Pakistani Officer Killed In Clash With TTP Militants In Bajaur
Pakistan Army said a 36-year-old officer was killed during a security operation against militants in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistan Army said a 36-year-old officer was killed during a security operation against militants in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a statement issued on Monday, the army said the clash occurred during an operation launched after reports of the presence of armed militants in the area. Five members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan were killed in the exchange of fire, according to the military.
The army said the slain militants had previously been involved in attacks on Pakistan’s security forces and civilians. Following the clash, clearance operations continued to search for other militants in the area.
The military said its counterterrorism campaign would continue under a plan known as “Azm-e-Istehkam.”
Bajaur, a former tribal district bordering Afghanistan, has seen repeated security operations and armed clashes between Pakistani forces and militant groups in recent months.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, to discuss the growing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan.
Araghchi expressed appreciation for Turkiye’s efforts to ease the crisis and stressed the need for continued engagement.
In a statement on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Araghchi “praised the efforts made to reduce tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan” and underlined the importance of intensified consultations to safeguard regional peace and stability.
The ministry said Araghchi also conveyed Iran’s readiness to help reduce tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan.
Araghchi had earlier discussed the crisis with his Russian and Qatari counterparts as part of broader diplomatic efforts to address the rift between Islamabad and the Taliban.
Since the onset of recent clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan, Iran has repeatedly offered to mediate, though neither side has responded to Tehran’s proposals.
Turkiye previously hosted two rounds of talks between Taliban and Pakistani delegations, but both ended without agreement. Relations between the two sides deteriorated sharply after the failed negotiations and following suicide attacks in Islamabad and an assault on a military college in South Waziristan.
According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry statement, Araghchi and Fidan also exchanged views on bilateral relations and regional developments.
Fidan highlighted the interconnected nature of regional peace and stability and said all countries must work to preserve them.
Araghchi also extended condolences over the deaths of several Turkish citizens in a military plane crash and expressed sympathy for the bereaved families.
The United Nations has not invited the Taliban to the two-week global climate summit that opened Monday in Belém, Brazil, with delegates from more than 190 countries in attendance.
The Taliban’s National Environmental Protection Agency said Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and argued that its exclusion runs counter to principles of climate justice and international cooperation.
In a statement issued Sunday, the agency said it was “deeply concerned” about being left out of this year’s UN climate conference and insisted that it remains committed to international partnerships and has prepared national documents related to climate mitigation.
The Taliban body said Afghanistan is experiencing a rise in climate-related disasters, including droughts, floods, storms, soil erosion, and deforestation, factors it said have worsened poverty and driven internal displacement.
The statement added that the Taliban considers itself committed to obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.
The 30th UN Climate Change Conference is being held in Brazil from 10 to 21 November. Last year’s summit in Azerbaijan included participation by Taliban representatives.
The Taliban’s environment agency said that excluding Afghanistan from this year’s gathering violates the principles of climate justice, global cooperation, and human solidarity.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a meeting in Baku that Türkiye is closely monitoring the rising border tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban.
He stressed that Ankara considers the preservation of the ceasefire between the two sides essential. Sharif, in turn, expressed appreciation for Türkiye’s role in facilitating recent talks between Islamabad and the Taliban.
The leaders met on Saturday on the sidelines of events marking the fifth anniversary of Azerbaijan’s Victory Day. Turkish and Pakistani troops and aircraft took part in the military parade.
According to the Pakistani government, Erdogan and Sharif agreed to maintain close coordination on regional and international issues and to strengthen joint efforts promoting peace and stability across the Islamic world.
Anadolu reported that Erdogan had conveyed concern over recent militant attacks in Pakistan and said Ankara was monitoring Islamabad’s tensions with the Taliban. He reportedly stressed that sustaining the ceasefire would be important and voiced hope that dialogue between Pakistan and the Taliban could lead to lasting stability. He said Türkiye intended to continue supporting the process.
Sharif, in a speech delivered at the Victory Day anniversary ceremony, said Pakistan’s recent efforts for peace had been tested in the context of Afghanistan. He reportedly credited Türkiye and Qatar with playing a valuable role in facilitating negotiations between Islamabad and the Taliban administration.
Senior officials from both countries attended the meeting, including Türkiye’s foreign minister, defence minister, and intelligence chief, as well as Pakistan’s army chief and other high-ranking representatives.
