Asad Qaiser, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has announced that a grand jirga will be held in July to discuss problems caused by the closure of border crossings with Afghanistan and ongoing trade challenges.
He said the gathering aims to identify ways to reopen trade routes between the two countries.
Speaking at a meeting with representatives of Pakistan’s chambers of commerce on Monday, Qaiser said the continued closure of border crossings with Afghanistan had inflicted significant damage on Pakistan’s economy, harming businesses and costing hundreds of thousands of jobs.
He said all key stakeholders from the trade and industrial sectors would attend the planned meeting to discuss sustainable solutions to the current problems.
Qaiser did not specify the exact date or location of the Jirga.
He stressed that Pakistan would continue to face economic difficulties and stagnation until trade routes with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries were fully reopened. He also called for political disputes to be separated from trade relations, arguing that ordinary people on both sides of the border should not bear the cost of political disagreements.
Meanwhile, officials from the Torkham Chamber of Commerce said the prolonged closure of border crossings had left around two million people unemployed and caused traders losses of nearly $278 million.
Jawad Shinwari, an Afghanistan International correspondent, reported that participants at the meeting said the closure of trade routes had affected around 50 percent of economic activity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Some traders have reportedly been forced to relocate their businesses to Lahore and other Pakistani cities.
Qaiser described the planned grand Jirga in July as an important step towards removing obstacles, expanding regional trade and reviving economic activity.
Border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained largely closed for nearly eight months following military clashes and tensions between Pakistani forces and the Taliban, causing significant losses for traders and businesses on both sides of the border.
Sources told Afghanistan International on Monday that the Taliban arrested at least nine people in Kabul overnight for raising flags marking Muharram, one of the holiest months in the Shia Muslim calendar.
According to the sources, the arrests were carried out on the orders of Abdul Hakim Sharei, the Taliban’s justice minister. They said those detained are being held in a private detention facility operated by the minister within the Ministry of Justice compound.
Muharram, particularly its 10th day, Ashura, commemorates the seventh-century killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala. Millions of Shia Muslims around the world observe the occasion through mourning ceremonies, religious gatherings and public displays of black flags and banners.
One source said Taliban forces raided several Shia mosques and Hussainiyas, or Shia congregation halls, across Kabul, removing Muharram flags and decorations.
According to the sources, Taliban forces entered Imam Hussain Mujtaba Mosque in the Telegraph Station area, Mohammadi Mosque in Qala-e Shahada, Nabi Akram Mosque in Omid Sabz Township, Gulzar-e Shohada Hussainiya in Sarkariz, Hasnain Mosque in Karte Seh, Resalat Seminary and Afshari Mosque near the Ministry of Justice in district 18, 13 and 6 of Kabul.
The raids took place despite previous assurances from Taliban authorities, according to sources, that Muharram commemorations would be permitted under specific conditions following consultations with Shia religious leaders.
Following the incident, members of a committee coordinating Muharram ceremonies in Kabul reportedly met Taj Mir Jawad, deputy head of Taliban intelligence, and lodged a formal complaint.
Sources said Taj Mir Jawad told them that Shia communities could hold Muharram ceremonies in accordance with the previous agreement and asked organisers to provide the names of those detained so that steps could be taken towards their release.
No official response has yet been issued by the Ministry of Justice or other Taliban authorities.
Meanwhile, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif told Afghanistan International that the Taliban had also detained at least three people in the city for taking part in Muharram mourning ceremonies.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have repeatedly imposed restrictions on Muharram observances and, in some cases, used force against Shia gatherings.
Earlier, Afghanistan’s Shia Ulema Council called on the Taliban administration to ensure the security of Muharram ceremonies across the country and to provide a peaceful environment free from restrictions for Ashura commemorations.
Recent Taliban changes in Badakhshan, from reshuffling local officials to deploying a 1,000-strong special force, point to a growing struggle over control of the province’s lucrative gold mines.
According to several Taliban members from Badakhshan, these measures are linked to efforts by the group’s leadership to wrest control of gold and precious-stone mines from local commanders and place them under the authority of the Taliban’s central leadership in Kandahar.
An Afghanistan International investigation indicates that the Taliban leadership has launched a coordinated campaign in recent months to curb the growing influence of local commanders in Badakhshan. The measures include dismissing, arresting and transferring influential local figures, replacing them with individuals trusted by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and his inner circle, and deploying a newly formed 1,000-member military unit to the province.
Sources within the local Taliban told Afghanistan International that the moves reflect increasing concern among the leadership about the growing economic and military power of Badakhshani commanders. According to these sources, control of mining operations has provided some commanders with substantial financial resources, enabling them to independently finance projects worth up to one million dollars.
