The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned a deadly explosion in New Delhi that killed at least eight people, while remaining silent on a suicide bombing in Islamabad that left at least 12 dead.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ministry denounced the blast in the Indian capital and expressed condolences to the victims’ families, as well as to the people and government of India.
The reaction came as Islamabad on the same day was hit by a powerful explosion near the city’s judicial complex. Pakistani security officials said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.
No group has claimed responsibility for the Islamabad bombing.
Pakistan’s defence minister said Tuesday’s suicide bombing at a judicial complex in the capital is a “serious warning” for the country, claiming the Taliban have now brought their conflict onto Pakistani soil.
In a post on X, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif wrote that Pakistan is in a state of war. He said anyone who believes the army is fighting only in border regions or in Balochistan “should be awakened” by the attack. “This war belongs to all of Pakistan,” he said, adding that the military is making daily sacrifices while providing citizens with a sense of protection and security.
Asif said that in the current circumstances, placing hope in negotiations with the ‘rulers in Kabul’ would be a mistake, insisting that the Taliban have the ability to prevent terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.
He said the fact the violence has reached Islamabad sends a message from Kabul, but Pakistan, by the grace of God, has the capability to respond decisively.
At least 12 people were killed and 27 wounded in the blast near the Islamabad judicial complex. The explosion occurred Tuesday morning in the capital’s G-11 district, and officials said the blast ignited several vehicles in the area.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned on Monday that climate change is worsening economic pressures on rural communities in Afghanistan and reducing the viability of legal crops.
According to the UN office a combination of the two is driving farmers back toward opium cultivation.
In a post on X, UNODC said that countries and relevant organisations should prioritise climate-resilience efforts to prevent a renewed surge in illicit crop production.
The agency noted earlier that poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is projected to decline by 20 percent in 2025, with farmers’ income from opium sales during the same period nearly halved.
Despite this decline, UNODC cautioned that the increasing return of Afghan migrants from neighbouring countries is adding strain to the labour market and limited resources, raising concerns about a potential rise in illegal opium cultivation.
The warning coincides with the opening of the COP30 global climate summit in Belém, Brazil, on Monday, where representatives from more than 190 countries are discussing emissions reductions, renewable energy expansion and aid for climate-vulnerable nations. The Taliban was not invited to the event.
According to the UN, Afghanistan is among the world’s 10 most climate-vulnerable countries, facing severe drought, floods, irregular rainfall and declining water supplies.
Local sources told Afghanistan International early Monday that Taliban members once again prevented hundreds of women without burqas from entering Herat Regional Hospital.
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice earlier rejected claims that wearing a burqa was mandatory in Herat, but sources said the restriction remains strictly enforced.
A viewer in Herat shared a video with Afghanistan International, saying that Taliban officers used violence while blocking women from entering and that they were beating them.
On Sunday, the Taliban’s virtue ministry denied that the burqa had been made compulsory for women in Herat and said women in the province had not been denied government services for not wearing one.
However, according to local sources and videos received by Afghanistan International, Taliban members have required women to wear the burqa in public places and government offices in Herat since Wednesday.
Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, told an annual forum in France that Afghanistan has once again become a global centre for militant training under Taliban rule.
He delivered the remarks on Saturday in Saint-Raphaël, in France’s Var region, at the “Meetings for the Future” conference, where he addressed challenges to democracy.
Massoud said his movement had not pursued armed resistance as a goal but as a last resort after attempts at dialogue were rejected by the Taliban. He described the resistance as a means to achieve a political settlement that would allow Afghans to choose their own government and enable women and girls to access education and equal opportunities.
He argued that while international dynamics have shifted since the time of his father, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Taliban’s behaviour has remained unchanged. He said the group continues to inflict repression similar to its earlier rule and warned that global fatigue and competing crises may be contributing to declining international attention to Afghanistan.
Massoud called on the international community to keep Afghanistan high on both humanitarian and political agendas. He said Afghanistan should remain under consideration by international judicial mechanisms, that sanctions against Taliban leaders should remain in place, and that no government should grant the Taliban formal recognition. He described these steps as straightforward measures that could significantly improve the lives of millions of Afghans.
He highlighted values such as democracy, women’s rights, and freedom of expression as shared principles between Afghans and Europeans, and said they had been systematically dismantled by the Taliban.
The “Meetings for the Future” conference, held annually in France, brings together policymakers, academics, and civil society leaders to discuss long-term global challenges.
Massoud also commented on recent clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan, saying the tensions reflected long-standing structural problems. He said Pakistan had long believed it could control the Taliban but that the group has its own ideology and maintains ties with organisations such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which claims territory inside Pakistan.
He added that Western governments had previously attempted to convince themselves that the Taliban had changed, possibly due to diplomatic misjudgements or a desire to move past the war. However, he said current Taliban actions and policies make clear that such assumptions can no longer be sustained.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that certain elements within the Taliban were attempting to inflame Pashtun nationalism inside Pakistan.
It warned that such efforts undermined ongoing diplomatic engagement between the two sides.
In a detailed statement issued on 8 November, the ministry said the Taliban had used recent talks to level unfounded accusations against Pakistan, promote nationalist rhetoric, and prolong discussions without addressing Islamabad’s core security concerns. According to the statement, these tactics prevented any meaningful progress in negotiations.
The ministry argued that specific actors within the Taliban, allegedly supported financially by external players, were engaged in promoting “Pashtun nationalism” in Pakistan. It said the Pashtun population in Pakistan was larger than in Afghanistan and formed a dynamic, influential segment of Pakistani society, with many having held senior political and administrative roles.
Islamabad said that rather than trying to stir ethnic sentiment across the border, the Taliban should instead focus on improving ethnic inclusion within their own governing structures.
The ministry added that Pakistan had spent the past four years attempting to address security concerns over the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other groups in Afghanistan through constructive engagement. In return, it said, Islamabad had received only empty assurances and no measurable action from the Taliban.
Pakistan again accused the Taliban of harbouring, supporting, and training anti-Pakistan militants, saying that the increase in attacks originating from Afghan soil since August 2021 was “undeniable and documented.” The statement said the issue was no longer one of the Taliban’s capacity but of their willingness to confront terrorism.
The ministry warned that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to defend its territory and citizens, adding that any party that offered refuge or support to militant groups “cannot be considered a friend of Pakistan.” Despite the strong language, it said Islamabad remained committed to resolving differences through diplomacy and dialogue.
Pakistan has also claimed that, beyond failing to curb extremist activity, some Taliban members were directly involved in sheltering Pakistani militants.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a separate statement, said the Pakistani delegation at the third round of talks in Istanbul had refused to accept any responsibilities, which, it said, led to the collapse of the negotiations.
The Taliban–Pakistan talks, mediated by Türkiye and Qatar and launched after deadly border clashes, concluded their third round without any breakthrough.