Taliban Leader’s Decrees Not Enforced Uniformly Across Afghanistan, Says UN

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ministry said the agreements were concluded between private sector companies from Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.

According to the statement, the memorandums were signed following a “Business Networking” meeting hosted in Kabul after the visit of the Kyrgyz economic delegation. The meeting brought together private sector representatives from both countries for talks covering gold, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, mining and energy, logistics and transport, banking, agriculture and livestock.

Speaking at the meeting, Taliban Minister of Commerce and Industry Nooruddin Azizi described economic relations with Kyrgyzstan as important. He said the two countries are economically complementary, with Afghanistan located at the crossroads of South and West Asia and Kyrgyzstan serving as a gateway to Central Asia and Eurasian economic markets.

Azizi said the signing of a cooperation roadmap and trade memorandums provides an operational framework for expanding economic ties between Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan. He also described the opening of a Kyrgyz Trade House in Kabul as a bridge linking private sector actors in both countries.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry had earlier announced that Kyrgyzstan opened its Trade House in Kabul during the delegation’s visit, calling the move an important step towards strengthening and institutionalising trade and economic relations between the two countries.

According to officials, the drugs were being transported in a vehicle that was stopped by security officers on the Bukhara–Karakul route. A 56-year-old man from the Karakul area and a 52-year-old foreign national were arrested on suspicion of trafficking.

Authorities said the suspects could face prison sentences of up to 20 years if convicted.

Investigators said the narcotics had been smuggled from Afghanistan and stored in a warehouse in Bukhara before being transported.

Uzbekistan’s National Security Service has previously reported large seizures of drugs linked to Afghanistan. In February, authorities said they confiscated 600 kilograms and 12 grams of narcotics valued at about $16.5 million. In that case, traffickers allegedly attempted to smuggle the drugs into Uzbekistan concealed inside bundles of brooms.

The visit followed the Taliban’s decision not to attend the meeting of special representatives of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries and Russia, which was held in Tehran.

In a statement, the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Bahrami briefed Muttaqi in detail on the outcomes of the Tehran conference. Iran’s foreign minister had earlier said the results of the meeting would be conveyed to the Taliban.

According to the statement, Bahrami stressed that relations between Tehran and the Taliban are of great importance to the Islamic Republic.

Muttaqi described relations with Iran as positive and outlined the Taliban administration’s position on the Tehran meeting, though no further details were provided. He said Afghanistan had emerged from a difficult period, was moving rapidly towards development and should no longer be viewed as a problem.

At the conclusion of the Tehran meeting, Iran said in a statement that regional countries were ready to help strengthen stability in Afghanistan if requested by the Taliban authorities. The meeting was attended by Iran’s foreign minister and special representatives for Afghanistan from Pakistan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

According to the statement, participants emphasised the need for regional convergence to address existing challenges, including issues related to Afghanistan.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the second round of talks among special representatives of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries and Russia is scheduled to be held in Islamabad in March 2026.

Speaking on Wednesday at a ceremony for students at a religious seminary, Baradar said clerics “must, alongside their religious duties, also strengthen among the people the spirit of preserving the Islamic system and national interests.”

Baradar said religious seminaries form the foundation of jihad and ideological thought. He said the narrative of the obligation of jihad emerged from madrassas, spread to villages and cities, and developed into action and confrontation that, in his words, “defeated the great armies of disbelief.”

Speaking amid signs of internal differences within the Taliban administration, Baradar added that religious schools “must, under all circumstances, preserve their main and fundamental path.”

His remarks follow a speech a day earlier by Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban’s minister of higher education, who warned of “distrust” and “divisions” within the Taliban during an address at a jihadist madrassa in Kabul, saying the survival of the administration depends on maintaining unity.

The comments also come days after Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, criticised the group’s treatment of the public in a speech in Khost province last Friday.

In that address, Haqqani denounced what he described as a “government of fear and intimidation,” saying: “We, who were once condemned by the world’s empires, now lack tolerance and instead condemn and humiliate our own people.”

Haqqani urged Taliban officials to treat the population in a manner that would reduce hostility and resentment.

This mark the first such individual deportation carried out following a new agreement between the German government and the Taliban administration, according to the German newspaper Bild.

The report said the Afghan man travelled alone and was handed over to Taliban authorities at Kabul airport early on Wednesday.

Bild said the deportation represents a new phase in Germany’s policy on returning Afghan nationals, following contacts between Berlin and the Taliban. European Union officials have previously confirmed that the bloc has been in contact with Taliban authorities at a “technical level” regarding the deportation of refugees.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told Bild that deporting criminals and individuals considered dangerous is in Germany’s national interest. He said anyone who commits a crime in Germany forfeits the right to remain in the country.

“Deportations of Afghan nationals have begun and will be expanded step by step,” Dobrindt was quoted as saying.

Germany suspended deportations to Afghanistan in 2021 after the Taliban returned to power. Last year, Berlin returned a number of Afghan migrants indirectly. In July this year, the German government directly deported 81 Afghan migrants to Afghanistan.

According to Bild, deportations are now being carried out not only through large charter flights but also via regular commercial flights. The report said some individuals classified as dangerous criminals will be deported individually to Kabul under the new approach.