AP: Lakanwal Struggled With Unemployment & Isolation Before Attack

Separately, Taliban authorities in Jowzjan province flogged another individual 39 times on a theft charge and handed down a three-month prison sentence.

The Taliban continue to arrest and publicly flog people on a near-daily basis across Afghanistan.

International human rights organisations have described these practices as violations of human dignity and fundamental rights.

The absence of independent judicial and legal institutions in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, along with the lack of access to impartial oversight bodies, remains a major concern for rights groups.

According to Geo News, Dar told reporters in Islamabad that he had informed the European Union of what he described as the “real situation,” including Pakistan’s view that the Taliban had not fulfilled their counterterrorism commitments.

Dar visited Brussels from 19 to 21 November to co-chair the seventh round of the EU–Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. Following the talks, the EU and Pakistan issued a joint statement urging the Taliban to take concrete action to eliminate terrorism in Afghanistan and emphasising that border tensions should be resolved through diplomacy.
EU ambassador Raimundas Karoblis reportedly said Pakistan’s demands for action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were reasonable and rooted in legitimate security concerns.

Pakistan Considered ‘Clean-Up Operation’ in Afghanistan

Dar also said Pakistan had been prepared to launch what he described as a “clean-up operation” inside Afghanistan during the recent escalation with the Taliban, but Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had halted the plan. Dar indicated that, without Sharif’s intervention, Pakistan would have taken punitive action against the Taliban.

He said Islamabad ultimately concluded that it was not appropriate to conduct operations inside Afghanistan, describing such action as equivalent to forcing entry into a neighbour’s home. Dar warned, however, that if the Taliban believed Pakistan was unable to respond, they were mistaken.

According to Dar, Qatar had been aware that Pakistan was preparing to react militarily, which he said prompted Doha to repeatedly request that Islamabad refrain from launching any operation. He said Qatari officials believed Pakistan was on the verge of taking steps that could escalate the situation and had offered to mediate and assume responsibility for helping to resolve the dispute.

Qatar and Turkiye mediated three rounds of talks between Pakistan and the Taliban, although none produced results.

Dar reiterated Pakistan’s position that the Taliban remained a “group” rather than a government and said Islamabad believed the international community shared that assessment. He added that Pakistan retained the ability to respond to the Taliban in any manner it deemed necessary, noting that Pakistan had previously confronted India, a significantly larger power.

He alleged that the Taliban authorities, by supporting groups including al-Qaeda, Uyghur militants and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had become a source of regional instability.

Chaudhry warned that any country providing weapons to the Taliban would, in effect, be arming terrorism. Although he did not name a specific state, he said the Afghan Taliban had endangered regional security by offering sanctuary to ISIS, al-Qaeda and other groups.

He stressed that Pakistan’s dispute was with what he termed the Taliban regime, not with the people of Afghanistan, and said the Taliban did not represent the Afghan population. He criticised the group’s concentration of power and its complete exclusion of women, who make up half of Afghanistan’s population.

Addressing the tensions along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, Chaudhry said the frontier was difficult to control because of the lack of functional administration on the Afghan side. He noted that areas such as Tira and Khyber had no visible courts, law-enforcement bodies or signs of state governance.

He pointed out that 29 tribes live divided across the border, with communities spread on both sides, making effective control of movement extremely challenging. He added that a border fence without surveillance and supporting fire held little military value, as it could easily be breached, and said that constructing posts every two to five kilometres and maintaining drone coverage required significant resources.

Responding to Taliban claims that Pakistani militants in Afghanistan were “guests,” he rejected the assertion, saying Pakistan would deal with such individuals according to its own laws.

Earlier, Taliban officials Khairullah Khairkhwa, the governor of Maidan Wardak, and Abdul Manan Omari, the deputy interior minister, had referred to militants from Waziristan as Afghanistan’s “guests.”

Chaudhry also commented on the closure of border crossings, saying trade could not continue in conditions of ongoing violence, and that the suspension of some routes was directly linked to security concerns and the protection of Pakistani citizens.

He reiterated Pakistan’s concern about US-supplied weapons left behind in Afghanistan, noting that American forces had abandoned military equipment worth an estimated $7.2 billion during their withdrawal, which he said posed risks to several countries in the region.

Chaudhry denied Taliban claims that Pakistan carried out attacks inside Afghanistan last week and repeated that Pakistan does not differentiate between terrorist groups.

Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, the ministry’s spokesperson, accused Akbar of engaging in behaviour “contrary to Islamic and moral values” and said he had been referred to a Taliban court.

In the video published on Saturday, Akbar appears to apologise for his activity on TikTok and expresses regret. It remains unclear under what circumstances the recording was made.

Akbar says in the video that his social media activity was “improper” and that he “will no longer insult anyone.”

The Taliban banned TikTok and the online game PUBG in 2022, arguing that the platforms were “misleading young people.” TikTok remains inaccessible in Afghanistan without a VPN.

The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has previously released multiple forced confession videos of journalists and social media users and has referred them to Taliban courts.

Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, freedom of expression in Afghanistan has sharply deteriorated. Media outlets, journalists and ordinary citizens face significant pressure; many newspapers and television stations have closed or drastically reduced operations. Journalists report threats, censorship and the risk of arrest or violence, leading many to self-censor.

Human rights organisations say minorities, women, civil society activists and individuals critical of the Taliban are particularly vulnerable to repression.

