Sources: European Parliament To Meet Taliban Opposition Groups

According to the sources, the meetings would mark the first public engagement by European institutions with Taliban opponents to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan.

The sources said previous international meetings had largely focused on humanitarian aid, women’s rights and refugee issues. This time, however, the discussions are expected to shift toward political opposition and armed resistance against the Taliban.

In recent years, the European Union has emphasised engagement with the Taliban while avoiding official and public contact with opposition groups.

Belgium has previously hosted meetings on Afghanistan.

The European External Action Service held a senior officials’ meeting in Brussels on June 2025, to discuss Afghanistan’s political and humanitarian situation and the country’s basic needs.

The European Parliament also held public sessions in 2022 on Afghan women’s rights and hosted an event titled “Afghan Women’s Days”.

The European Union pursues what it describes as a policy of “limited and pragmatic engagement” with the Taliban. However, it does not recognise the group or grant it political legitimacy.

European officials have said such engagement is aimed primarily at addressing the situation in Afghanistan, delivering aid to the population and addressing security concerns.

At the same time, the European Union has repeatedly called for the formation of an inclusive political system, respect for human rights, counterterrorism efforts and protection of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

European institutions have also repeatedly condemned Taliban restrictions on women and girls and called for those measures to be lifted.

4 Million Afghan Women Supported In Four Years, Says UN Fund

Mar 12, 2026, 17:07 GMT+0

The UN Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (UNSTFA) says it has supported nearly four million Afghan women and girls during more than four years of Taliban rule, backing projects aimed at empowering women across the country.

In a statement on Thursday, March 12, UNSTFA said it had supported women with initiatives designed to bring change to their communities since the Taliban takeover. The fund said it values women’s participation in sustainable development.

Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady, a member of the Afghanistan Special Fund in Switzerland, told Afghanistan International in October that the fund had generated more than $500 million in returns so far. He said the funds’ assets, which previously stood at $3.5 billion, had risen to about $4.02 billion.

The fund had earlier said it assisted about one million people in Afghanistan in 2025, half of them women.

The United States transferred $3.5 billion of Afghanistan’s central bank assets to a trust fund in Switzerland to help support the Afghan economy.

India Rejects Pakistan Claim Of Role In Taliban Clashes

Mar 12, 2026, 14:48 GMT+0

India has rejected Pakistan’s claim that New Delhi played a role in escalating clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan, calling the allegation baseless.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said at a press briefing on Thursday, March 12, that Pakistan’s record of supporting terrorism undermines its credibility.

He added that such accusations were unfounded and said it had become a habit for Pakistan to blame India for its own mistakes.

Jaiswal said Pakistan’s narrative does not change the facts and that attempts to portray itself as a victim would not deceive anyone.

Pakistan and the Taliban launched attacks against each other in February. The exchanges have caused casualties among Taliban and Pakistani forces as well as civilians.

Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif has accused the Taliban of harboring militants.

India had earlier condemned the attacks and expressed support for the Taliban.

Pakistan’s military has repeatedly accused New Delhi of backing militants operating in Afghanistan.

Pakistan Confirms ‘Unofficial’ Visit Of Delegation To Kabul

Mar 12, 2026, 13:54 GMT+0

Pakistan’s foreign ministry says the three-member Pakistani delegation that recently travelled to Kabul was not sent by the government, it was personal.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi said at a press briefing on Thursday that Islamabad had not dispatched any official delegation to hold talks with the Taliban.

He said the individuals who travelled to Afghanistan were respected figures, but their visit was not organised by the Pakistani government.

Earlier, sources in Kabul told Afghanistan International that the delegation included Pakistani religious and jihadi figures, Maulana Fazlur Rahman Khalil, Maulana Abdullah Shah Mazhar and Maulana Sajid Usman.

According to the sources, the purpose of the trip was to explore ways to reduce tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.

The Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman also said Islamabad’s policy toward Afghanistan had not changed and that Pakistan had received no guarantees from the Taliban that attacks by militant groups from Afghan territory would stop.

Andrabi said the United Nations also had evidence regarding the issue.

Responding to a warning by the Taliban defence minister that Pakistan could be targeted if Afghanistan were attacked, he said Pakistan was already under attack.

He added that border crossings between the two countries remain closed and no new decision has been made on reopening them.

In another part of his weekly briefing, Andrabi reiterated Pakistan’s security concerns, saying Islamabad expects Afghan territory not to be used against Pakistan.

He said Pakistan wants effective action to prevent militant groups, which Pakistani officials say operate from inside Afghanistan, from launching attacks against the country.

Military Operations Against Taliban Continue, Says Pakistan

Mar 12, 2026, 12:28 GMT+0

Pakistan’s state radio says the country’s military destroyed several Taliban posts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border during its ongoing operation “Ghazab-ul-Haq”.

Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday, March 12, that Pakistan’s army targeted and destroyed several Afghan Taliban positions along the frontier.

Citing security sources, the broadcaster said the outposts were located inside Afghan territory near the Tal area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The news outlet UrduPoint also reported, quoting security sources, that the Pakistani army continued retaliatory actions against Taliban forces, resulting in the destruction of several of their border posts.

Images released by Radio Pakistan appeared to show multiple posts being hit by air strikes.

At the same time, a Taliban deputy spokesman reported rocket strikes by Pakistani forces in Afghanistan’s Khost and Kunar provinces.

Pakistani Shelling Kills 4 In Khost Province, Says Taliban

Mar 12, 2026, 11:32 GMT+0

The Taliban says a Pakistani rocket strike on a village in Afghanistan’s Khost province killed four members of one family and wounded three others.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy Taliban spokpesrson, said the attack struck Sadaqah village in the Ali Shir district early on Thursday, March 12. He wrote on X that the victims were civilians, including a woman, a man, a boy and a girl.

Fitrat said the rockets hit tents belonging to nomadic Kochi families in the area.

He also said Pakistani forces fired at least 32 shells at Mano Gai district in Kunar province but reported no casualties.

According to him, 110 shells hit parts of Sarkano district, and another 65 shells struck areas of Nari district, also without causing casualties.

Pakistani authorities have not yet commented on the reported attacks.

Fitrat added that 14 rockets fired by Pakistani forces also targeted areas of Khas Kunar district, but no casualties or damage were reported.

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