The Taliban’s security chief for the Herat police command, Najibullah Ali, has announced that the group will continue detaining women in the province over alleged violations of its dress code.
Ali also confirmed that the Taliban have so far detained more than 19 women for failing to comply with the group’s interpretation of hijab, although unofficial figures from local sources suggest the number of detainees is significantly higher.
He stressed that the monitoring of women’s dress would continue in Herat “to promote compliance with hijab and raise public awareness”, adding that those who ignore the rules would face arrest.
The Taliban official also confirmed that the group’s forces fired warning shots into the air to disperse protesters who had demonstrated against the detention of women in Herat’s Jebrail district. He further acknowledged that several protesters had been detained.
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, announced on Wednesday that India has sent five tons of medicines to Kabul.
In a post on X, Jaiswal reaffirmed India’s commitment to continuing humanitarian assistance and supporting the welfare of the Afghan people.
India’s Foreign Ministry also announced in May that it had delivered 20 tons of essential BCG, tetanus and diphtheria vaccine supplies to Kabul to strengthen child immunisation programmes.
In April, India said it had provided 13 tons of vaccines and related medical supplies to support efforts to protect children against tuberculosis in Afghanistan.
Over the past year, India has sought to expand its humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan while relations with the Taliban administration have warmed.
The development comes as the Taliban administration has reportedly halted medicine imports from Pakistan following military tensions with Islamabad and is seeking alternative sources to meet the country’s pharmaceutical needs.
Uzbekistan’s State Security Service has announced the seizure of nearly 38 kilograms of narcotics smuggled from Afghanistan.
The agency said most of the shipment was discovered in the Surxondaryo region and that several individuals linked to the trafficking operation had been arrested.
According to the State Security Service, security forces and police carried out a joint operation in Surxondaryo and seized more than 37 kilograms of drugs that had been smuggled into Uzbekistan from Afghanistan.
The confiscated shipment consisted of 25 kilograms and 444 grams of opium and 11 kilograms and 86 grams of hashish that had been trafficked across the Afghan border.
The agency said that after discovering the shipment, authorities launched a controlled operation to identify and arrest the intended recipients in the city of Samarkand. Following the monitored transfer of the drugs, security officers arrested two Uzbek nationals and two foreign citizens while they were taking delivery of the consignment.
In a separate operation at the Termez International Trade Centre, Uzbek security forces arrested two Afghan nationals who were allegedly attempting to sell one kilogram and 76 grams of opium for 5,000 US dollars. Initial investigations and questioning indicated that the suspects had used body concealment methods, including swallowing drug packages, to smuggle the narcotics into Uzbekistan.
Uzbek judicial authorities said criminal cases had been opened under Articles 246 and 273 of the country’s criminal code. A court has ordered all suspects in both cases to remain in pre-trial detention while investigations continue.
Uzbek security forces have previously seized nearly 600 kilograms of narcotics in the Surxondaryo region, which borders Afghanistan.
Information obtained by Afghanistan International indicates that the Taliban are attempting to alter the narrative surrounding the death of Morteza, a 16-year-old boy who died after being wounded during protests in Herat.
According to the information, the group has pressured his family to blame protesters for the shooting.
Morteza’s funeral was also held on Tuesday under heavy Taliban supervision.
A credible source familiar with the matter told Afghanistan International on Tuesday that Taliban officials informed the family they would not release Morteza’s body unless they filed a complaint against the protesters.
According to the source, the family was compelled to state that Morteza had been injured by members of the public during the demonstrations and later died in hospital.
Eyewitnesses said Taliban members removed banners and photographs of Morteza from the walls of his family home. According to the witnesses, the Taliban sought to prevent public attention and media coverage of the teenager’s death.
Morteza’s funeral took place on Tuesday, hours after he died, and he was buried in the Kamar Kalagh area north of Herat city.
Sources said Taliban personnel closely monitored all stages of the funeral and attempted to ensure that the ceremony was held quickly and with only limited public attendance.
According to the sources, five Taliban special forces vehicles were deployed to oversee the funeral. Initially, large numbers of people intended to attend, but Taliban authorities prevented many of them from accompanying the procession to the cemetery.
Morteza, 16, was wounded by two gunshots on June 9 during protests in Herat’s Jebrail area against the detention of women by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
He had been receiving treatment at Herat Regional Hospital in recent days but died on Tuesday from the severity of his injuries.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has described Afghanistan as the main source of terrorism and blamed it for insecurity in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Responding to criticism of Islamabad’s approach towards the Taliban, Asif said the Pakistani government had repeatedly attempted to engage in dialogue with the group.
According to him, he personally travelled to Kabul twice alongside the head of Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, while further talks with Taliban officials were held in Qatar and Türkiye.
Khawaja Asif stated that they agreed to everything during the negotiations, but insisted the Taliban could not provide any written guarantees.
He also revealed that Pakistan had proposed spending 10 billion rupees to relocate militants to remote areas of Afghanistan. However, the plan was abandoned because there were no assurances that the fighters would not return to Pakistani territory.
Criticising Pakistan’s past policies towards Afghanistan, particularly during the 1980s and under General Pervez Musharraf, former president of Pakistan Asif said Pakistan became a battleground for America’s proxy war. Those who used us left behind weapons and destruction and departed, and for two generations we have been paying the price for those decisions.
In recent months, Pakistan has continued its large-scale deportation campaign against Afghan refugees. Pakistani officials say nearly three million Afghan nationals have been expelled from the country.
Asif concluded by urging members of parliament not to use insecurity as a tool for political gain and stressed the need for a collective solution to the security crisis in Balochistan and the border regions.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that more than 8.8 million children in Afghanistan face climate-related risks. According to the report, over 75 percent of Afghan children are exposed to drought, while more than half face longer and more frequent heatwaves.
UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Report 2026, released on Tuesday, June 16, states that 41 percent of Afghanistan’s roughly 21 million children are exposed to hazards including floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme heat, and sand and dust storms.
The report’s data show that more than 1.7 million Afghan children are also at risk from river flooding.
According to UNICEF, Afghanistan has the highest level of child vulnerability among South Asian countries. The agency said this reflects deep gaps in essential services needed to cope with, adapt to, and recover from climate shocks.
Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, said: “Children in Afghanistan are already living on the frontlines of the climate crisis”. He added “What makes this especially dangerous is that climate hazards are overlapping with high child vulnerability…”.
He stressed that strengthening climate-resilient systems and services in health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education, child protection and social support is vital to protect children today and secure their future.
The report notes that droughts, floods and extreme heat are weakening food systems and reducing access to safe water. UNICEF said these factors are increasing the risk of acute malnutrition.
Millions of children under the age of five in Afghanistan currently require treatment for acute malnutrition, while nearly half of the country’s children live in severe food poverty.
UNICEF has called for urgent investment in climate-resilient services to protect children before, during and after climate-related crises.