Taliban Appoints Pakistani National To Afghan Consulate In Bonn

Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told a news conference on Thursday that Islamabad was aware of threats emanating from Afghanistan and that Pakistani institutions were prepared to ensure security.

Andrabi said Pakistan had carried out strikes on militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan based on verified intelligence. He added that Islamabad’s objective was to end what he described as the freedom of militants to operate from Afghan territory, while maintaining that Pakistan did not wish to harm relations with the Afghan people.

Pakistan’s air force struck areas in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces on 22 February. Taliban officials said 18 civilians were killed in the strikes, while the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan confirmed 13 civilian deaths in Nangarhar.

Andrabi said the operation had been conducted with utmost caution to avoid civilian casualties.
Following the strikes, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of targeting civilians and said the group would respond at an appropriate time.

Some lower-level Taliban officials also issued threats. Abdul Hadi Himmat, head of the Taliban’s military court in the north-east zone, said that if authorised by the leadership, Taliban forces would be in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Quetta within two nights. Speaking at a graduation ceremony for Taliban defence forces in Kunduz Province, he said defending the people and taking revenge was a religious obligation.

Andrabi described the Taliban officials’ remarks as misleading and said Afghanistan must prevent its territory from being used by militants against other countries. He stressed that Pakistan would act against militants in Afghanistan in line with its right to self-defence.

In an interview with Afghanistan International, Halevi also urged India to halt what he described as its support for the Taliban.

He said Israel has influence in Washington and other capitals and that this influence should be used to strip the Taliban of international legitimacy and to support the emergence of opposition forces.

Halevi said the first step should be to completely revoke the Taliban’s legitimacy, after which opposition forces should be encouraged, similar to international backing for opponents of the government in Iran, so that people can stand up for their rights and future.

He added that achieving these goals would require taking all practical steps, including potential military measures, to bring about fundamental change.

Asked about India’s policy towards the Taliban, Halevi said New Delhi should reassess its strategy, arguing that India could eventually face security threats.

His remarks come as India has recently stepped up diplomatic engagement with the Taliban authorities. New Delhi has sought to maintain its political and economic presence in Afghanistan amid regional developments, security concerns and economic interests.

Commenting on Pakistan’s reported role in a proposed peace initiative linked to US President Donald Trump, Halevi said Israel’s policy is guided by the substance of positions rather than appearances, and that any reconsideration would depend on changes in Pakistan’s core principles.

Jamshid Khojaev, Uzbekistan’s deputy prime minister, and Nuruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s minister of industry and commerce, discussed practical steps to expand trade and economic cooperation during an online meeting.

In a post on LinkedIn on Monday, Khojaev said Uzbekistan places particular importance on what he described as friendly and constructive relations with Afghanistan. He said bilateral trade had grown two-and-a-half times over the past five years, rising from $653 million in 2021 to $1.7 billion in 2025.

He said the shared objective is to raise that figure to $5 billion.

Khojaev said both sides had agreed to accelerate implementation of a preferential trade agreement and advance investment and industrial cooperation projects. He added that practical steps would begin after Ramadan, including a business forum in Kabul and the development of a roadmap for priority sectors.

Azizi said trade between the two countries is expected to increase severalfold. He said extending operations to 24 hours a day at the Hairatan and Termez border crossings reflected a firm commitment to strengthening commercial ties.

Official data show trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan reached about $1.1 billion in 2024, with nearly $1 billion representing Uzbek exports to Afghanistan.

Before 2021, annual trade between the two countries was reported at more than $600 million.

Since disruptions to Afghanistan’s trade with Pakistan, exchanges with Central Asian countries, particularly Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, as well as with Iran, India and China, have increased.

In recent years, the Taliban authorities have sought to expand alternative transit routes to reduce reliance on Pakistani ports.

In a joint statement presented at the council’s 61st session, the organisations said the Taliban have intensified repression over the past four years, particularly against women and girls.

Referring to the Taliban’s penal code, the statement described it as a dangerous formalisation of repression that could have serious consequences for the protection of fundamental rights in Afghanistan.

The groups said the document lacks legitimacy and violates fair trial standards, freedom of expression, the prohibition of discrimination, the rights of women and children, proportionality between crimes and punishments and other basic freedoms.

The statement was signed by 86 Afghan civil society organisations and 13 international groups, including the World Organisation Against Torture, the Canadian Network for Education Defenders, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the Asia Democracy Network.

The signatories urged the international community to support victim-centred accountability efforts, ensure funding and political backing for international investigative mechanisms on Afghanistan and strengthen support for Afghan civil society organisations and human rights defenders.

The statement also highlighted restrictions on freedom of expression, discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, discrimination against LGBTQ people and what it described as a growing risk of severe punishments.

The council’s 61st session began on Monday, 23 February, in Geneva and is scheduled to run until 31 March. Afghanistan’s human rights situation is due to be reviewed on 26 February, when reports on conditions in the country are expected to be presented.

The report says bans on women’s education and employment, as well as restrictions on freedom of movement, have deepened the health crisis facing women.

The study on the right to health of women and girls in Afghanistan is based on group discussions and individual interviews with 137 people across 29 provinces, 17 written submissions and survey data from more than 8,000 women in 33 provinces.

Bennett said the Taliban’s return to power has curtailed women’s and girls’ ability to make independent decisions about their own bodies and health. The report warns that without urgent action by the international community, Afghanistan faces a troubling trajectory.

According to the findings, women’s health needs are often treated as secondary because of entrenched patriarchal norms, economic dependence and limited decision-making power within families. As a result, medical care is frequently delayed until illnesses become severe.

The report says women’s health in Afghanistan is largely framed in terms of maternal and reproductive care, while other needs including chronic illnesses, mental health and preventive services are overlooked.

It also notes that in many areas examinations by male healthcare workers are considered inappropriate. A woman from Jawzjan province was quoted as saying Taliban restrictions had directly influenced family attitudes, with women denied the right to choose and even decisions about their own health made by male relatives.

The report identifies poverty, restrictions on education and employment, patriarchal norms, gender discrimination, disability, geography, ethnicity, religion and the lack of identity documents as major barriers to healthcare access for women and girls.

It adds that women and girls in remote and rural areas face long distances to health facilities, limited transport, a shortage of female staff and high treatment costs.