Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House, previously worked with several US government agencies in Afghanistan including the CIA, Fox News has reported, citing US intelligence sources.
According to the report, Lakanwal cooperated with the CIA while serving as part of a US-partnered force in Kandahar.
He entered the United States in 2021, a month after the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan, under the “Operation Allies Welcome” resettlement programme.
The Taliban have sought Russia’s assistance in regaining access to meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) after being excluded from recent sessions.
Gul Hassan, the Taliban’s ambassador in Moscow, raised the issue during talks with Bakhtiyor Khakimov, the Russian president’s special representative to the SCO. Russia is the only country that recognises the Taliban authorities.
According to a statement from the Taliban embassy in Moscow, the meeting focused on “reactivating Afghanistan’s observer status” for future SCO gatherings.
The SCO, founded in 2001, includes Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Iran and Uzbekistan as full members. Belarus joined on 4 July 2024. Afghanistan and Mongolia hold observer status, while dialogue partners range from Azerbaijan and Armenia to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Sri Lanka.
Unlike the Taliban administration, Mongolia has continued to attend SCO meetings as an observer over the past four years. Despite Russia’s recognition of the Taliban, the group was not invited to the 24th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, held in Moscow on 18 November.
The embassy said Hassan also discussed the outcomes of the latest SCO meeting with Khakimov, who reportedly stressed the importance of removing obstacles and maintaining dialogue. He suggested that Afghanistan’s participation as an observer would benefit all parties.
Earlier this year, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry claimed that China had invited its representatives to an SCO meeting, but the group was also excluded from the SCO foreign ministers’ gathering held in China on 15 July.
Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq Khan, has held talks in Islamabad with Mohammad Reza Bahrami, director-general for South Asia at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, to discuss regional security and the threat posed by militant groups operating from Afghanistan.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Sadiq Khan said Pakistan and Iran were committed to working with regional partners to address shared security concerns, particularly terrorism, and to promote peace and stability. He described the meeting as a useful opportunity to exchange views on recent regional developments.
The talks took place as tensions have again risen along Afghanistan’s eastern border, where Pakistan has recently carried out strikes on targets inside the country.
Earlier, Sadiq met Yusuf Sharifzoda, Tajikistan’s ambassador to Islamabad, for discussions on Afghanistan and efforts to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation.
Pakistan’s information minister has accused the Afghan Taliban and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of jointly orchestrating the recent suicide attack in Islamabad. He said that authorities have obtained “clear evidence” that the bomber was an Afghan national.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, Ataullah Tarar said four suspects had been arrested within 48 hours of the blast. He said one of the detainees had confessed that the attackers entered Pakistan from Afghanistan and received training there.
According to Tarar, the suspect also claimed that both the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the TTP were involved in planning the attack. He said investigators had found evidence indicating that the operation was directed by TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud through a commander known as Dadullah inside Afghanistan, who then coordinated with an associate named Sajidullah in Pakistan. Tarar said Sajidullah, described as the main suspect, had previously been a member of the Afghan Taliban.
The explosion near Islamabad’s judicial complex killed at least 12 people and injured 27 others. The attack took place shortly before noon on Tuesday, 11 November, in the G-11 area of the capital. Officials said the blast’s impact set several nearby vehicles on fire. Tarar added that heightened security measures prevented the bomber from reaching his intended targets.
One day after the attack, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told Parliament that India and the Afghan Taliban were involved. The Taliban authorities have not yet responded to the latest accusations but have previously dismissed similar claims, describing Pakistan’s security challenges as “an internal matter.”
The Taliban’s Supreme Court says four people, including two women, were publicly flogged in Balkh province after being convicted of what the group described as “illicit relations.” The individuals received between 20 and 39 lashes each.
In a statement on Wednesday, the court said the punishments were carried out in the presence of judicial, military and civilian officials, local elders, court visitors and members of the public.
According to recent Taliban court announcements, at least 66 people have been flogged nationwide over the past two weeks.
Despite strong opposition from international organisations to corporal punishment and the mistreatment of detainees, the Taliban continues to administer public floggings, describing the practice as the “implementation of Islamic Sharia.”
Pakistan’s defence minister has said Islamabad no longer expects “anything positive” from the Taliban, describing the group as self-interested and untrustworthy.
Khawaja Asif acknowledged that he had once welcomed the Taliban’s return to power, but said any hopes Pakistan held at the time had now disappeared.
In an interview with Geo News on Tuesday, Asif said the Taliban’s behaviour had not changed and that the group was “leading Afghanistan towards destruction.”
Rejecting Taliban claims that Pakistan carried out airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan on Monday night, he insisted that Islamabad had not conducted such operations and said Pakistan’s military was a disciplined force that would not target civilians. He argued that Pakistan’s conduct could not be compared to that of the Taliban, whom he accused of lacking a code of conduct, religion or tradition.
Asif said Pakistan sought regional peace and stability, adding that the continued tensions served no interest. He noted that he is now mocked for a past social-media post expressing support for the Taliban after the signing of the US–Taliban Doha agreement, saying his earlier optimism had faded.
He added that if the Taliban sought alternative trade routes or closer ties with India, Pakistan would not object.
Tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban have sharply escalated since the reports of airstrikes in Khost, Kunar and Paktika on Monday night. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of carrying out the attacks and warned that the group would “respond at the appropriate time,” while Pakistan’s military has denied any involvement.
