Taliban Extend Ban On Images Of Living Beings To 24 Afghan Provinces

The Nation newspaper reported that bilateral trade fell from $1.26 billion in the first half of the 2024–25 fiscal year to $594 million in the same period of 2025–26. An official source told the newspaper the sharp decline was primarily due to the continued shutdown of border crossings between the two countries.

According to the report, Pakistan closed eight border crossing points with Afghanistan following clashes between Pakistani forces and the Taliban on October 11, 2025.

Pakistani exporters are losing an estimated $177 million per month as a result of the prolonged closures, the newspaper said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly said the crossings will remain closed until Afghanistan’s rulers provide credible, written guarantees to prevent militant attacks and take action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

Trade ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated amid rising security tensions, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban of failing to curb militant activity along the border, an allegation the Taliban deny.

Speaking on Thursday at Spain’s 2026 Ambassadors’ Conference in Madrid, Sánchez welcomed a delegation of Afghan women activists attending the annual event. He stressed the importance of giving Afghan women visibility and said that, within the framework of a feminist foreign policy, the world must not forget its responsibility toward them.

Spain’s Ambassadors’ Conference is held each year with the participation of the country’s ambassadors and senior diplomats. On the sidelines of the conference, Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, is expected to present a plaque of appreciation to Fawzia Koofi in recognition of her advocacy for Afghan women’s rights.

Sánchez also inaugurated a room at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs named in honour of Afghan women and girls.

Albares said the room was dedicated as a tribute to Afghan women and girls who continue to fight for their rights and freedoms despite severe restrictions imposed by the Taliban.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Afghan women have faced sweeping curbs on education, employment and public life, prompting repeated condemnation from governments and rights groups worldwide.

Ehsan Niro told Afghanistan International that the Taliban were responsible for the killing of a commander known as Yousuf in Khwaja Du Koh district of Jowzjan province.

Niro said Yousuf was killed on Wednesday night, January 7, while returning home from a wedding ceremony.

Yousuf had served as a local commander in the former Afghan government’s public uprising forces and was a loyal supporter of Abdul Rashid Dostum, the leader of the National Islamic Movement Party of Afghanistan. He had taken part in numerous security operations before the Taliban returned to power, according to the spokesperson.

Niro said Yousuf fled to Iran after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 but was deported two months ago and returned to his home district. Upon his return, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban, he said.

According to Niro, Yousuf was released from Taliban custody about two weeks ago after mediation by local elders and the payment of 800,000 afghanis as bail.

The killing follows a similar incident last year. On July 22, Ezzatullah, another commander affiliated with the National Islamic Movement Party, was shot dead by gunmen near his home in Sar-e Pol province, one day after being deported from Iran.

An investigative report by Afghanistan International has found that numerous former Afghan government military personnel have been killed after being deported from Iran. The report also documents cases in which former soldiers were subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in Taliban custody.

Taliban officials have not commented on the latest killing.

Zabihullah Mujahid said Hibatullah Akhundzada appointed Abdul Latif Mansoor, previously minister of energy and water, as minister of rural rehabilitation and development. Under the same decree, Mohammad Younus Akhundzada, who had served as minister of rural rehabilitation and development, was named minister of energy and water.

Mujahid also said Abdul Bari Omar, head of Afghanistan’s state electricity company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, was appointed as head of protocol at the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the decree, Mullah Abdul Haq Himmat, a deputy minister at the Ministry of Public Works, was appointed as the new chief executive of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat.

Mujahid added that Mohammad Younus Rashid, deputy minister for youth affairs at the Ministry of Information and Culture, was appointed as deputy minister for finance and administration at the Ministry of Public Works.

The latest changes come amid a broader reshuffle by the Taliban leader in recent days, which has included the reassignment of several provincial governors, corps commanders and senior police officials.

In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, January 7, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kabul said the new route at the Milak crossing would double the movement of cargo trucks transporting goods between Iran and Afghanistan.

The Milak–Zaranj border crossing links Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province with Afghanistan’s Nimruz province and is one of the main corridors for the export of Iranian fuel and commercial goods to Afghanistan.

In November, Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s minister of industry and trade, visited the Milak border with an Iranian delegation. Following the visit, Iranian officials announced an agreement with the Taliban to construct a second land route at the crossing.

Azizi described the project as beneficial to both sides, saying it would increase the volume of bilateral trade.

Mansour Bijar, the governor of Sistan and Baluchestan, said the new route could create a daily transit capacity of about 1,000 vehicles. He added that the development would reinforce a significant portion of Iran–Taliban economic agreements valued at roughly $10 billion.

Iran has expanded economic engagement with Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, with border trade and transit routes playing a central role in bilateral relations.