Uzbekistan Seizes 191kg Of Hashish Smuggled From Afghanistan

Local elders reported that in Bari Kot, in Nari district of Kunar, and in Kamdesh district of Nuristan, Taliban forces abandoned border posts and took shelter in nearby village mosques.

One elder said: “When fighting began, Pakistani forces attacked Bari Kot. Both local residents and Taliban fighters left the area, and the posts are now empty.”

According to local sources, Pakistani and Taliban posts are located close to each other. It remains unclear why the Taliban withdrew or whether heavy Pakistani shelling forced the evacuation.

Aid organisations and Bakhtar News Agency reported that ongoing clashes between Taliban and Pakistani forces have displaced thousands of families from Nari district to the centers of Kunar and Nangarhar.

Local elders said roads leading to Kamdesh and Barg-e Matal via Nari have been blocked, possibly to conceal the Taliban’s withdrawal from border positions.

Some elders believe the Taliban lack logistical capacity to sustain their forces and withdrew out of fear of Pakistani attacks.

Others accused the group of misleading the public and media, saying officials use helicopters to visit district centers to give the impression they still control border areas and that roads remain open.

One elder said: “The Taliban now have both a government and a military, but they cannot keep roads open or ensure security.”

Earlier, Faridun Samim, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Nuristan, confirmed that Pakistani forces were attacking vehicles trying to enter Kamdesh and Barg-e Matal, leading to the closure of land routes.

Some local residents warned that if the situation continues, they may be forced to seek help from Pakistani forces for movement and basic supplies.

Previously, Nuristan residents had urged Taliban Promotion of Vice and Virtue Minister Khalid Hanafi to take urgent steps to reopen roads in Barg-e Matal and Kamdesh.

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.