Yousuf Wafa, the Taliban-appointed governor of Balkh province, visited Tajikistan on Thursday, where he met with senior Tajik officials. He called for the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between Kabul and Dushanbe.
According to a statement from the Taliban governor’s office, Wafa travelled to Dushanbe at the invitation of Tajik authorities. During his meetings, he discussed regional security and stressed that instability in Afghanistan could adversely affect neighbouring countries.
The statement said Wafa met with Saimumin Sattorovich Yatimov, head of Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security, and the commander of the country’s border forces. The Taliban spokesperson for Balkh said both sides underscored the importance of strengthening intelligence and border security cooperation.
Tajikistan, unlike other Central Asian states, does not maintain diplomatic relations with the Taliban and continues to host several figures opposed to their rule. Dushanbe has also refused to transfer control of Afghanistan’s embassy to Taliban representatives, maintaining ties with officials from the former Afghan republic.
Yousuf Wafa, a close confidant of the Taliban’s supreme leader, has been a key figure in the group’s political outreach to regional neighbours. His visit marks one of the highest-level Taliban delegations to Tajikistan since the group’s return to power in 2021.
Tajikistan has repeatedly voiced concern about the presence of extremist and terrorist groups inside Afghanistan under Taliban control. Last year, Yatimov travelled to Kabul to meet with Taliban intelligence officials. Diplomatic sources told Afghanistan International that his August 2024 visit focused on ways to enhance security coordination between the two sides amid ongoing regional tensions.
Former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has reportedly urged the Taliban to appoint “a few Tajik figures” to senior positions in their administration in an effort to boost the group’s domestic and international legitimacy, sources told Afghanistan International.
Sources in the United States told the outlet that Khalilzad’s recent visit to Kabul was a personal trip and not linked to the US government. During his stay, he met with the Taliban’s defence minister and several senior officials.
The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that Khalilzad, who served as the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, had paid an “informal visit” to Kabul and held talks with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s acting foreign minister. The ministry said the discussions focused on “ways to expand bilateral relations” between the Taliban and the United States.
A well-placed source in Kabul said Khalilzad urged the Taliban to include several symbolic Tajik figures in their administration, mentioning four or five names during the talks, though the names were not disclosed. The source quoted Khalilzad as saying that diversifying the Taliban’s leadership would be an important step toward gaining legitimacy both inside Afghanistan and abroad.
According to the source, Khalilzad told Taliban leaders that to overcome their ongoing disputes with Pakistan, they must achieve a degree of international recognition, which would require including non-Pashtun figures in government. He reportedly assured Taliban officials that if they broadened their political base, he would help lobby for international acceptance of their government.
Earlier, Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai reported that Khalilzad had been working to promote international recognition for the Taliban administration. Citing Taliban sources, Yousafzai wrote that Khalilzad had encouraged former US president Donald Trump to adopt a more positive approach toward recognising the Taliban government. However, the report added that Trump’s stance shifted following meetings with Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on 22 October but has not publicly commented on the purpose of his visit. Although he currently holds no official position in the US administration, he has in recent months participated in unofficial delegations involved in negotiations for the release of American hostages held in Afghanistan.
The Taliban have likely gained access to sensitive personal data of Afghan citizens, including at-risk individuals, after assuming control of Afghanistan’s consulate in the German city of Bonn, according to a report by Germany’s Tagesschau news outlet.
The report raises serious concerns about the safety of Afghans whose information may now be in the hands of Taliban intelligence, which has been accused of targeting critics and their relatives inside Afghanistan.
According to Tagesschau, the German government was aware of potential risks but, despite warnings from Afghan diplomats and human rights advocates, did not prevent the handover of the consulate to Taliban representatives.
In early October, Taliban-appointed diplomat Said Mustafa and several others reportedly entered the consulate building. At the time, Hamid Nangialay Kabiri, the former consul general, and 22 staff members resigned in protest against Germany’s decision to recognise Taliban representatives in a functional capacity.
Kabiri said the consulate had maintained its independence since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover and had refused to share Afghan citizens’ records with what he called the “illegitimate Taliban group.” He added that all documents and assets had been handed over to Germany’s Foreign Ministry before his departure.
