Earthquake Death Toll In Northern Afghanistan Rises Above 20, Says Taliban

According to the sources, several militants were killed during the clash, and the bodies of two were recovered by Pakistani troops.

The sources said one of the slain fighters was identified as Qasim Khan, a resident of Gayan district in Afghanistan’s Paktika province. An Afghan national identity card was reportedly found in his possession.

Pakistani authorities have repeatedly accused members of the Afghan Taliban of fighting alongside anti-government militants in Pakistan, a claim the Taliban have consistently denied.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s border regions, particularly Waziristan, have seen frequent attacks on Pakistani forces. Islamabad usually blames Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the assaults, saying many of the attackers cross the border from Afghanistan.

The Taliban have not commented on the latest incident.

Speaking at a meeting in Kabul on Sunday, Agha said: “Our weakness in the face of Pakistan’s air attacks was because we do not have access to the necessary technology.” He claimed, however, that in ground battles, “the Pakistanis were defeated.”

The minister emphasised the importance of modern science and technology for defending what he called the Taliban’s sovereignty. He also alleged that during recent border clashes, Pakistani soldiers “fled their positions.”

Last month, following Pakistan’s airstrikes on Kabul and Paktika, Taliban and Pakistani forces engaged in deadly border fighting. The Taliban claimed that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed, while Islamabad said it had eliminated more than 200 Taliban fighters.

Mediated by Qatar and Turkiye, defence ministers from both sides later signed a peace agreement in Doha.

Agha previously said that the absence of modern scientific knowledge had allowed the United States to dominate Afghanistan’s airspace. He argued that only through modern education could Afghanistan counter foreign drone patrols.

In his latest remarks, Agha urged the country’s youth to “work harder to acquire modern knowledge and technology.”

His comments come despite the Taliban’s ongoing ban on education for girls beyond grade six, now in place for more than four years. The Taliban have also revised Afghanistan’s school curriculum, removing large sections of modern subjects deemed contrary to their ideology and increasing the focus on religious studies.

Speaking to Iranian media, Naderi called for a regulated and humane approach to managing Afghan migrants. “The correct solution is to regulate, legalise, and gradually manage the presence of foreign nationals in the labour market in a way that both protects the country’s economic interests and respects the human dignity and rights of these individuals,” he said.

His comments come amid a wave of arrests and deportations of Afghan migrants across Iran. Many of those detained were workers taken into custody during security raids and forcibly deported after being transferred to detention camps.

Following the mass deportations, Iranian labour experts warned of a potential workforce shortage.

In October, Mohammadreza Bahrami, director-general for South Asia at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, announced that Tehran would allocate 200,000 work visas for Afghan labourers. He said talks between Iran and the Taliban regarding undocumented Afghan migrants would continue.

Seyed Malek Hosseini, Iran’s deputy labour minister, said on 27 October that more than 1,700 visa applications had been submitted by Afghan workers, with 170 visas already issued. However, he noted that Afghan workers are restricted from certain sectorsy and barred from entering specific cities.

Naderi stressed that Afghan migrants have long been an essential part of Iran’s workforce, particularly in the industrial and construction sectors.

According to Taliban-run media citing the governor’s office, cargo unloading operations take place each day at Herat’s Rozanak station.

Last week, Afghanistan received its first shipment of diesel through the railway, while a second consignment of oil is expected to arrive later this week.

The Taliban said the expansion of trade through the Khaf–Herat railway underscores Afghanistan’s growing role as a vital commercial link between Asia and Europe.

Asif said the Taliban does not represent Afghanistan and is plagued by internal divisions and factionalism.

His comments came after Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership follow different agendas, alleging that while the civilian government seeks improved ties with Kabul, the military works to undermine them.

In a post on X, Asif wrote that on the malicious and misleading comments made by the Afghan spokesperson, let it be categorically stated that there exists complete unanimity of views among all Pakistanis, including the country’s political and military leadership, regarding Pakistan’s security policies and its comprehensive approach toward Afghanistan.

He said the people of Pakistan, particularly those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are well aware of the Taliban regime’s “treacherous support for terrorism” allegedly backed by India.

Asif added that, four years after taking power, the Taliban regime has yet to honour the commitments it made to the international community. He added that the regime now attempts to mask its lack of cohesion, stability, and governance capacity through rhetoric and by serving as a proxy for external elements.

The defence minister also accused the Taliban of suppressing fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, education, and political representation.

Asif reaffirmed that Pakistan’s policy on protecting its citizens from cross-border terrorism and the ideology of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains unified and consistent.