Kazakhstan’s Transport Ministry said on Monday that grain exports to Afghanistan have risen fourfold. In the first quarter, shipments reached 302,000 tones, a 4.2-fold increase compared with last year.
The ministry said there had also been significant growth in exports to Uzbekistan and Russia, with shipments to Afghanistan showing a 4.2-fold rise.
Afghanistan is considered one of the main regional destinations for Kazakh flour and wheat.
The sharp increase in exports to Afghanistan comes as Kazakhstan has in recent years sought to expand its transit routes towards the south.
The Taliban administration, since taking power and especially after cutting trade ties with Pakistan, has prioritised strengthening economic relations with Central Asian countries.
The Taliban say Pakistani army strikes on Dangam district in Kunar province killed three civilians, including women and children, and injured 14. A Taliban district official said two schools, a clinic and two mosques were destroyed.
Taliban officials have not yet provided details about the exact timing of the attacks.
Mohammad Omar Sadiq, Taliban district governor in Dangam, said the Pakistani army has lost the ability to confront directly and has turned to targeting civilian facilities.
He added that 80 head of livestock were killed in the strikes, and that since the start of Pakistani attacks on Kunar province, 12 schools have been destroyed.
Pakistan has not yet commented on the Taliban’s claims.
Last week, Pakistan also targeted several locations in the center and various districts of Kunar province. In one of the attacks, Kunar University in the city of Asadabad, the provincial capital, was also struck.
According to Taliban figures, at least seven people were killed and more than 90 others injured in these attacks, including women and children among the wounded.
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said, without naming Pakistan, that dozens of casualties from the recent attacks in Kunar province, including the strike on Kunar University, have been recorded and documented.
Border tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan have now continued for more than two months. During this period, the two sides announced only a temporary ceasefire over Eid al-Fitr at the request of Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, after which clashes resumed.
Despite mediation efforts by several countries, including China, the two sides have so far failed to reach an agreement to halt the fighting.
Local sources said that on World Press Freedom Day, the Taliban’s Interior Ministry announced a meeting with journalists but omitted the word “freedom” from the official name, referring to it instead as “World Press Day.”
Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Interior Ministry, also released images from the meeting in which no female journalists were visible among the participants.
Qani shared the statement and images from the meeting with journalists on Sunday, May 2, on his X account.
During the same meeting, however, the Interior Ministry spokesperson described the media as “the awakened mind of society and the voice of civilised nations.”
Abdul Mateen Qani emphasised the key role of journalists in raising public awareness but noted that improving professional capacity and the development of journalism should be strengthened “in light of Islamic values”, a principle the Taliban consistently emphasise across all sectors.
The Taliban’s exclusion of women from the meeting and the removal of the word “freedom” from its official statement once again reflect the group’s restrictive approach to press freedom and women’s participation in public life and media.
Over the past nearly five years, the Taliban have imposed extensive restrictions on the media and journalistic activity. The group has suppressed independent media outlets in Afghanistan and required them to publish content only after approval.
Previously, Richard Bennett, UN special rapporteur, said that at least four journalists and media workers remain in Taliban detention.
Reporters Without Borders has also ranked Afghanistan 175th out of 180 countries in its 2026 Press Freedom Index.
Local sources in Kandahar told Afghanistan International that over the past three days the Taliban have deployed hundreds of fighters and dozens of military vehicles to the districts of Spin Boldak, Shorabak and Registan along the Pakistan border.
The decision to send additional forces to the border districts was made following Pakistani attacks on Spin Boldak and Kunar.
According to the sources, the Taliban have stationed these fighters at newly established checkpoints close to the border between the two countries. These forces are part of thousands of fighters who were summoned to Kandahar in April from southern and south-western provinces.
Sources had previously told Afghanistan International in late March that the decision to transfer forces from southern and south-western provinces to Kandahar was made after Pakistani airstrikes on the province and ahead of Eid.
Several fighters from the provinces of Herat, Farah, Nimroz, and Uruzgan have been transferred to Kandahar and stationed at the army corps there. Around 1,000 troops from each province were called in. Sources add that although these forces were apparently deployed to ensure security in Kandahar, the majority have been designated for border districts.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have been tense for more than two months, and despite several rounds of talks in Turkiye, Qatar, and Urumqi, the Pakistani army has continued to carry out heavy attacks on Afghanistan’s border area.
Last week, Pakistan targeted various locations in the center and several districts of Kunar province. The Pakistani army also struck Kunar University in Asadabad, the provincial capital.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of cooperating with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an allegation the Taliban deny.
Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban have decided to seize assets of those engaged in armed or political opposition, with a senior official saying such property will be placed under “legal control or supervision”.
The official said that if property is proven to be “personal and legitimate”, it may not be fully transferred to the state but will remain under Taliban oversight.
He added that the policy applies to all political and military figures opposed to the Taliban and will be implemented under what the group describes as its legal framework.
According to sources, those listed include Ahmad Zia Massoud, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Yasin Zia, Rahmatullah Nabil, Din Mohammad Jurat, Sami Sadat, Gul Haidar, Atta Mohammad Noor and other opponents.
Sources also said the house of Mohammad Halim Fidai, former governor of Logar and Paktia, had previously been confiscated, and in some cases Taliban members have been stationed in seized properties.
In the latest case, the Taliban seized the home of Fawzia Koofi, a former MP, in Kabul and detained three of her relatives.
Earlier, the Taliban had also seized property and facilities belonging to Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the People's Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s foreign ministry has refused to verify women’s academic documents. Two women in Kabul told Afghanistan International they were informed at the ministry gate that “verification of women’s documents is now banned”.
This marks the latest restriction imposed by the Taliban on Afghan women and girls.
Several women in Kabul expressed frustration, saying the Taliban can’t be reformed and growing more extreme and intolerant each day.
They said the group treats women with contempt and is even refusing to verify academic certificates issued under the previous government.
At the same time, sources in the Taliban’s higher education ministry told Afghanistan International that Neda Mohammad Nadeem, Taliban minister of higher education, has instructed all public universities to stop verifying academic records for both male and female students for international institutions and foreign countries.
The decision was reportedly taken by the ministry’s leadership council, with university heads given verbal orders not to respond to emails from foreign universities or organisations seeking confirmation of semesters, grades or graduation status.
Sources said the directive effectively halts official correspondence and blocks verification processes for Afghans seeking work abroad or engagement with international organisations.
Nadeem reportedly advised university officials to implement the policy “quietly and confidentially” to avoid public attention.
Many citizens have described the move as unjust, saying it closes pathways to higher education and employment opportunities abroad.
The Taliban have previously taken steps to restrict Afghan students from continuing education overseas.
The administration has banned education for girls above sixth grade and prohibited women from working, including within international organisations.
International pressure has so far failed to change these policies.
Decrees by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, and regulations from the ministry for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice have severely affected Afghan women’s daily lives, imposing wide-ranging restrictions.