Trump Presses Taliban Through US Envoy For Release Of Americans

In a message posted on Facebook, Khan said Ghulami had been working to coordinate resistance forces. “We expect the security institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran to seriously pursue this crime and provide a clear report on it,” he wrote.

Ghulami, a vocal opponent of the Taliban and one of Khan’s key allies, was shot dead in his office on Mofatteh Street in Mashhad on Saturday.

Sources close to Khan accused the Taliban of being behind the assassination.

Ghulami had played a leading role in battles against the Taliban in Herat during the summer of 2021. Following the city’s fall, he relocated to Mashhad with a group of military commanders.

Iranian police have not yet commented on the incident.

Geo News reported that Mohammad Sadiq Khan, Islamabad’s envoy, is expected to press Taliban officials on accusations that they are providing safe havens for the TTP inside Afghanistan.

Sadiq has made several trips to Kabul in recent months, urging the Taliban not to back the TTP, which he has described as a “terrorist” group responsible for attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad has said it has shared strong evidence with the Taliban of cooperation between the two groups.

The planned visit follows the killing of 19 Pakistani soldiers in recent days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in attacks claimed by the TTP. Pakistan’s military said at least 45 TTP fighters were killed in subsequent operations.

The losses prompted a strong response from Islamabad. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned the Taliban to choose between siding with “terrorists” or standing with Pakistan, saying the government would not tolerate ambiguity on the issue.

Sharif also alleged that Afghan citizens had taken part in recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan and announced that undocumented Afghan migrants would soon be expelled.

Abdullah Farooqi, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Border Police, said the talks would focus on preventing border threats and facilitating movement across frontiers. He added that the delegation is led by Mawlawi Abdul Manan Hassan, the deputy chief of the Taliban Border Police.

Border security remains a pressing concern for Afghanistan’s neighbours under Taliban rule. China has repeatedly voiced unease about instability along its frontier.

During a 19 August visit to Kabul, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed drug trafficking and border security with Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, including the need for “coordination of border forces.”

Yi also urged the Taliban prime minister to take Beijing’s security concerns seriously, particularly the presence of Uyghur militants in Afghanistan.

China has long expressed deep concern over the activities of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which international reports say operates freely in Afghanistan and maintains close ties with the Taliban.

The Taliban have awarded the contract for the survey and extraction of the field to Uzbekistan.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Ismatulla Irgashev, the Uzbek president’s special representative for Afghanistan, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, along with other officials.

Baradar said the project would help reduce Afghanistan’s reliance on imported electricity.

Speaking at the funeral of the fallen troops, Sharif said Pakistan was committed to eradicating terrorism. He stressed that the Taliban cannot host militants who destabilise their neighbour and at the same time expect normal relations with Pakistan.

Sharif, accompanied by Army Chief Asim Munir, travelled to Bannu, where he chaired an emergency counterterrorism meeting and attended the funeral of the soldiers.

The Pakistani military said 12 soldiers and 35 militants were killed in two operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between 10 and 13 September.

Sharif vowed that Pakistan would deliver a “crushing response” to terrorism, alleging that those behind recent attacks operated from Afghan soil with Indian backing. He said Kabul had been told explicitly it must choose between Islamabad and “the Khawarij”, a term officials use for militant extremists.

He also renewed calls for the expulsion of Afghan migrants, claiming some had taken part in recent attacks. He said that those who support the Khawarij or aid India in carrying out proxy terrorist actions are effectively acting as their agents and will be dealt with according to law.

Sharif added that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stood with the government and armed forces against India-backed proxies, pledging that his administration would take all necessary legal and administrative steps to respond decisively to terrorism.

During the trip, he also visited wounded soldiers in Bannu’s military hospital.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban and India of supporting militant groups, particularly the TTP, allegations both Kabul and New Delhi deny.