Taliban Impose Music Restrictions On Visitors To Nuristan

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported on Monday that Naeem-ur-Rehman, speaking at a public gathering in Zhob, Balochistan, said these measures were essential for economic stability and for easing the pressure on the public.

He said Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan would launch a nationwide strike after Eid al-Adha in protest against what he described as unfair increases in fuel and electricity prices.

He also urged the people and business community of Balochistan to support the strike.

The Jamaat-e-Islami leader proposed the formation of a joint committee made up of tribes and traders from both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to help reopen crossings in Chaman and other areas.

He also called for the creation of special border trade zones and suggested that responsibility for securing trade routes should be handed over to local tribes.

Naeem ur Rehman criticised current border policies, saying crossings are selectively opened at night for the benefit of a few individuals while the livelihoods of thousands have been harmed.

He added that trade with Iran, particularly in petroleum products, should be regulated through legal channels.

At the same gathering, Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch, the head of Jamaat-e-Islami in Balochistan and a member of the provincial assembly, said the province’s resources should be used for the welfare of its own people.

After tensions between Kabul and Islamabad escalated in October last year, Pakistan closed eight border points with Afghanistan, disrupting trade and the movement of goods.

The Taliban later gave traders three months to settle contracts in Pakistan and redirect trade routes.

At the same time, the Taliban administration has reduced its trade dependence on Pakistan by increasing the transfer of goods through Iran and Central Asia.

Earlier this year, the State Bank of Pakistan said trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan had fallen by around 60 percent over the previous seven months.

Local sources in Kandahar Province told Afghanistan International on Sunday that Taliban intelligence forces and officials from the Taliban information and culture department had shut down the local radio stations “Tahsin-al-Quran”, “Sanga” and “Zama Zeewar”.

The Taliban’s information and culture department in Kandahar said the stations were closed because they lacked official licences, had unpaid taxes and broadcast what it described as non-standard programmes.

However, the Afghanistan Media Support Organisation, citing reliable sources, said the renewal of licences and administrative procedures for the stations had been delayed by Taliban authorities in Kabul and had not been completed on time.

The organisation stressed that silencing media outlets because of administrative delays is unreasonable and unjust.

At the same time, one of the managers of the stations told the Afghanistan Journalists Center that the Taliban’s claims regarding tax debts and non-standard broadcasts, particularly concerning “Sanga” and “Zama Zeewar”, were false and merely a pretext to shut down independent media outlets.

The Afghanistan Media Support Organisation called on the Taliban to allow the three radio stations to resume operations as soon as possible and to end restrictive measures against the media.

The organisation also warned that closing media outlets amid the country’s severe economic difficulties not only deprives citizens of access to information but also threatens the livelihoods of many journalists and media workers by exposing them to unemployment.

Over the past week alone, the Taliban have suspended the operations of four local media outlets.

Earlier, the group also shut down a local radio station in Bamiyan province over what it described as a lack of proper licensing.

Zamir Kabulov, the Russian president's special envoy for Afghanistan, made the remarks in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia while commenting on the future of the UN mission in Afghanistan.

He said: “Yes, of course its mandate will be extended, but with certain conditions, because there are questions regarding the mission's activities. We hope all of these issues will be taken into account.”

Kabulov did not provide further details.

The Russian envoy also referred to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and said the international community must move beyond statements and declarations towards practical action, whether through the United Nations or bilateral efforts.

In late March 2026, the United Nations Security Council extended UNAMA’s mandate in Afghanistan until 17 June 2026 under Security Council Resolution 2818.

This time, the mandate was extended for only three months, whereas in previous years it had usually been renewed for one year.

Yousuf Hammad, spokesperson for the Taliban's disaster management authority, said in a video statement on Saturday that severe rainfall, storms and lightning over the past two days affected 989 families in several provinces.

He added that around 100 families had been displaced by the disasters.

According to the authority, natural disasters on Thursday and Friday caused casualties and damage in the provinces of Kabul, Parwan, Kapisa, Khost, Paktia, Maidan Wardak, Uruzgan, Kandahar, Herat, Badghis, Samangan, Sar-e Pol Province, Baghlan, Takhar, Badakhshan, Laghman and Kunar.

The spokesman said at least 10 kilometres of roads were destroyed during the period, while around 966 acres of agricultural land ruined, and the crops of around 400 acres of orchards lost.

The authority added that since March 26, at least 285 people have been killed and 354 injured in natural disasters across Afghanistan.

During the same period, 874 homes were completely destroyed and 7,028 others damaged.

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment said the delegation travelled to the city of Namangan.

Aryan Zelgi Azimi, the chamber's deputy head, is leading the delegation.

The main objectives of the visit were described as expanding bilateral trade ties, exploring joint investment opportunities and increasing exports and imports between the private sectors of both countries.

The visit comes as Afghanistan’s trade relations with Central Asian countries, particularly Uzbekistan, have expanded significantly in recent months.

Following repeated border disruptions and closures with Pakistan, which sharply reduced trade with its southern neighbour, Kabul has shifted its focus towards diversifying trade partners and strengthening links with northern countries.

Tashkent has in recent years become one of Afghanistan’s key trading partners.

Previously, the two sides signed agreements worth hundreds of millions of dollars covering flour imports, cement, industrial products and the development of transit cooperation.

Earlier, Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban deputy prime minister for economic affairs, expressed hope that travel between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan could eventually take place without visas.

The visit by the large Afghan trade delegation to Namangan is seen as another practical step by Afghanistan’s private sector to make use of emerging opportunities in Central Asian markets.