The Tagesschau report said Mustafa’s role extends beyond standard consular duties and includes efforts to align the Bonn consulate’s operations with Taliban policies.
Experts cited by the outlet said the consulate had served as a key data hub for Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions across Europe, Canada and Australia that refused to recognise the Taliban after the collapse of the former Afghan Republic. Its servers reportedly hold a vast digital archive containing passport information, birth and marriage certificates, and official correspondence concerning millions of Afghans abroad.
The report warned that if the Taliban now control these archives, the personal information of dissidents, civil activists and asylum seekers could be exposed to Taliban intelligence networks.
Documents obtained by Germany’s ARD network revealed that Afghan diplomats had warned Berlin in two confidential letters dated February and July 2025 that handing over the Bonn consulate could have “catastrophic consequences” for the safety of Afghan migrants in Europe. The letters highlighted that millions of confidential records would fall under Taliban control if the transfer proceeded.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry has not commented directly on the allegations, saying only that it remains in contact with Afghanistan’s representation and expects it to continue operating under the name and emblem of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the pre-Taliban government.
Tagesschau further reported that after taking control, the Taliban launched a new website for the Bonn consulate that mirrors the design of the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry portal in Kabul. The site no longer references the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” signalling what the outlet described as “new political realities” emerging on German soil, despite Berlin’s official non-recognition of the Taliban government.
Sources told Tagesschau that Taliban-linked representatives, including Asif Abdullah from Afghanistan’s embassy in Berlin, entered the Bonn consulate during the German Unity Day holiday.
The report also said Germany recently allowed two Taliban-appointed diplomats to assume roles in Afghanistan’s missions in Bonn and Berlin in exchange for the Taliban’s cooperation in deporting Afghan asylum seekers from Germany.
Naeem Wardak, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, told China’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, that Pakistan has “tested the Taliban administration’s patience” over the past four years, according to a Taliban foreign ministry's statement.
During their meeting in Kabul, the two sides discussed bilateral relations and ongoing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. The ministry quoted Wardak as saying that while the Taliban remains committed to resolving disputes through dialogue, Pakistan’s actions over the past four years have forced Kabul to “respond in kind.”
The Taliban statement said Yue Xiaoyong told Wardak that Beijing seeks to play a constructive role in easing disputes between the Taliban and Pakistan. The Chinese envoy also praised Qatar and Türkiye’s mediation efforts, which helped the two neighbours reach a recent ceasefire agreement.
Wardak thanked China for its continued cooperation and support, citing “long-standing ties and shared interests” between the two countries. He reaffirmed that the Taliban administration seeks engagement with all nations on the basis of mutual respect, and reiterated that Afghan territory would not be used to threaten any other country.
According to the ministry, Yue Xiaoyong said China aims to build long-term relations with the Taliban administration grounded in respect and constructive engagement.
Over the past four years, China has deepened its ties with the Taliban, officially handing over the Afghan embassy in Beijing to the group’s representatives and maintaining regular diplomatic contact. At the same time, Beijing remains a strategic ally of Pakistan, a factor that has placed it in a delicate position amid escalating border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.
Analysts say Beijing views the current rift between Pakistan and the Taliban as harmful to its broader regional interests, particularly its plans to expand trade and transit routes across South Asia under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported that the Taliban have completely dismantled freedom of expression and the press in Afghanistan. The report said that they have created an environment of fear marked by arrests, torture, and forced self-censorship among journalists.
In a report released Thursday, the rights organisation said that since the Taliban’s return to power four years ago, Afghan journalists have faced severe repression and intimidation, with authorities monitoring all media content. Even minor criticism of Taliban officials can lead to arrest or physical abuse, the report said.
Fereshta Abbasi, Human Rights Watch’s Afghanistan researcher, said: “Taliban officials increasingly compel Afghan journalists to produce ‘safe,’ pre-approved stories, and they punish those who step out of line with arbitrary detention and torture. While all Afghan journalists have been affected and many have fled the country, women journalists have been among the hardest hit.”
Torture and Prosecution
According to the report, most arrests carried out by Taliban intelligence are based on accusations of espionage, contact with opposition groups or exiled media, or coverage of ISIS-K or internal Taliban disputes.
