condemned the strikes in Nangarhar and Khost provinces as “brutal and cruel,” saying they would only deepen divisions between the people of both countries and fuel animosity. It added that “such irresponsible attacks will have consequences.”

Pakistani forces bombed areas of Nangarhar and Khost on Wednesday night. Local sources said the strikes targeted hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), but the Taliban insisted civilians were among the victims. In response, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul.

It is not the first time Pakistan has launched cross-border strikes. Last year, Islamabad targeted suspected TTP bases in Khost and Paktia. Pakistani officials have previously vowed to track down and punish militants anywhere in the region.

For the past two years, Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban to rein in TTP fighters carrying out attacks across the border. The Taliban, however, deny that the Pakistani Taliban operate from Afghan soil.

Growing TTP violence and unrest in Pakistan’s tribal areas have further strained relations between Islamabad and the Taliban administration.

They said such a step is vital to hold perpetrators of past and ongoing abuses accountable.

In an open letter, 107 Afghan civil society groups and international rights organisations said Afghans have faced widespread abuses under Taliban rule over the past four years. They cited extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances, systemic discrimination against women and girls, bans on their education and work, exclusion from public life, and persecution of minorities including Hazaras, Shias, Sikhs and Hindus. The groups also noted pressure on activists, journalists, artists, lawyers and judges.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights and the International Bar Association were among the signatories.

The groups said decades of impunity had fuelled repeated atrocities in Afghanistan. They argued that only an independent body tasked with collecting evidence, investigating abuses and pursuing accountability could end what they described as a cycle of violence.

The letter stressed that such a mechanism should complement the work of the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and national courts with universal jurisdiction. It also warned that inaction by the Human Rights Council would allow violations to continue and undermine efforts to build transitional justice.

Rights groups said the Taliban’s systematic attacks on women and girls, restrictions on civic space, arbitrary punishments and reprisals have continued into the group’s fifth year in power.

Human Rights Watch described Taliban policies as “crimes against humanity in the form of gender persecution,” while UN experts have labelled them “gender apartheid.”

Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, warned earlier this year that “the international community’s failure to hold the Taliban accountable has emboldened them.”

The signatories urged the EU to use its position on the Human Rights Council to table a resolution establishing the mechanism, saying it could provide a path to justice for victims of past and ongoing crimes in Afghanistan.

The delegation delivered a written directive from Hibatullah that ordered Karzai to obey the Taliban leadership and banned him from political or party activity, the sources said.

Karzai reportedly refused, telling the envoys that Afghanistan was his homeland and he had no intention of leaving. The timing of the meeting was not disclosed.

A copy of the five-point directive, obtained by Afghanistan International, prohibited political and media activity and barred Karzai from making public statements on national or international issues. It also banned the commemoration of prominent figures and the celebration of special occasions.

Sources said Karzai’s meetings with foreign officials and diplomats have been increasingly restricted in recent months. His most recent meeting was with businessman Mirwais Azizi in Kabul, during which Karzai welcomed plans to invest in Afghanistan’s electricity and energy sector.

Over the past four years, Karzai has occasionally met foreign diplomats in Kabul and spoken on key issues, especially girls’ education. He has consistently urged the Taliban to reopen girls’ schools and allow women to return to work.

Two weeks ago, Karzai expressed concern over media reports of a Pakistani airstrike in Nuristan province. More recently, he welcomed the Taliban’s decision to resume pension payments and issued a message marking Afghanistan’s Independence Day.

According to the sources, the Taliban also warned Karzai to stop commenting on women’s education and employment.

Earlier reports indicated that Hibatullah made the demand for Karzai’s exile after informants secretly recorded a private conversation in which Karzai allegedly said he represented the end of Hibatullah’s political life and that the Taliban leader feared him.

In a statement, the Taliban foreign ministry condemned the strikes in Nangarhar and Khost provinces as a violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and “in the strongest terms” denounced them as an infringement of sovereignty. The ministry said Pakistani forces had bombed civilians near the Durand Line.

Calling the attacks a “provocation,” the Taliban warned Islamabad that such actions would not go unanswered. “The Pakistani side has been clearly told that safeguarding Afghanistan’s airspace is a red line for the Islamic Emirate, and such irresponsible actions will not remain without consequences,” the statement said.

Pakistan’s military has not commented on the reported strikes.

Sources told Afghanistan International that on Wednesday evening drones targeted fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction in Khost, Nangarhar and Kunar provinces. The Taliban have not commented on reports of a strike in Kunar.

Taliban-controlled Nangarhar state television said two drone strikes in Shinwar district wounded four civilians, including a woman and three children.

In Khost, a Taliban provincial spokesperson said strikes in Spera district killed three children and wounded five others, including women and children.