Taliban Forces Withdraw From Border Posts In Nuristan & Kunar

Speaking on Thursday at a meeting with figures described as experts close to the Taliban, Noori said the barbed wire along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was “a thorn in our chest”.

He accused Pakistan of pursuing “foreign agendas” and said the Taliban would deal with it as they had with the Soviet Union and the United States. “We taught Russia a lesson, we taught America a lesson, Pakistan should expect the same,” he said.

Noori added that Pakistan’s ambitions reflect “foreign dreams” and would never succeed, claiming its policies are driven by external influence and financial motives.

Taliban officials have accused Pakistan of advancing US-backed plans to destabilise the region, while Islamabad says the Taliban support anti-Pakistan militants and justifies cross-border strikes on that basis.

Referring to the Durand Line, Noori said the fencing imposed by Pakistan is unacceptable.

He also claimed Pakistan is trying to draw NATO into the border issue but said the Taliban would not be influenced by any external actor.

Pakistan has fenced much of its border with Afghanistan over the past two decades, though the barrier has not stopped militant movement across the frontier. Like previous Afghan governments, the Taliban do not recognise the border.

Noori said the Taliban administration represents all Afghans, not a single group, and treats citizens equally.

However, international actors, including Russia, have urged the Taliban to form an inclusive government, noting it remains dominated by one political and ethnic group.

Noori is known as a hardline critic of Pakistan. He was detained after the fall of the Taliban’s first regime in 2001 and held at Guantanamo Bay for 12 years.

Figures such as Noori and Khairullah Khairkhwa have accused Pakistan of betraying them by handing them over to the United States.

Earlier, Noori had warned that if tensions escalate, Taliban forces could advance deep into Pakistan, even towards Punjab, the country’s political and military center.

His remarks come amid escalating border and political tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. Although the two sides recently held talks in Urumqi under Chinese pressure, no details or outcomes have been disclosed.

Sources say the negotiations ended without a clear result.

In a statement, the commission said at least 328 returnees were transferred from Kabul to various provinces on the same day.

The UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration said in a joint report last week that Pakistan had detained 19,034 Afghan migrants across different provinces over the past three months.

According to the report, more than 170,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan during the same period.

International organisations have repeatedly warned that returning to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is unsafe for many groups, including women, former security personnel, journalists and former government employees.

An Afghanistan International investigation found that some Afghan migrants deported from Iran were later detained, tortured and even killed in Afghanistan.

The meeting was attended by officials from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Russia, along with representatives from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Participants stressed the importance of strengthening co-operation in border security to address threats linked to Afghanistan. Measures taken by member states to counter cross-border threats were also reviewed.

The meeting highlighted a CIS programme to reinforce external borders for 2026–2030, described as a key mechanism for implementing member states’ policies.

It was also reported that a set of measures aimed at maintaining stability along the external borders of these countries was developed during the meeting.

The Commonwealth of Independent States was formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Its members include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Moldova.

These countries have previously warned about the risk of militant groups spreading into Central Asia and have repeatedly expressed concern over the situation in Afghanistan.

Local sources in Badakhshan confirmed the incident, telling Afghanistan International that three locations linked to the Taliban were struck in the rocket attacks.

According to the sources, one rocket hit near the First Police District close to the governor’s office, a second struck the residence of the governor’s guard, and a third hit the Taliban Ulema Council office.

The sources said the attacks caused no casualties, but the National Resistance Front claimed two Taliban members were killed and another injured.

The group also said that no civilians were harmed in the attacks.

Local Taliban officials have not yet commented on the incident.

Mohammad Yousuf Hammad, spokesman for the Taliban’s disaster management authority, said in a video message on Thursday, April 9, that one person is also missing.

He added that at least six kilometers of roads were washed away due to heavy rain and flooding over the same period.

According to Hammad, flooding and heavy rainfall caused casualties and damage in Kabul, Parwan, Panjshir, Daikundi, Paktia, Paktika, Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, Zabul, Ghor, Badghis, Balkh, Jawzjan, Baghlan, Badakhshan, Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces.

He said about 8.4 acers of agricultural land were destroyed and 18 irrigation canals damaged.

The spokesman noted that on the previous day, 15 people were killed and 18 others injured due to natural disasters within 24 hours.

With the latest figures, the total death toll since March 26 has risen to 157, with at least nine people still missing.