Shia Council Urge Dialogue To Resolve Hazarajat Resident-Kuchi Nomads Disputes

According to the Interfax news agency, Choriev said on the sidelines of the Tashkent International Investment Forum that technical and economic feasibility studies for the major infrastructure project are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Information released by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport indicates that construction of the Trans-Afghan railway is expected to take at least five years.

Referring to ongoing talks with partners from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, Choriev said the railway would provide the shortest route to Pakistan’s Karachi port and create a transport link between India, Central Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

According to Choriev, the Eurasian Development Bank has expressed readiness to help finance the project, which is expected to have the capacity to transport nearly 20 million tons of cargo annually.

Earlier, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reaffirmed support for the Trans-Afghan railway during the fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum, saying Uzbekistan was actively working on the strategic transit corridor. He added that the route would provide direct access to southern seaports.

Russia has also previously announced that it is prepared to participate in the project.

An Afghanistan International correspondent in the Indian capital met the injured fighter on Friday, accompanied by two attendants, and observed that he was struggling to walk unaided.

The Taliban member and his two attendants are currently staying in the Lajpat Nagar area of New Delhi.

The fighter told Afghanistan International that he had been wounded during border clashes in Spin Boldak.

He said arrangements for his travel to India were made on the direct orders of Taliban Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid and that the Indian embassy in Kabul had assisted in issuing his visa.

A Taliban official indirectly confirmed the matter to Afghanistan International on Saturday, saying: “Patients have gone to India for treatment before.”

The Indian embassy in Kabul has not publicly commented on the case. It remains unclear how many Taliban members are currently in India for medical treatment.

India suspended regular and electronic visa services after the Taliban seized Kabul in August 2021. Although visa issuance has not fully resumed, a new visa system for Afghan nationals was introduced in 2025.

Under the new policy, medical visas, medical attendant visas, business visas, student visas, entry visas and UN-related visas are available to Afghans, although access remains limited and applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. India’s primary focus has been on medical and humanitarian visas.

Border tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban administration have escalated in recent months, involving cross-border shelling, air strikes and direct military confrontations.

Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, insecurity along the border and militant activity have intensified. Pakistani soldiers and Taliban fighters have been killed and wounded in the clashes, although precise casualty figures remain unclear. The United Nations has said that civilians have borne the brunt of the violence.

Since taking power, three Taliban ministers have officially visited India: Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Industry and Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi, and Public Health Minister Noor Jalal Jalali. Pakistan’s response to these visits has generally been cautious, concerned and at times critical.

India has steadily expanded its diplomatic and economic engagement in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Islamabad views this trend as part of a broader geopolitical rivalry and remains highly sensitive to it.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce said the main purpose of the visit is to hold the Afghan Kazakh Trade and Economic Forum and an exhibition of Kazakh products and goods in the Afghan capital.

The ministry said the visit will also focus on expanding economic relations, facilitating trade between the private sectors of both countries and promoting Kazakh products in the Afghan market.

Like most countries, Kazakhstan has not formally recognised the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government. However, it has maintained limited and conditional engagement with the group in recent years. In June 2024, Kazakhstan removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organisations.

The Taliban administration says Kazakhstan is interested in cooperating with its government across a wide range of sectors.

Sources said he previously served as commander of a company in the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Brigade, 201st Selab Corps under the former regime. He had recently disappeared, and his body was found on Friday.

Relatives said Hashmatullah went missing four days ago while working on his farm in Jabal al- Saraj district of Parwan province. His body was eventually discovered on Friday, June 19.

According to images obtained by Afghanistan International, there were visible signs of torture on his body. Family members said his attackers had gouged out his eyes.

A relative told Afghanistan International that the former commander’s body was found beside a river in the neighbouring province of Kapisa.

Hashmatullah’s remains were transferred to his hometown in Jabal al- Saraj district and buried on Friday.

His relatives said he had been detained once by Taliban forces after the collapse of the former government but was later released after signing a written pledge. Fearing reprisals, he subsequently fled to Iran. He had recently returned to Afghanistan and was living a civilian life, working as a farmer in his home district.

Family members said he had not been involved in any military or armed activities since returning.

Continued reports of reprisals against former security personnel

The killing comes amid continued reports by international organisations, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and Amnesty International, documenting reprisals, arbitrary arrests, torture and killings of former government officials and security personnel under Taliban rule.

Although the Taliban leader announced a general amnesty after returning to power, targeted killings of former security force members in different provinces have fuelled concerns that former military personnel continue to face serious risks.

Taliban authorities in Parwan have not yet commented on the killing.

The force, known as the “Hibati” unit, will reportedly receive higher salaries and benefits than other Taliban forces.

According to the sources, the special unit is being established specifically to maintain security along the border with Pakistan.

Once fully organised, responsibility for monitoring the Durand Line and directing any military movements, clashes or ceasefires along the frontier will be placed under the unit’s command.

Two sources in Kandahar and Kabul told Afghanistan International: “Existing soldiers will remain at their posts along the Durand Line, but overall control and command will rest with this new unit. Whether there is conflict or not, the authority to make decisions on all such matters will lie with this force.”

According to the sources, 4,000 members of the unit are already stationed at a brigade base in Kandahar’s Zhari district, where registration and organisational procedures are under way. Another 4,000 personnel are currently in Kabul undergoing the same process.

The sources said members of the unit will receive greater pay and privileges than other Taliban fighters. The force will operate directly under Hibatullah Akhundzada and will not fall within the organisational structure of the Taliban’s security ministries.

One source closely following the recruitment process said: “There is no ordinary soldier rank in this unit; recruitment begins at officer level. Their benefits are substantial and they answer only to Sheikh Sahib (Hibatullah Akhundzada). They are neither under the Ministry of Defence nor the Ministry of Interior.”

Sources within Taliban circles told Afghanistan International that most recruits come from Kandahar, Uruzgan and Helmand provinces, with a smaller number drawn from Zabul.

According to the sources, the unit is expected to receive advanced US-made military equipment left behind in Afghanistan, including night-vision devices, vehicles, operational helicopters and reconnaissance drones.

They added that once recruitment is complete, members of the force will receive training in topography, border patrol operations, preventing illegal crossings, anti-smuggling missions, surveillance, reconnaissance, tracking suspects, and the use of GPS technology, drone cameras and reconnaissance drones.

Regarding the command structure, sources said: “Four thousand personnel will remain in Kandahar and another four thousand in Kabul. They will be deployed on missions whenever Akhundzada issues a direct order.”

The sources did not identify a commander for the force but speculated that one of the Taliban’s regional commanders may eventually be appointed to lead it.

Analysts view the initiative as an effort by the Taliban leader to tighten control over border clashes, patrols, security posts and movements along the Durand Line.

The force is being formed at a time of heightened tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. On Friday, June 19, the Taliban claimed to have carried out drone strikes in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, saying they had targeted ISIS-K facilities.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting confirmed a Taliban drone incursion but said one drone had been shot down before reaching its target. The Taliban Defence Ministry appears to have launched the operation in response to recent Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan’s Kunar, Khost and Paktia provinces.