Pak, Afghan Traders Agree To Form Joint Committee To Reopen Border Crossings

Nasir Ahmad Andisha said Akhundzada disapproves of the repeated visits to Kabul by Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special envoy for Afghanistan, but is effectively unable to prevent them.

“Drones in the sky and Khalilzad on the ground are keeping Hibatullah Akhundzada under watch,” Andisha told Afghanistan International. He added that the Taliban leader has become “like a ghost” in Kandahar and no longer trusts those around him.

Afghan airspace beyond Taliban control

Andisha’s remarks come as reports of increased drone activity over Afghanistan continue. Taliban officials have repeatedly acknowledged that the country’s airspace is not fully under their control.

In November 2025, Zabihullah Mujahid said US drones were still patrolling Afghan airspace, adding that such flights have continued since the Taliban returned to power and often enter Afghanistan through neighbouring countries.

In a recent incident, sources close to the Taliban said an unidentified flying object crashed on Thursday, January 1, in Maidan Wardak province. The object came down in Maidan Shahr, the provincial capital, though it remains unclear which country it belonged to or what caused the crash.

Internal fractures within the Taliban

Andisha also pointed to growing internal divisions within the Taliban, saying recent reshuffles and purges indicate Akhundzada’s authority is weakening.

In a post on X, Andisha said changes within the Taliban suggest the group is moving towards intensified internal purges. He said Akhundzada’s control appears to be diminishing as rival factions gain strength.

In recent weeks, the Taliban leader has replaced several officials across key institutions, including provincial governors, corps commanders and other local authorities.

Khalilzad’s visits to Kabul

Andisha said Khalilzad’s repeated trips to Kabul have further unsettled the Taliban leader. Although Akhundzada dislikes what Andisha described as “back-to-back visits”, he is effectively powerless to stop them.

Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on December 28, 2025, and met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister. While Khalilzad has described his travel as personal, he has previously visited Afghanistan alongside US officials to help secure the release of American detainees held by the Taliban.

The US State Department told Afghanistan International this week that Khalilzad is not a US government employee and does not represent the United States, describing his activities and visits as personal.

Regional concerns

Andisha also referred to recent international developments, including the US operation in Venezuela, which he said had heightened concerns among authoritarian leaders. Former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef earlier described the US move as a warning to other governments.

According to Andisha, these developments have contributed to Akhundzada’s growing isolation and mistrust, reinforcing what he described as an atmosphere of surveillance and internal tension at the top of the Taliban leadership.

According to the ministry, the delegation is from Iran’s Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare and is led by Seyed Malek Hosseini, Iran’s deputy minister of labour.

In a video released on Sunday, the Taliban ministry said the Iranian officials were scheduled to meet Abdul Manan Omari, the Taliban’s minister of labour and social affairs.

Iran’s embassy in Kabul said the visit aims to strengthen cooperation between the labour ministries of the two countries.

Although the Islamic Republic of Iran does not formally recognise the Taliban, it remains its largest economic partner.

The talks come as Iran’s deportation of millions of Afghan migrants over the past two years has contributed to labour shortages in some sectors, particularly construction.

Earlier, Alireza Bekdeli, Iran’s ambassador to Kabul, said Tehran plans to issue up to 200,000 work visas for Afghan labourers.

Afghan workers in Iran often work for wages below standard levels and frequently lack legal protections, including access to insurance and workplace safety measures, according to labour rights groups.

The document warns that teachers who fail to comply with an order issued by the Taliban’s leader to grow beards will be dismissed from their jobs.

The pledge, obtained on Saturday, instructs staff of the provincial Directorate of Education, as well as teachers and students, to follow “Islamic principles and the Prophet’s conduct” in line with a decree by Hibatullah Akhundzada.

It states that any teacher or student who disobeys Akhundzada’s orders and rulings will be marked absent until they comply with the directive.

Several teachers told Afghanistan International that the forced signing of the pledges has begun at Abdul Wakil Ali High School in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.

According to the teachers, the Taliban’s Ministry of Education has formed a special committee to enforce the order. They said teachers were warned that failure to adhere to the “tradition” of growing beards would lead to dismissal and that they would have no right to lodge complaints.

Previously, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice declared shaving beards a sin and urged men not to shave. Its spokesperson, Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, has described growing a beard as one of the main distinctions between men and women.

Taliban morality enforcers have also warned barbers against shaving or styling beards and hair in modern fashions. In Kabul, Nangarhar, Khost and several other provinces, barbers have repeatedly been detained for shaving or styling men’s beards and hair in ways deemed unacceptable by the authorities.

Earlier, former government employees in Khost province told Afghanistan International that morality enforcers detained them for 24 hours over the style of their beards and later dismissed them from their jobs, saying their appearance was “not in accordance with tradition.”

Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, said the operations were conducted in various parts of the country over the past calendar year. His remarks were reported by Afghanistan National Television, which is run by the Taliban.

Fitrat described 2025 as a “highly productive” year for the Taliban Ministry of Defence. He said the administration had established more than 600 security posts along Afghanistan’s borders.

According to the report, the Ministry of Defence also collected about $48 million in revenue during the year.

Fitrat said multimonth training programmes were held in 2025 for 15,302 Taliban forces as part of efforts to expand and professionalise the group’s security apparatus.

Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid said the number of personnel in the Taliban Ministry of Defence had exceeded 181,000 in the previous year.

The figures released by the Taliban could not be independently verified.

This is while demonstrations entered a second week across the country.

Responding to protests sparked by soaring currency prices, Khamenei said the complaints raised by shopkeepers were legitimate but drew a clear distinction between protesters and rioters.

“Protest is justified, but protest is different from rioting,” he said. “We will talk to protesters, but talking to rioters is of no use.” He added that “rioters must be put in their place”.

Khamenei described protests by shopkeepers over the sharp rise in the price of the US dollar as “justified”, but claimed it was unacceptable for what he called “threatened individuals and enemy mercenaries” to stand behind demonstrators and chant slogans against Islam, Iran and the Islamic Republic.

The supreme leader blamed the surge in the dollar’s value on “the enemy” and called on Iran’s president to address the issue.

Last week, a record-breaking fall in the national currency triggered a fresh wave of protests across Iran. On Sunday, the US dollar briefly traded above 144,000 tomans, prompting shopkeepers and traders to take to the streets in several cities.

Over the past seven days, the demonstrations spread nationwide and were met with a crackdown by Iran’s security forces.

Speaking on Saturday, January 3, Khamenei said Iran would not back down under pressure. “We will not retreat in the face of the enemy,” he said. “By relying on God and with confidence in the support of the people, we will bring the enemy to its knees.”