Wounded Taliban Fighters Receives Treatment in India, Say Sources

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.

Ahead of World Refugee Day, the organisation said millions of people have been forced to flee their homes due to war, violence and protracted crises.

Alongside Afghanistan, countries such as Venezuela, Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan and Palestine account for around 70 percent of the world’s refugee population.

The number of displaced people worldwide has continued to rise as a result of armed conflict, violence, long-running crises and climate-related disasters, forcing millions to leave their homes.

Caritas said the trend reflects growing pressure on the global refugee protection system and called on countries to uphold their commitments under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The organisation also stressed the need to avoid deterrence-based policies, strengthen the principle of non-refoulement, ensure sustainable humanitarian support and expand international cooperation to assist refugees and host countries.

According to the 2026 Global Report on Internal Displacement, around seven million people in Afghanistan were internally displaced during the past year as a result of prolonged conflict and natural disasters.

This year’s United Nations theme for World Refugee Day is “Until Everyone Is Safe”. However, Afghan refugees continue to face insecurity, extensive restrictions and an uncertain future in many countries.

At the same time, amid growing pressure on asylum systems, the European Union is expected to meet Taliban representatives in Belgium at the EU level to discuss the return of Afghan migrants, a move that has drawn international criticism.

Earlier on Saturday, the Taliban’s Ministry of Defence claimed it had carried out air strikes overnight against what it described as ISIS-K-linked centres in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting rejected the claim as false.

The ministry’s fact-checking unit said: “Terrorist camps including that of Daesh and more than two dozen other terrorists organisations are factually located, run and patronised from inside the territories under control of Afghan Taliban regime..”

The ministry also released images of the downed drone and accused the Taliban administration of issuing false and misleading statements to conceal its alleged support for militant activities in neighbouring countries and the wider region, including activities linked to ISIS-K, the Baloch separatist movement, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other groups.

Meanwhile, local residents in a remote part of Khyber district near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border reportedly discovered the wreckage of drones said to have been brought down overnight.

The debris was found far from populated areas.