The third round of Pakistan–Taliban talks in Istanbul ended in deadlock. Pakistan’s defence minister said there were currently no plans for another round of talks. The Taliban spokesperson likewise confirmed that the Istanbul negotiations had produced no results, saying certain elements within Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment were obstructing progress.
Qatar and Türkiye have hosted all three rounds of talks. The first round in Doha resulted in an immediate ceasefire, while the second and third rounds in Istanbul ended without agreement.
A new study has revealed that 49 relatives or colleagues of Afghans whose personal data was leaked by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) were killed as a result of the exposure.
According to the research, among the 231 Afghans who received official notification from the MoD that their information had been compromised, 49 reported that a family member or associate had been killed following the data breach. The findings were presented to the UK Parliament’s Defence Committee.
The study, part of a review titled the Afghan Data Breach and Resettlement Schemes, found that around 87 per cent of respondents had received threats against themselves or their families. Additionally, 43 per cent said they had been directly threatened, while 52 per cent reported that family members or friends in Afghanistan had been threatened by the Taliban.
Olivia Clark, executive director of the Refugee Legal Support organisation, which conducted the study in collaboration with researchers from Lancaster and York universities, said that the research exposes the catastrophic human consequences of the Ministry of Defence data breach.
She added that the UK government must act urgently to protect those affected, accelerate relocation applications, and facilitate the transfer of individuals whose lives are at risk.
Details of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied for relocation to the UK after the Taliban takeover in 2021 were mistakenly exposed by a British official in February 2022.
Following the breach, a special court order was issued to prevent further publication of the data, which remained in effect until July this year.
Earlier, The Daily Telegraph reported that more than 200 former Afghan soldiers and police officers were killed as a result of the data leak.
A former member of the Afghan National Army who took part in the study told The Guardian that the delay between discovering the data breach in 2023 and informing them in July 2025 is deeply concerning and unacceptable.
He added that immediate notification could have allowed them to take protective measures earlier. ”The delay shows negligence and a lack of responsibility within the Ministry of Defence,” he said.
In further evidence submitted to the Defence Committee, a volunteer worker assisting at-risk Afghans said they became aware of the breach on 13 August 2023 and reported it to the MoD, but received no response until tagging a ministry official in a social media post on 21 August.
The volunteer claimed that British officials made “poor prioritisation decisions” during the evacuation, choosing to evacuate farmers, barbers, and gardeners ahead of Afghan special forces members who faced greater risk from the Taliban.
Another Afghan based in the UK described the MoD’s delay in safeguarding sensitive information as “a reckless failure and a betrayal of trust.”
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned that Islamabad could enter an open conflict with the Taliban if ongoing negotiations with the Taliban fail to produce results.
The warning came as representatives of Pakistan and the Taliban held a new round of talks in Istanbul aimed at easing tensions and building on an earlier ceasefire agreement reached in Doha.
Asif, speaking to reporters in the city of Sialkot on Saturday, said that those who had taken part in the Doha negotiations on behalf of the Taliban had grown up in Pakistan. He led the Pakistani delegation in those talks, while Taliban Defence Minister Yaqub Mujahid and intelligence official Abdul Haq Wasiq represented the movement.
The minister noted that both sides had agreed to an immediate ceasefire in Doha, and that the second round of discussions was now under way in Türkiye. He said relations between the two neighbours remained strained despite Pakistan having hosted Afghan refugees for four decades, and he questioned why the Taliban continued to act in what he described as a hostile manner towards Islamabad.
Asif alleged that the Afghan Taliban were now functioning as a proxy force for India against Pakistan. He added that Afghan migrants had taken a significant share of Pakistan’s labour market and trade, saying that the two countries should aim to live side by side as neighbours in an atmosphere of fraternity and respect.
Referring to the outcome of the Doha negotiations, the minister said there had been no violent incidents in the past four or five days, but that Pakistan would move to open warfare with Afghanistan if the current dialogue failed.
Since the Doha agreement, attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group aligned with the Afghan Taliban, have halted. The TTP has carried out no assaults on Pakistani security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province since the ceasefire came into effect.
In the ongoing Istanbul talks, six Taliban officials from the ministries of interior, defence and foreign affairs are meeting seven Pakistani diplomats and security representatives to discuss implementation of the Doha accord.
According to Pakistani officials, Islamabad has asked the Taliban to prevent TTP activities on Afghan territory. In return, the Taliban have urged Pakistan to stop supporting groups opposed to their rule.