A 1,000-strong force to guard mines or suppress dissent?
Around two months ago, Taliban governor Ismail Ghaznavi reportedly requested that Hibatullah Akhundzada send a special 1,000-member force to Badakhshan. The unit has since arrived.
While the governor said the force was intended to protect gold mines, residents argue its real mission is to curb the influence of local commanders and strengthen Kandahar’s direct control over the province’s mineral wealth.
Some Badakhshani Taliban members describe the move as part of a broader effort to Kandahar fraction control of Badakhshan’s mines, aimed at consolidating Akhundzada’s authority over the province’s strategic resources.
Removal, Dismissal and Exile Of Local Taliban
Recent developments suggest the campaign extends beyond administrative changes and has taken on political and security dimensions.
In the latest move, the Taliban removed Shafiqullah Hafizi as head of Badakhshan’s mining department.
Hafizi, a native of Yeftal district in Badakhshan, was replaced by Abdul Matin Rahimzai from Logar province.
Hafizi had previously played a key role in managing mining operations in Shahri Buzurg and Shewa districts. Attempts to remove him had been made last year, but he retained his position with the backing of former Taliban governor Qari Ayub Khalid.
Sources say his replacement forms part of a wider effort to transfer control of the mining sector to figures closer to the Kandahar leadership.
Transfer Of Juma Khan Fateh
One of the most notable cases is the removal of Juma Khan Fateh, an influential Taliban figure in the Darwaz districts. He was dismissed as district governor of Nusay and appointed deputy governor of Zabul province.
Sources told Afghanistan International that Fateh was deeply dissatisfied with the transfer and refused to report to Zabul for about a month.
Over recent years, he reportedly sought to strengthen his position by cultivating support from senior Taliban figures, including Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Despite his transfer, local sources say Fateh continues to exercise influence over mines in Nusay, Shekay and Khwahan through an associate known as Musa Kaka and hundreds of armed followers. They claim he earns millions of afghanis from these operations.
Sources in Shekay district said individuals loyal to Fateh have even obstructed official mining officials from collecting revenues.
Arrest Of District Governor
Abdul Khabir Nezami, the Taliban district governor of Argo and a figure linked to the Shewa mining area, was arrested following an armed confrontation with Taliban forces in Arghanj Khwa district.
Sources said forces loyal to the provincial governor entered the Shewa area to limit his influence. Following the clash, Nezami was summoned to the governor’s office in Faizabad and arrested by the special unit.
He is currently being held in Kunduz prison awaiting a ruling from a Taliban military court.
Former Mining Chief Imprisoned
Sources also identified Abdul Rahman Ammar, a former head of Badakhshan’s mining department and an influential figure in Shahri Buzurg, as another target of the campaign.
He was arrested in October 2025 after opposing the presence of non-local Taliban members and companies associated with them in Shahri Buzurg.
One of the Taliban’s largest gold extraction projects is located there, where mining reportedly continues around the clock with Chinese involvement.
Local sources said Ammar abandoned plans for armed resistance after mediation by Qari Fasihuddin the Taliban army chief and surrendered, but he is now serving a prison sentence in Kunduz under a ruling from a Taliban military court.
100,000 People Work In Badakhshan Gold projects
Badakhshan is one of Afghanistan’s most important mining regions, with rich deposits of gold, lapis lazuli and other precious stones.
The Taliban Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says 100,000 people are employed in gold extraction projects across the province.
Major mining operations are underway in Shahri Buzurg, Yawan, Kohistan, Raghistan, Khwahan and Arghanjkhwa districts.
Critics, however, argue that these projects lack transparency and accountability and violate Afghan law as well as international standards.
Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has previously said that mining contracts signed secretly by the Taliban lack international legitimacy and that there is little transparency about how long resources are being leased or where the revenues are being spent.
Analysts say events in Badakhshan reflect more than an administrative dispute. They are part of a broader struggle over wealth, authority and control of gold resources within the Taliban itself.
While the Taliban leadership in Kandahar seeks to bring strategic revenue sources under direct control, some local commanders in Badakhshan, who built independent power bases during years of conflict, view the process as a threat to their influence.
The deployment of forces, arrests of commanders and management changes may all signal an effort to contain these tensions before they evolve into a larger challenge to Taliban unity.
Badakhshan, it appears, has become more than a battleground for administrative control; it is emerging as a testing ground in a growing struggle over gold and power.
German media have reported that, following a confidential meeting between German officials and Taliban representatives, Berlin has agreed to accept six additional Taliban diplomats.