The Taliban’s intelligence service and morality police frequently raid media offices and journalists’ homes, confiscate phones and computers, and search contact lists. Some reporters have been detained merely for speaking to foreign media outlets.
Several journalists told HRW that Taliban agents used violence during interrogations. Some said they were beaten so severely that their teeth or facial bones were broken. Others were released only after signing pledges not to work as journalists again. One former detainee said: “Those who were released are still struggling with trauma.”
Forced Self-Censorship
Human Rights Watch said that fear of arrest has led many journalists inside Afghanistan to restrict their reporting to official events such as government projects or diplomatic meetings.
A Kabul-based journalist told the group he had been detained twice for disregarding Taliban orders. The report also said the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice regularly inspects media offices and has banned filming or photographing people, claiming that depictions of living beings are forbidden under Islam.
A journalist in Herat said that after a cultural event, “we were only allowed to publish a photo of the empty hall. No faces could be shown.”
The Taliban have also ordered media outlets to refer to them as the “Islamic Emirate” rather than “the Taliban,” and to publish most reports in Pashto.
Uneven Restrictions
The report noted that censorship levels vary across provinces. Monitoring is strictest in Kandahar, while central and northern regions face differing degrees of pressure.
A reporter told HRW: “You can go to Panjshir, but they’ll follow you. You need to coordinate with local authorities beforehand. If you don’t get permission, you can’t report.”
Coverage of Afghanistan’s borders with Iran or Pakistan also requires direct permission and supervision from Taliban officials, the report said.
Ethnic minority journalists, particularly Hazaras, face harsher treatment. One Hazara journalist recounted being insulted and threatened while in Taliban custody: “A Hazara kid dared to speak against us? We won the war with the Americans, who do you think you are? We can kill you whenever we want.”
HRW said Taliban intelligence agents are especially active in Hazara-majority regions and that Shia religious programming has been banned. One journalist preparing a report on a Shia cleric said Taliban officials threatened he would “die under torture” if the story was published.
Journalists in Exile
The rights group warned that dozens of Afghan journalists living in Pakistan and Türkiye face the risk of deportation. Many have no legal status and fear arrest or forced return to Afghanistan. In Türkiye, most exiled journalists lack work or residence permits and live in precarious conditions.
HRW said returning Afghan journalists would violate the principle of non-refoulement, as they face detention, torture, or death if sent back.
Warning to the International Community
Human Rights Watch warned that without urgent international action, Afghanistan risks becoming what it called a “silent nation.”
The group urged regional and global powers to honor their pledges to protect Afghan journalists, halt all deportations, and press the Taliban to end censorship, arbitrary arrests, and violence against the media.
The report was based on 18 remote interviews with journalists inside Afghanistan and 13 in-person interviews with Afghan journalists and refugee organisations in Türkiye.
An investigation by Afghanistan International shows that no major attacks have been reported inside Pakistan since the recent ceasefire between the Taliban and Pakistan took effect.
The agreement, brokered by Qatar and Türkiye, followed several days of deadly cross-border clashes between Pakistani forces and Taliban fighters along the frontier.
Aside from the killing of a young man in Quetta, claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), there have been no reports of militant assaults or armed confrontations between Pakistani security forces and insurgent groups over the past three days.
After the ceasefire was signed, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the “series of terrorism from Afghanistan to Pakistan will immediately come to an end,” adding that both countries had agreed to respect each other’s territorial integrity.
In a statement released by the Taliban’s Ministry of Defence, the group outlined the main provisions of the Doha agreement, including a ceasefire, mutual respect, restraint from attacks on security forces, civilians, and infrastructure, and a commitment not to support cross-border assaults. Both sides pledged to avoid any hostile actions.
The accord, reached on 19 October through Qatari and Turkish mediation, appears to have temporarily curbed attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The relative calm suggests the truce has so far been effective, though analysts caution it may prove short-lived.
Pakistan’s defence minister has warned that the ceasefire’s durability depends on the Afghan Taliban’s ability and willingness to restrain militants operating from Afghan territory.
Islamabad continues to accuse the Taliban of harbouring TTP leaders and fighters who use Afghanistan as a base for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation the Taliban has repeatedly denied.