Taliban forces have once again clashed with Pakistani border guards in the Sarlat area of Shorabak district in Kandahar province, local sources told Afghanistan International on Tuesday.
The sources said both sides used light and heavy weapons during the exchange of fire, though no casualties have yet been reported.
The incident comes just three days after a similar armed confrontation between Taliban and Pakistani forces in the same area.
Neither the Taliban nor the Pakistani government has so far commented on the latest clash.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the Taliban were originally a creation of Pakistan, developed during its alliance with the United States, but have now become “untrustworthy.”
Speaking to local media on Monday, 13 October, Asif said Pakistan did not seek war with the Taliban but warned that any hostility would be met with a firm response. He said that Whenever an attack came from Afghanistan, Pakistan pursued the attackers to their homes, and added that Islamabad knew “who lives in Afghanistan and where.”
According to Aaj News, Asif said Pakistan would never allow itself to fall into instability and had decided to secure its borders. He added that mediation from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar could help de-escalate tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
In an interview with Geo News, Asif said that the situation along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border remained tense and that hostilities could resume “at any moment.” Asked about negotiations with Kabul, he said that if the Taliban wanted dialogue while threatening Pakistan, “they should act on their threats first, then we will talk.”
He also accused Afghanistan of harbouring a “conglomerate of international terrorism,” including ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban, claiming all operated “under Kabul’s umbrella.”
When asked about Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Noor Wali Mehsud, Asif said those targeted by Pakistan were located “inside Afghan territory,” adding: “He wasn’t on the moon; he was in Afghanistan.”
Asif’s comments come amid the worst deterioration in Pakistan–Afghanistan relations in four years, following recent Taliban attacks on border posts inside Pakistan.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said trade between Afghanistan and India has reached nearly USD 1 billion and that conditions are now favourable for expanding economic cooperation between the two countries.
Speaking at a meeting with representatives of Indian industries in New Delhi on Monday, Muttaqi called for simplified visa procedures for Afghan traders to help boost bilateral trade.
According to Indian media reports, the remarks were made during a joint session with members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Muttaqi said that peace and security had been restored in Afghanistan, providing an opportunity for greater economic engagement.
Representatives of India’s private sector at the meeting highlighted ongoing challenges, saying that difficulties in obtaining visas and delays in the transport of goods remain key obstacles to trade. They urged both sides to review visa processes and improve trade routes to prevent delays in Indian investment projects in Afghanistan.
India has been one of Afghanistan’s key regional trade partners in recent years. However, bilateral economic activity has significantly declined since the fall of the previous government and the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
At least 10 Taliban members were killed in heavy fighting between rival factions of the group in Badakhshan province over control of a gold mine, sources told Afghanistan International.
The clashes erupted on Sunday evening in Yalor village, Yaftal district, between Taliban fighters from Helmand and local Taliban members from Badakhshan. According to the sources, eight Helmandi Taliban and two Badakhshani Taliban were killed in the fighting, which reportedly continued into Monday.
Several others were wounded, though the exact number of casualties remains unclear. Local officials said the district’s head of justice and head of traffic departments were among the dead.
One source said the confrontation was initiated by local Taliban fighters. Another claimed that Taliban members from southern provinces, with the backing of Badakhshan’s Taliban governor and police chief, had “seized” the province’s gold mines, cutting local fighters off from any share of the mining revenue.
The Taliban have not yet commented on the reports. Intra-group disputes over the control of mines and local resources have become increasingly common in northern Afghanistan, where Taliban factions compete for economic influence and revenue.
The Taliban have launched a religious inquisition targeting doctors and medical staff at Kabul’s Ali Abad Hospital, according to internal documents obtained by Afghanistan International.
The documents reveal that Khalil-ur-Rahman, the hospital’s mosque cleric and a representative of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has been conducting what he described as “ideological inspections” of doctors and specialists.
In a message sent to the hospital’s WhatsApp working group, Mullah Khalil-ur-Rahman distributed a list of medical personnel and ordered them to report to the hospital mosque on Tuesday to answer religious questions.
In a separate voice message, he warned that all doctors and staff must attend the session, adding that anyone who failed to appear would be “responsible for the consequences.”
This kind of ideological screening is not unique to Ali Abad Hospital. The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has reportedly established units across government ministries and departments to monitor employees’ beliefs and enforce strict religious codes, including growing beards, wearing Taliban-style clothing, and attending daily congregational prayers.
Earlier reports indicated that similar tests have been conducted among staff at the Ministry of Public Health. Over the past four years, thousands of Afghan university professors have left the country as the Taliban’s religious police expanded surveillance and religious questioning of students and academics.
The Taliban have also appointed clerics educated solely in traditional religious seminaries, many lacking modern education or administrative experience, to senior positions in ministries and public institutions, further tightening ideological control over Afghanistan’s state apparatus.
A senior Pakistani official has denied Taliban claims that Pakistan’s defence minister, intelligence chief and two generals were denied visas to visit Kabul. The source said that no visa applications were submitted and that only a proposal for a visit had been made.
Speaking to Afghanistan International on Monday, the official said, “It was only a proposal, not a visa request,” rejecting reports that Islamabad’s senior officials had applied for entry into Afghanistan.
Earlier, Taliban government sources in Kabul told Afghanistan International that the Taliban had rejected visa applications from Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, intelligence chief Asim Malik, and two other generals. The sources claimed the officials had submitted visa requests over the past three days.
The conflicting reports over a potential high-level Pakistani delegation come amid escalating tensions between the two neighbours, following a week of deadly border clashes and retaliatory airstrikes.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry issued an unusually pointed statement expressing hope that “the Afghan people will be free and have a truly democratic government,” signalling a hardening of Islamabad’s tone toward the Taliban.