Afghan Female Singer Arrested In Pakistan After Visa Expiry
Pakistani police have arrested Asma Wesal, an Afghan female singer, in Islamabad after her visa expired, her family confirmed to Afghanistan International on Thursday.
Pakistani police have arrested Asma Wesal, an Afghan female singer, in Islamabad after her visa expired, her family confirmed to Afghanistan International on Thursday.
Her sister, Khushi Mahtab, said Wesal was detained by police and later transferred to the Haji Camp migrant detention centre in Islamabad. The family said she now faces the risk of forced deportation to Afghanistan.
Wesal has been living in Islamabad for the past three years with her sister and brother.
Her arrest comes amid an intensified crackdown on Afghan migrants in Pakistan, as authorities continue large-scale detentions and deportations of undocumented Afghans following recent border clashes between the Taliban and the Pakistani military.
Human rights groups have repeatedly warned that Afghan women particularly artists, journalists, and activists face severe persecution under Taliban rule if returned to Afghanistan.
Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), visited a hospital in Kabul just days before Pakistan carried out an airstrike on the Afghan capital, informed sources told Afghanistan International.
According to the sources, Mehsud visited Hewad Shifa Hospital, located in Qala Cha along the Kabul–Logar highway, to visit wounded members of his group. They said the hospital had previously signed a contract to treat injured TTP fighters, but terminated the agreement after the airstrike.
Hewad Shifa Hospital denied the claim, however. A hospital spokesperson told Afghanistan International: “We have no specific contract to treat the wounded; all patients come on an individual basis.”
After Pakistan’s recent airstrike on Kabul, Mehsud released a video statement showing himself in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, following unconfirmed reports suggesting he had been targeted in the attack. Sources later confirmed the video was recent and filmed in Khyber district, though Mehsud’s current location remains unknown.
The same sources said the vehicle carrying Mehsud was targeted in the airstrike, but he survived.
Mehsud became the leader of the TTP in 2018 after his predecessor, Mullah Fazlullah, was killed in a US drone strike.
Following Pakistan’s airstrikes on Kabul and Paktika provinces, reports also circulated claiming that Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a senior TTP commander, had been killed. However, Afghanistan International sources confirmed that Bahadur is alive and had been residing mainly in Barmal district of Paktika province.
Bahadur, who leads the Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction of the TTP, belongs to the Madukhil branch of the Wazir tribe. He has also been seen in other parts of Afghanistan, including Shakardara district of Kabul in 2022.
Both Noor Wali Mehsud and Hafiz Gul Bahadur, key figures in the Pakistani Taliban movement, hail from Waziristan and have played central roles in sustaining the TTP and its affiliated networks. Despite a longstanding rivalry, both men continue to wage separate insurgencies against Pakistan, while maintaining close ties to the Haqqani Network, from which they reportedly receive official support.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it continues to engage with all Afghan stakeholders in support of inclusive governance, human rights, and international cooperation.
In a statement issued on Friday, 24 October, to mark United Nations Day, UNAMA said its engagement aims to “safeguard human rights and strengthen global support for the Afghan people.” However, the mission did not specify which groups it has engaged with, at what level, or whether its dialogue includes Taliban opponents.
For the past four years, the international community and regional powers have urged the Taliban to form an inclusive government, calls the group has repeatedly ignored.
Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, urged renewed global solidarity, saying: “Together, let us uphold the promise of the UN Charter and work toward a peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable Afghanistan.”
Situation of Women and Girls Worsening
UNAMA expressed deep concern over the continuing deterioration of conditions for women and girls under Taliban rule. It said the Taliban’s restrictions on education, employment, and public participation undermine the fundamental rights of Afghan citizens and the country’s future prospects.
The statement reaffirmed the UN’s enduring commitment to peace, security, human rights, justice, and sustainable development, noting that the organisation has stood by Afghans “through both progress and hardship”, from peacebuilding and institutional reform to life-saving humanitarian aid.
UN’s Role in Afghanistan
UNAMA said the UN’s agencies, funds, and programmes have enabled millions of Afghans to gain access to education, healthcare, clean water, and livelihoods. It underscored the UN’s crucial role in protecting the rights of women and girls and its ongoing principled engagement to support Afghanistan’s recovery.
However, the mission warned that Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis remains among the world’s most severe, with roughly two-thirds of the population in need of assistance. Declining donor funding, it said, threatens the delivery of essential services. The statement also highlighted how the return of millions of migrants and the impacts of climate change have further deepened Afghans’ vulnerability.
