535 Afghans To Be Moved From Pakistan By Year-End, Says Germany

Najibullah Shaheen, the acting head of the Taliban embassy in Norway, said the first batch of newly issued passports has already been distributed to applicants.

Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on March 21 that it had accepted Shaheen, a Taliban diplomat, as first secretary at the Afghan embassy in Oslo. The ministry said it issued him a one-year diplomatic residence card.

Shortly after assuming his post, Shaheen changed the embassy’s signage from “Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” to “Embassy of Afghanistan.”

After the collapse of Afghanistan’s previous government and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, passport issuance was suspended at most Afghan diplomatic and consular missions abroad.

In recent months, several Afghan missions under Taliban control have resumed issuing passports, including embassies in Islamabad, Tehran and New Delhi, as well as a number of consulates in Germany and other countries.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Taliban Ministry of Defence said Fitrat met with media representatives, political analysts and a number of Taliban officials to discuss coordination and strengthen cooperation.

At the meeting, Fitrat said Taliban forces had shown “no hesitation whatsoever” over the past four years in defending and protecting Afghanistan. He said the Taliban army is standing on its own feet and working to modernise its capabilities.

“We are striving to build an army equipped with modern weapons to defend the country’s territory under any circumstances,” Fitrat said. “Our army has proven to the people that anyone who looks at this land with ill intent will face a firm and courageous response, and it has also been proven to neighbouring countries that any aggression against Afghanistan will be met with a several-fold response.”

Fitrat did not name any specific country.

After the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, large quantities of advanced US military equipment were left behind and later taken over by the Taliban. The US Department of Defense has estimated the value of this equipment at more than $7 billion, including military vehicles, advanced weapons, biometric devices and other matériel.

Investigations by Afghanistan International show that over the past four years the Taliban have been involved in more than 150 clashes with Pakistani border forces. The Taliban have also clashed on several occasions with Iranian border guards.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the court said the Kabul primary counter-narcotics court sentenced the individuals to between 10 and 39 lashes and prison terms ranging from seven months to three years. The charges included selling and trafficking tablet K, methamphetamine, hashish and alcoholic beverages.

Data compiled by Afghanistan International show that over the past 10 days, the Taliban have flogged at least 70 people nationwide, including nine women.

According to a United Nations report presented to the Security Council last week, the Taliban flogged at least 215 people, 44 women and 171 men, across various provinces during the three-month period from August 1 to October 31.

Despite repeated criticism from international organisations over the use of corporal punishment and the treatment of detainees, the Taliban have continued to carry out public floggings across Afghanistan.

In its report, the Security Council said the National Resistance Front (NRF) claimed responsibility for 73 attacks during the period, while the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) claimed 43.

The report noted a sharp decline in the number of attacks compared with 2024, when the AFF claimed 83 attacks and the NRF claimed 261.

The NRF and the AFF are armed groups opposed to the Taliban that emerged after the group returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Both groups have since claimed responsibility for numerous attacks targeting Taliban forces and facilities.

As the UN report was released, the AFF on Thursday reported a new attack on a Taliban checkpoint in the northern city of Kunduz. The group said the guerrilla attack took place at about 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17, near a contracted fuel tanker close to Kabul Port in Kunduz.

According to the AFF, two Taliban members were killed and another was wounded in the attack. The Taliban have not commented on the claim.

Earlier, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that between February 1 and the end of April 2025, the NRF and the AFF carried out a combined total of 72 attacks against the Taliban. UNAMA said the NRF claimed responsibility for 56 of those attacks, while the AFF claimed 16.

It follows a 20 percent reduction in the group’s security forces.

In its latest report, the Security Council said the Taliban reduced their forces because of a budget crisis. The report noted that the order to cut personnel was issued by the Taliban leadership and that, after its implementation, the highest number of dismissals occurred in provinces where a significant share of Taliban fighters were Tajik or Uzbek.
Previously, a Taliban spokesperson had said the group was downsizing its forces because of what he described as “organisational inflation.”

Concerns Over Ethnic Impact

While the UN report does not explicitly state that dismissals were carried out on the basis of ethnicity, it said the concentration of layoffs in Tajik- and Uzbek-majority provinces has raised concerns about the ethnic implications of the decision.

According to the report, after Badakhshan, the highest number of dismissals was recorded in Kapisa, Parwan and Takhar provinces, where many Tajik and Uzbek Taliban fighters are based.

ISKP Expanding Activities Using Artificial Intelligence

The report said the 20 percent reduction in Taliban security forces comes at a time when the group faces continued security threats, particularly from Islamic State–Khorasan (ISKP).

According to the UN, ISKP has expanded its training and propaganda activities by using modern tools, including artificial intelligence. The group has reportedly used such technology to produce instructional materials, including guides on making improvised explosive devices. The UN sanctions monitoring team warned that this development, combined with Taliban force reductions, could create new security challenges for Afghanistan.

The report said the Taliban have carried out counter-ISKP operations since the beginning of 2025, but described ISKP as “resilient,” with the threat continuing.

Taliban Denials and Counterterrorism Efforts

The UN said the Taliban often deny the presence of ISKP in Afghanistan and accuse neighbouring countries of supporting the group. At the same time, despite claiming to have suppressed ISKP, the Taliban have regularly sought external counterterrorism assistance to combat the group.

The report also said more than 20 international and regional terrorist organisations are currently active in Afghanistan, including al-Qaida, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Turkistan Islamic Party, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Jamaat Ansarullah.

According to the report, the Taliban have absorbed some former fighters from various extremist groups into local security forces, raising concerns about ideological alignment and infiltration.

The UN said advanced weapons and equipment have reached militant groups through cross-border smuggling and black markets, and noted reports of drone attacks on Pakistani military facilities.

The report added that the Taliban are seeking technical assistance to develop drone capabilities and establish what it described as a “low-cost air force.” Some countries have reported possible involvement of al-Qaida-linked envoys in the mass production of drones in Logar and Kabul.

Despite these concerns, the UN said Afghanistan’s overall security situation has become more stable compared with previous periods. However, it described the presence of terrorist groups in the country as the “primary challenge” to lasting stability.