Taliban Leader & Interior Minister Visit Southern Helmand Province
Taliban officials say the group leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani visited Kajaki district in Helmand to lay the foundation stone for a mosque.
Taliban officials say the group leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani visited Kajaki district in Helmand to lay the foundation stone for a mosque.
Abdul Rahim Rashid, spokesman for the Taliban’s Supreme Court, said Haqqani also travelled on Friday evening to Gereshk district in Helmand, where he visited the grave of Dawood Muzammil, the group’s former governor in Balkh.
Taliban authorities have released only images and videos of Haqqani’s visit, with no visuals of Akhundzada published.
The spokesman said Akhundzada and Haqqani laid the foundation stone of a grand mosque after Friday prayers.
The Taliban’s commission for migrants says 5,450 Afghan migrants were deported from Pakistan and returned to Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, along with 352 from Iran.
In a statement on Saturday, April 18, the commission said the migrants re-entered Afghanistan through the Torkham, Spin Boldak, Islam Qala and Pul-e-Abresham border crossings.
Deportations of Afghan migrants from Iran have declined in recent weeks, while expulsions from Pakistan have increased significantly.
Currently, the Afghanistan–Pakistan border is open only for the return of migrants, and all other crossings have been suspended for about six months due to tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan.
Officials from the CSTO and the United Nations discussed regional security, stressing the need to monitor the impact of Afghanistan on peace and take preventive measures against emerging threats.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) said in a statement on Friday, April 17, that both sides emphasised the importance of sustained and dynamic contacts between the CSTO secretariat, the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia and other specialised UN bodies.
Strengthening cooperation in intelligence-sharing between the CSTO and the UN regional center was also discussed.
Earlier, Andrei Serdyukov, chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, had warned on February 12, that multiple extremist and terrorist groups are active in Afghanistan, posing a risk of spreading into neighbouring countries.
At the same time, Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, described the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border as a main hotspot of security challenges for CSTO member states.
The UN says food prices in Afghanistan have risen sharply this year, with rice up 47 percent, wheat 20 percent, oil 10 percent and sugar 19 percent.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its weekly report on Friday, April 17, that supply chains are increasingly relying on western and northern corridors following shifts in trade routes.
The report added that around 60 percent of Afghanistan’s imports are currently entering through the Islam Qala crossing.
With Pakistani border crossings closed, Afghan markets have become more dependent on transit routes through Iran and Central Asian countries. This reliance has increased transport costs and delayed the delivery and distribution of imported goods.
The UN said rising imports through Islam Qala, combined with limited import routes, have placed additional pressure on key corridors.
Despite these pressures, markets remain active, but restricted routes and strain on specific corridors have contributed to rising prices.
The report noted that vegetable prices depend on harvest seasons and cross-border trade. However, potato prices have increased by 97 percent and tomatoes by 65 percent compared to last year.
The UN attributed these increases to reduced supply from Iran and a halt in imports from Pakistan.
According to the report, access to job opportunities for labourers has declined by 25 percent compared with last year. While seasonal wages have remained unchanged, people’s purchasing power has weakened due to rising prices.
The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan says resolving the country’s crisis requires an inclusive political process involving all sides under UN and international oversight, rejecting Taliban calls for exiled figures to return.
In a statement on Friday, the group said: “The Afghanistan crisis is national and comprehensive in nature, and its resolution requires a broad and national political process.” It added that inviting a few political figures is not a solution to the current challenges.
Earlier, Shahabuddin Delawar, a Taliban official and head of the commission for contact with Afghan personalities, had called on Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Fawzia Koofi and other opponents to return to the country, assuring them they would not face retaliation.
The council stressed that a sustainable solution can only come through a meaningful and inclusive political process involving all political currents, tribal elders, elites, opposition forces, civil society and other segments of society.
The statement added that if the Taliban are serious about resolving the crisis and achieving lasting stability, they should demonstrate readiness to initiate such a process.
According to the statement, key issues in an inclusive political process should include establishing a legitimate political system based on the will of the people, holding nationwide, transparent and fair elections, guaranteeing the free activity of political parties, ensuring fundamental rights, especially for women and girls, and creating an inclusive and accountable political structure.
The council also said it is ready to participate in “a meaningful and genuine negotiation process with the Taliban, under the supervision and facilitation of the United Nations and key regional and global players” to achieve lasting peace and a comprehensive political agreement.
It concluded that any sustainable solution must lead to the creation of a legitimate, accountable system accepted by the people of Afghanistan and the international community.
Following the Taliban’s return to power, most former government officials, political leaders and tribal figures left Afghanistan and sought refuge abroad. Over the past five years, the Taliban have repeatedly called on them to return, but opponents have described such invitations as demands for “allegiance” and “surrender.”
Pakistani state media say a detained member of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has confessed to receiving training in Afghanistan and alleged support for the group from Afghan Taliban and Indian intelligence.
Pakistan’s state television reported on Friday, April 17, that security forces had arrested a TTP member identified as Amir Sohail, also known as Maulvi Haider.
Radio Pakistan said the detainee told police during interrogation that he had received “terrorist training” at a TTP center in Paktika province.
According to reports, he also admitted involvement in attacks on Pakistani forces in Bannu, Lakki Marwat and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He claimed TTP members in Afghanistan are “fully supported by the Afghan Taliban”.
Pakistan State television also reported that more than 20 foreign militants, including Afghan nationals, were part of his group. He said he had joined the TTP due to “misleading propaganda” against the Pakistani government.
The TTP and the Afghan Taliban have not yet commented on these claims.
According to Pakistani media, the suspect was arrested while travelling to Pakistan for medical treatment.
Pakistan has repeatedly alleged that TTP members are sheltering in Afghanistan and carrying out deadly attacks from there, a claim the Afghan Taliban have consistently denied, saying no foreign forces are present in the country.