The feature provides new information to users by uncovering the true locations of account holders, including Taliban officials, their supporters, and senior figures from the former Afghan government.

Afghanistan International reviewed the accounts of several political figures, including Taliban officials, their supporters, and former officials of the previous government. The findings reveal new information about their locations.

The feature exposes the locations of users who claim to be in Afghanistan or another country and engage in activity related to that country, but whose accounts show a different location than what they claim.

Our review shows that accounts operating from European countries such as the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands are systematically promoting pro-Taliban messaging.

The new X feature shows that the account of Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, which has more than one million followers, is managed from the United States. The account has been active since 2017.

No reports have emerged of Mujahid travelling to the United States, but the account indicating a US location raises several possibilities: that someone in America manages his X account, that a US-based user has recently accessed it, or that Mujahid is using a VPN. The last possibility is considered unlikely because Afghanistan does not face significant internet restrictions and widespread VPN use is uncommon.

The spokesperson for Hibatullah Akhundzada uses an iPhone, a high-end Apple device considered one of the world’s most advanced smartphones. The Taliban often treat Western technologies and modern symbols cautiously and typically promote the image of a simple lifestyle for their leaders. However, the iPhone is globally recognised as a symbol of Western capitalism and luxury.

The new X feature also shows that the official account of the office of Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, is being managed from the United Kingdom. The office has not announced any visits to London by its officials.

The platform further shows that the account of the Taliban embassy in Moscow is managed from Austria. According to X, the account has been accessed via the US Apple App Store.

The location of the account belonging to Ahmadullah Wasiq, head of the Taliban’s Physical Education Directorate, also shows the United States.

Taliban Negotiator’s Location: India

X’s data also indicates that the account of Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is active from India.

Earlier this month, Balkhi took part in Taliban–Pakistan negotiations in Istanbul. His account’s location is noteworthy because Pakistan has repeatedly alleged that the Afghan Taliban and India are working together to support armed groups opposed to Islamabad.

Relations between the Taliban and India have recently strengthened to an unprecedented degree, with an increase in Taliban officials travelling to India.

Pro-Taliban Promoters Based in Europe

Our review also shows that several X accounts operating from European countries are systematically promoting Taliban narratives.

One user under the name “Abdul Salam Mujahid,” whose profile shows a photo of Taliban defence minister Mullah Yaqoob, has more than 7,000 followers and is listed by X as active in France and connected through the French App Store. The account has changed its name five times.

Another account named “D Hafiz Anas Haqqani Winawi,” which primarily posts photos, speeches and interviews of Anas Haqqani of the Haqqani Network, is also listed as active in France. It has more than 1,400 followers and has been active since late last year.

According to X, another account named “D Islami Emirate,” whose profile photo features Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, is active somewhere in Europe. The account has more than 1,200 followers and regularly publishes and reposts content from Taliban officials and media outlets.

Another pro-Taliban user named “Shaheen Durrani,” whose background image shows the Taliban flag, is active in Norway. The account has more than 10,000 followers and consistently posts photos, videos and text praising the Taliban and its fighters.

A user named “Syeda Sadat,” with more than 11,000 followers, claims to be located in Afghanistan, but X shows her account operating from the Netherlands. Her profile and background photos feature young girls holding Taliban flags. Her posts celebrate the Taliban’s expanding regional relations and criticise the group’s political and military opponents.

Similarly, numerous other accounts are active on X that the platform shows are operated from outside Afghanistan, mainly from Europe and Arab countries. Their pro-Taliban posts receive thousands of views daily.

Accounts of Former Afghan Government Officials

Afghanistan International also reviewed the accounts of former Afghan government officials.

X previously indicated that the account of former president Ashraf Ghani was managed from the Netherlands. However, when we checked early Thursday morning, his account location had changed to the United Kingdom.

Ghani fled to the United Arab Emirates in August 2021. There have been no reports of him travelling to the Netherlands or the UK. X also shows that his account was accessed via the UK App Store.

The new feature also shows the account of Abdullah Abdullah, former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, as being operated from the United Kingdom. No reports have surfaced of him visiting London in the past four years. Abdullah has largely travelled between Kabul and New Delhi, so it is possible the account is managed by one of his colleagues in the UK.

X also shows that Hanif Atmar, former foreign minister and national security adviser, is in Germany.

According to the platform, the accounts of Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front, and former vice-president Amrullah Saleh are active from somewhere in Central Asia. Unconfirmed reports suggest both men are residing mainly in Tajikistan.

Possibility of Error

In the first hours after the new feature was activated, some users raised concerns about its accuracy. The location information appears on users’ pages under “About this account.” X also warns that the displayed location may be influenced by recent travel, temporary stays or the use of a VPN.

Nevertheless, Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, responded to users’ doubts by writing on X: “This information is 99 per cent accurate.”

X introduced the new feature as part of its efforts to increase transparency and identify users operating under false identities to advance political agendas, scams or attempts to gain notoriety.

In the United States, the feature has already exposed users who claimed to be in the country but were actually located in India, Thailand and Bangladesh.

NBC News, citing former X employees, reported that the idea for this feature dates back to at least 2018 but was repeatedly rejected. Former staff said user-location data may be inaccurate or manipulated using widely available tools such as VPNs.

Previously, X displayed only the locations users chose to share manually. It remains unclear what data the platform is using to determine users’ true locations.