Talks Ongoing With US Over American Detainees, Responds Taliban

Ismail Ghaznawi, the Taliban governor of Badakhshan, said the force would be sent to the province with Akhundzada’s authorisation to safeguard gold extraction companies. He said the unit was being formed to protect investments and regulate the mining process.

In an interview, Ghaznawi said investment in Badakhshan’s mines required security and organised management, and that he had proposed the creation of a special force to ensure the safety of mining sites.

He added that the force is expected to begin operations soon and that technical preparations are under way.

Some local residents have expressed dissatisfaction over what they describe as a lack of transparency and environmental damage caused by intensive gold extraction.

Ghaznawi said revenues generated from the mines belong to the Taliban but would be spent on public welfare projects, particularly in Badakhshan.

In recent months, clashes have occurred between local residents and Taliban-linked mining companies in the province.

The Taliban have significantly expanded underground mining, especially gold extraction, in the northern provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan. Hundreds of companies are currently engaged in mining activities across northern Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says 100,000 people are employed, directly and indirectly, in gold mining in Badakhshan.

According to the ministry, mining activities are under way in the districts of Shahr-e Bozorg, Yawan, Kohistan, Raghistan, Khwahan and Arghanjkhwa.

In a statement, the ministry said it had expressed serious concern to the Taliban representative and told him that Islamabad reserves the right to respond.

Eleven Pakistani soldiers were killed in the 16 February attack in Bajaur.

The Foreign Ministry said it had conveyed its concern that the leadership of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is based in Afghanistan and operates from Afghan soil with impunity.

It urged the Taliban authorities to take immediate, concrete and verifiable action against all militant groups operating from Afghanistan.

The statement said the Afghan Taliban authorities had been firmly informed that Pakistan reserves the right to act against what it described as “Khawariji” wherever they may be, in order to ensure the security of its soldiers, civilians and borders.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned that if the Taliban failed to curb militant groups, Islamabad would not hesitate to carry out further airstrikes inside Afghanistan.

Speaking to France 24, Asif alleged that attacks inside Pakistan are carried out with Taliban support.

Asked about Pakistan’s airstrikes in Afghanistan last year and whether such action remains an option, he said: “We always have that option and we can exercise that option. There is absolutely no hesitation.”

He added that if authorities in Kabul could guarantee peace, there would be no hostility, but accused them of continuing to “patronise” militants and acting as “co-conspirators”.

According to Asif, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Islamic State group, among others, are present in Afghanistan. He alleged that the Taliban have provided safe havens for these groups.

The Pakistani defence minister also claimed that India, together with the Taliban and militant groups active in Afghanistan, is operating on the same front.

In a separate interview with Deutsche Welle, Asif said Pakistan has lost influence in Afghanistan to other regional countries.

His remarks come amid a surge in deadly militant attacks in Pakistan in recent weeks. In one of the latest incidents, a suicide bombing in Islamabad killed 33 worshippers and wounded 69 others.

Afghanistan’s National Television, a broadcaster controlled by the Taliban, reported on Tuesday that morality police in Parwan had gathered the instruments over the past year from the provincial centre and surrounding districts. The report said a Taliban committee later set the items on fire.

Abdul Mojib Hanafi, a Taliban morality official in Parwan, said the instruments included harmoniums, tablas, tombaks, dafs, loudspeakers and other audio equipment. He added that hundreds of musical instruments had previously been destroyed in the province.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have banned the production and listening of music. Over the past four years, authorities have detained dozens of people accused of producing, broadcasting or listening to music and have destroyed thousands of musical instruments and sound systems.

Taliban officials have also warned hotel owners across Afghanistan to prevent music from being played at social gatherings. The group considers music production and performance to be forbidden and has removed fine arts faculties from the education system.

Marzieh Hamidi, an Afghan taekwondo athlete, received the International Women’s Rights Award, while Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad was honoured with the summit’s Courage Award.

Hamidi is regarded as one of the prominent figures in Afghan women’s sport. She moved to France after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and has continued her taekwondo career there.

Alinejad, a journalist, author and women’s rights activist, founded the “My Stealthy Freedom” campaign opposing compulsory hijab in Iran. A former parliamentary reporter in Iran, she left the country after the disputed 2009 presidential election and now lives in the United States. She is considered one of the most prominent opposition figures to the Islamic Republic abroad and serves as president of the World Liberty Congress.

While accepting the award, Alinejad spoke about the Iranian authorities’ response to protesters and dedicated the prize to the people of Iran and victims of recent demonstrations. She called on European leaders to support those affected by the protests.

Alinejad also criticised UN Secretary-General António Guterres for inviting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to address the UN Human Rights Council. Referring to the treatment of protesters and the human rights situation in Iran, she said the situation was “a slap in the face of the international community”.

During her speech, Alinejad tore images of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other political figures, including former president Hassan Rouhani and president Masoud Pezeshkian.

Each year, ahead of the main session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy brings together political dissidents, activists, victims of human rights violations, diplomats, journalists and student leaders to highlight urgent global human rights concerns. The conference is organised with the support of a coalition of 25 human rights organisations.

Alongside Hamidi and Alinejad, Venezuelan political activist Pedro Urruchurtu Noselli was also recognised for his work. A university professor and political scientist, he serves as international coordinator of the Vente Venezuela party and is a leading figure in the opposition coalition advocating democratic transition in Venezuela.

Urruchurtu sought refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas in March 2024 to avoid arrest and remained there for more than 400 days before being freed in May 2025 through an international operation.