According to NDR, the agreement was reached after several days of private talks between Taliban representatives and German officials at a hotel in Istanbul.
Germany’s Interior Ministry told NDR that discussions had taken place at a technical level between ministry representatives and Taliban officials but provided no further details.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry, however, confirmed that the meeting took place in Istanbul.
In addition to senior Interior Ministry officials, several diplomats from Germany’s Foreign Ministry also attended the talks.
NDR did not specify which Taliban officials participated in the meeting.
The Taliban had previously said it required more diplomats in Germany to help verify the identities of Afghan nationals facing deportation and to issue travel documents.
At present, only two Taliban consular staff are based in Germany, effectively overseeing Afghanistan’s embassy in Berlin and its consulate in Bonn.
A deportation flight that had been scheduled for the end of May was reportedly postponed because of pressure from the Taliban. According to NDR, the delay occurred because the German government had not yet agreed to the Taliban’s request to send additional diplomats.
More recently, a spokesperson for Germany’s Interior Ministry said charter deportation flights to Kabul would be increased, with up to three deportation flights per month now possible. The spokesperson also said individual deportations on regular commercial flights could take place.
The newspaper Bild am Sonntag previously reported that at least 100 Afghan criminals awaiting deportation are currently being held in prisons or deportation detention centres across Germany.
Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has defended the group’s enforcement of dress codes for women, saying that “every government in the world imposes restrictions on its citizens.”
He also said that no country accepts “absolute freedom”.
In a post on X on Sunday, Khyber wrote that just as governments require citizens to comply with laws such as taxation and traffic regulations, an Islamic government also has the right to enforce its own social and moral principles.
He said Muslim countries have the right to organise public life according to their religious values, just as Western countries establish laws based on their political and ideological principles.
Khyber described criticism of the Taliban’s strict enforcement measures as emotional and argued that any misconduct by individual morality inspectors should not be attributed to Islam.
The Taliban spokesman called on the international community to accept diversity in political and cultural systems and refrain from interfering in the laws and values promoted by the Taliban administration.
He asked: “Why is it considered coercion when an Islamic government enforces certain social and moral principles based on its own laws and values, while mandatory laws imposed by other governments are not regarded as coercion?”
Except Russia, no country has formally recognised the Taliban since the group returned to power. After taking control of Kabul, the Taliban did not hold elections or establish any other mechanism to seek public legitimacy for its government.
Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issues decrees without approval from elected institutions. Human rights organisations say these orders are enforced through coercive measures.
Responding to critics who favour awareness campaigns and persuasion over enforcement, Khyber said that while guidance and preaching are important principles in Islam, society cannot be governed through persuasion alone and laws must also be enforced.
His remarks come as Taliban authorities continue detaining women accused of violating the group’s dress code. Witnesses and local sources have also reported violent treatment of some detainees.
The Taliban says it only accepts forms of dress that cover a woman’s entire body and face, an interpretation that differs from prevailing practices in many Muslim-majority countries.
The comments come amid an ongoing crackdown in Herat, where the Taliban began arresting women on June 6 over alleged violations of hijab rules. Following the arrests, residents staged protests, but Taliban forces opened fire to disperse demonstrators.
According to reports, at least two people, including a child, were killed and several others injured in the shooting.
The United Nations, Amnesty International and other human rights organisations have expressed concern over the arrests of women and the reported use of force against protesters.
Over the past two weeks, Afghans in several countries have organised demonstrations in support of the women of Herat and in protest against Taliban policies.
Yerkin Tukumov, Kazakhstan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, says removing the Taliban from the country’s list of terrorist organisations does not amount to recognising the Taliban administration.
Reaffirming Astana’s policy of engagement without recognition, he said Afghanistan’s situation remains highly complex.
According to the Kazinform news agency, Tukumov stressed that Kazakhstan’s position on not recognising the Taliban is fully aligned with decisions adopted by the United Nations Security Council.
The senior Kazakh diplomat said Afghanistan continues to face serious economic and social challenges, adding that past experience has shown that any economic, humanitarian or institutional vacuum in the country is inevitably filled by destructive forces.
He emphasised that supporting Afghanistan is a practical and effective way to strengthen security across the wider region.
According to Tokumov, integrating Afghanistan into legitimate economic processes is the only effective means of curbing drug trafficking, irregular migration and cross-border terrorism.
Kazakhstan removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organisations in 2024.
Despite withholding formal recognition, Kazakhstan maintains political and economic relations with the Taliban administration.
In recent days, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin visited Kabul and held separate meetings with senior Taliban officials, including Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Industry and Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi.