‘Malicious Elements’ In Neighbouring Country Must Be Neutralised, Says Taliban Official

Muttaqi said the Taliban were prepared to help secure the border and take part in a joint investigation into the incident.

According to the ministry, Muttaqi told Muhriddin that a “climate of trust” had developed in recent months in the political, economic and security cooperation between the two countries, but that certain actors were attempting to undermine that progress and create tensions. The statement did not specify who those actors might be.

Muttaqi said strengthening border security, initiating a joint probe and improving coordination were part of the Taliban’s commitments. He called joint action against what he described as “malicious elements” an urgent requirement for regional stability.

At least two security incidents along the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border in less than a week have resulted in the deaths of Chinese nationals. China has confirmed that its citizens were targeted in an armed attack near the border on Sunday, and said three others were killed in another attack on Friday.

Tajikistan says the first attack was carried out by a drone that dropped grenades. Following the incidents, the Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe urged Chinese citizens in Tajikistan to immediately leave border areas. The embassy said five Chinese nationals had been killed and five others wounded in cross-border attacks from Afghanistan within a week.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry said the most recent attack took place in the Shamsiddin Shohin district of Khatlon province, where the Chinese nationals had been working for a local company in southern Tajikistan.

According to the Taliban, he had been tried on charges of premeditated murder and was arrested in connection with the killing of Abdul Rahman, son of Zabit. The Supreme Court said the death sentence was upheld by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada after the case was reviewed by three courts.

The Taliban said the victim’s family had been asked to grant forgiveness and accept reconciliation, but they declined.

Atiqullah Darwish, chief of the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division, was quoted by the Taliban-appointed provincial governor’s spokesperson as saying on X that this was the eleventh execution carried out under Taliban rule. He added that two other individuals linked to the same case have also received death sentences, but their executions have been postponed due to the absence of the victim’s heirs. He said both would be executed once the heirs are present.

The United Nations has repeatedly urged the Taliban to halt executions in Afghanistan, but the group has rejected those calls, insisting on enforcing what it describes as Islamic law.

Human-rights organizations say the Taliban’s judicial system fails to meet basic legal standards and that defendants are denied due-process rights, including access to legal counsel. The Taliban continue to impose routine public floggings across several provinces. The group also summons crowds to witness executions and corporal punishments, a practice critics describe as psychological intimidation aimed at instilling fear among the population.

The group says two Taliban members were killed, though a spokesperson for the ministry denied the claim and said the assault had been foiled.

In its statement, the AFF said the operation had been pre-planned and targeted a gathering of the Taliban’s morality police as they were leaving the building. It added that the fate of the head of the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue office in Maimana remained unclear.

The AFF accused the Taliban’s morality officers of assembling at the centre each day before patrolling the city in groups of three to five to harass residents, particularly women.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue said in a post on X that an armed militant had attempted to attack employees of the Maimana office but was stopped before reaching his target. He gave no further details about the attacker or how the assault was prevented.

The AFF says it has previously targeted Taliban morality personnel in Kabul, Takhar, Kapisa and several other provinces.

Mostaghfar Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban-appointed governor in Khost, called on the public not to bring smartphones, cameras or weapons to the execution site.

The Taliban did not disclose details of the case, saying only that it stemmed from a “tragic incident” in the Alisher and Terezi districts.

If carried out, the execution will be the twelfth conducted publicly by the Taliban since returning to power. Eleven others have been executed in Farah, Laghman, Ghazni, Jawzjan, Badghis and Nimroz provinces, often before large crowds.

Following the execution of four people in Farah, Badghis and Nimroz, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the Taliban’s actions violated the fundamental right to life and called for an immediate end to the death penalty.

The Taliban’s foreign ministry later rejected UNAMA’s appeal as an “audacious insult” to Islamic rulings and said capital punishment was a non-negotiable part of Islamic Sharia. It urged UNAMA to refrain from such criticism.

The Taliban’s use of public executions has drawn widespread condemnation from international organisations and several governments.

The delegation included Rahmatullah Najib, the Taliban’s deputy interior minister; Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the foreign ministry spokesperson; and Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban figure. Saudi Arabia had earlier signalled its willingness to mediate between the two sides.

The Taliban have not commented publicly on the Saudi talks.

The discussions followed two failed rounds of talks in Istanbul, which also produced no results. Qatar and Türkiye, acting as mediators, previously hosted three rounds of Taliban–Pakistan negotiations in Doha and Istanbul. The first round in Doha resulted in an agreement on an immediate ceasefire.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had earlier acknowledged that the Istanbul talks had collapsed. In a post on X, he said the negotiations “had no result,” adding that certain elements within Pakistan’s intelligence services and military were obstructing the process and attempting to heighten tensions.