Georgette Gagnon, the UN Deputy Special Representative and head of UNAMA, said Afghanistan cannot achieve lasting stability and development on its own. “This 80th anniversary reminds us of the power and necessity of multilateralism and collective action,” she said.
“Regional cooperation, international engagement, and a shared commitment to dialogue and diplomacy are essential,” Gagnon added. “The United Nations remains a vital platform for bringing nations together to address common challenges and support the aspirations of the Afghan people.”
UNAMA reaffirmed that, under its Security Council mandate, it will continue to engage with all Afghan stakeholders to promote inclusive governance, protect human rights, and strengthen international support for Afghanistan.
The United Nations was formally established on 24 October 1945, following the ratification of its Charter by founding members. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was created in March 2002 through a Security Council resolution, with a mandate to coordinate international support for peace and reconstruction in the country.
The Taliban leader has ordered Afghanistan’s Ministry of Energy and Water to begin construction of a dam on the Kunar River “as soon as possible,” in a move seen as potentially heightening tensions with Pakistan over shared water resources.
According to Taliban Energy and Water Minister Abdul Latif Mansoor, the leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, instructed the ministry not to wait for foreign companies and instead to sign contracts with domestic firms to launch the project. Mansoor quoted Akhundzada as saying that “Afghans have the right to manage their own waters.”
The Kunar River, one of Afghanistan’s five main rivers, originates in Chitral, Pakistan, flows for around 482 kilometres through Afghanistan’s Kunar province, and then joins the Kabul River before returning to Pakistan. Most of the Kabul River’s flow eventually reaches Pakistan, where provinces such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rely heavily on Afghan waters.
Afghanistan is rich in water resources, but decades of war and instability have prevented the country from developing effective water management systems.
Rising Sensitivity In Pakistan
The renewed push for dam construction on the Kunar River comes amid escalating border tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. Water sharing has long been a sensitive issue between the two neighbours, which have no formal water treaty and divide water based on customary practices.
Recently, Pakistani media reported that Islamabad is considering diverting the flow of the Chitral River before it enters Afghanistan, redirecting it toward the Swat River. The Nation newspaper quoted a Pakistani government source saying Islamabad aims to alter the river’s course before it merges with the Kunar and Kabul rivers inside Afghanistan.
Last year, after reports surfaced of the Taliban’s plans to build dams in eastern Afghanistan, former Pakistani provincial official Jan Achakzai warned that any unilateral construction by the Taliban on the Kunar (also known as the Chitral River) would be viewed as a hostile act against Pakistan. He said such action could have serious consequences, including heightened tensions and the potential for conflict.
A Baloch activist also argued that the Taliban’s dam project aligns with India’s strategy to limit water flows to Pakistan.
Despite these objections, the Taliban have consistently reiterated their commitment to dam construction on the Kunar River. Mansoor previously said that some neighbouring countries are “unhappy that Afghanistan is finally gaining control over its waters.”
In an interview with Shamshad TV, Mansoor said building a dam on the Kunar River was one of the Taliban government’s top priorities. Quoting Akhundzada, he said: “If we do not build a dam on the Kunar now, we never will.”
Mansoor noted that the Kunar River offers unique potential for hydropower generation, unmatched elsewhere in Afghanistan.
Regional Water Tensions
The minister also referred to disputes with other neighbouring states, saying that Central Asian countries have benefited from Afghan water for decades and built their own dams. Citing the Qosh Tepa Canal project, Mansoor said, “Even constructing several canals like Qosh Tepa would not compensate for the water lost in the past.”
He added that during his visit to Turkmenistan, officials there urged the Taliban to adhere to Soviet-era water-sharing arrangements. Mansoor responded that the Taliban do not recognise agreements signed during the period of occupation, asserting that “except for Iran, Afghanistan has no water treaties with its neighbours.”
He stressed that the Taliban respect the Helmand River treaty with Iran, but said dam construction elsewhere “faces no restrictions.”
Chinese Interest and Financial Constraints
Despite the Taliban leader’s directive, Mansoor complained about a lack of funding for dam projects. He said the ministry has repeatedly appealed to domestic and foreign investors to finance water initiatives, including a plan to transfer Panjshir water to Kabul, but none have yet followed through.
In August 2024, the ministry announced that a Chinese Energy Company had expressed interest in investing in three hydropower dams Shal, Sagi, and Sartaq on the Kunar River. Mansoor claimed that with these dams, “Afghanistan will be able to export electricity to neighbouring countries.”
However, it remains unclear how willing or technically capable domestic investors are to take on such an ambitious infrastructure project.
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.