Taliban Minister Urges Troops To Stand Firm After Border Clashes

In a post on X, Noor said shedding innocent blood brings neither power nor legitimacy.

Karamuddin Rezazada, a former member of parliament representing Ghor province, was shot and wounded on Tuesday afternoon in Mohammad Shahr, Karaj, according to two sources who spoke to Afghanistan International. The sources said two men on a motorcycle opened fire on him.

Rezazada was reportedly wounded in his left arm and is being treated at a hospital in Karaj. Sources described his condition as stable.

Noor blamed the Taliban for the attack and warned that continuing on such a path would deepen longstanding divisions in Afghanistan. He said he regretted that, in his view, the group had not grown weary of violence.

He added that, to avoid renewed conflict and prevent a repeat of past tragedies, he and others had so far exercised restraint.

Noor claimed that several current Taliban officials, including ministers and a deputy prime minister, had at various times been detained by his forces and later released in what he described as a gesture of goodwill and in accordance with Islamic principles.

He also alleged that he once intervened to prevent a US special forces commander from killing Mullah Fazel Mazloom, who now serves as the Taliban’s minister of transport and civil aviation.

Noor urged the Taliban to respect the sanctity of innocent lives, saying the killing of defenceless people, whether inside or outside Afghanistan, reflects instability rather than strength.

Mohammad Sadiq Khan said on X that he had spoken with Mohammad Reza Bahrami, Iran’s director general for South Asia and special representative for Afghanistan. He said the conversation covered Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts, as well as trade and broader regional matters.

Sadiq did not provide further details.

The call follows Pakistan’s recent claim that it targeted militants in strikes inside Afghanistan. The Taliban rejected the allegation, saying civilians were killed in the attack.

He said that if the Afghan Taliban fail to prevent Pakistani militants based in Afghanistan from operating, Islamabad would have no choice but to defend itself.

Speaking on a television programme, Kundi said Pakistan had repeatedly urged the Taliban authorities not to allow Afghan soil to be used against Pakistan. He said groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and al-Qaida continue to operate from across the border and carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

Kundi said Pakistan’s military strikes on militant hideouts in Afghanistan had been successful. The Taliban rejected the claim, saying civilians were killed in the attacks. The United Nations has confirmed that 17 civilians were killed.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid described the figures and their sources as inaccurate. He said no such groups were present in the country and insisted Afghanistan is under unified authority, making it impossible for outside groups to operate.

In a statement issued on 23 February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said the total number of fighters from international militant organisations in Afghanistan was estimated at between 20,000 and 23,000, with more than half of them foreign nationals.

The report said the largest militant group in Afghanistan was Islamic State Khorasan Province, with about 3,000 members. It also estimated that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had between 5,000 and 7,000 members in Afghanistan, al-Qaida between 400 and 1,500, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement between 300 and 1,200, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, now known as the Turkestan Islamic Party, between 150 and 500, and Jamaat Ansarullah between 150 and 250.

The Russian ministry said the only group actively operating against the Taliban authorities was Islamic State Khorasan Province, which it said maintains training camps, bases and sleeper cells in Afghanistan.

According to the report, the group is mainly based in eastern, northern and north-eastern Afghanistan and seeks in the long term to expand into Central Asia to establish what it described as an Islamic caliphate. It added that, based on the scale and intensity of its attacks, the group does not pose a direct threat to the Taliban authorities but aims to undermine confidence in their ability to maintain stability and public order.

Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban authorities.

According to a ministry statement, Muttaqi said similar Pakistani attacks over the past four years had targeted only civilians.

Zia Ahmad Takal, head of public relations at the Taliban Foreign Ministry, wrote on X on Tuesday that Muttaqi said no armed individuals whom Pakistan claimed were present and targeted were killed in the latest strikes. He said this showed Pakistan’s claims were unfounded.

Muttaqi also said there are no armed groups operating in Afghanistan and that diplomats and other parties are free to visit the site of the strike to assess the situation.

The ministry said DiCarlo expressed sympathy over the reported killing of civilians and said she would raise the issue with UN member states and other relevant parties.