Kandahar Tightens Grip As Taliban Rivals Compete For Badakhshan’s Mines

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.

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.

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.

Zhumangarin said Kazakhstan is seeking to increase imports from Afghanistan.

He also announced the arrival of a new shipment of Kazakh humanitarian aid, consisting of eight railway wagons carrying tents, medicines and essential supplies for returning migrants and people affected by natural disasters. At the same time, a team of specialist doctors from Kazakhstan has arrived in Kabul to provide medical services.

According to the Taliban, Zhumangarin formally invited Mullah Hassan Akhund to visit Astana on behalf of Kazakhstan’s president. In return, the Taliban prime minister invited the Kazakh president to visit Kabul.

The meeting coincided with the Afghan Kazakh Economic Forum, attended by Taliban officials and leading private-sector representatives from both countries.

At the forum, Taliban Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi and Kazakhstan’s Minister of National Economy stressed their commitment to expanding economic relations, increasing mutual investment and strengthening transport and transit cooperation.

Azizi said trade between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan had grown by around 100 per cent between 2022 and 2025 and by approximately 41 percent compared with the previous year.

Referring to a newly signed economic roadmap between the two sides, he said setting a target of increasing bilateral trade to three billion dollars is a realistic and achievable goal.

He added that achieving this target would require greater facilitation measures, stronger banking cooperation, improved transit and transport links, and expanded opportunities for mutual investment. Azizi also encouraged Kazakh businesses to invest in Afghanistan’s agriculture, mining, processing industries, logistics and energy sectors.

The visit by the high-level delegation and efforts to establish a roadmap for $3 billion in bilateral trade come as the Taliban seek to diversify transit routes and economic partnerships towards Central Asia amid ongoing border and trade tensions with Pakistan.

Although Kazakhstan does not formally recognise the Taliban administration, it removed the group from its list of terrorist organisations last year and is currently one of Afghanistan’s main suppliers of wheat, flour and other strategic agricultural products.

In a message marking World Refugee Day on June 20, Sharif said Pakistan stands in solidarity with refugees around the world alongside the international community.

Pakistani prime minister said the day is observed globally to promote empathy for refugees and raise awareness of the hardships and suffering they endure.

Referring to Afghanistan’s refugee history, Sharif said: “For Pakistan, however, this is not merely a sentiment expressed on a particular day; it reflects a humanitarian commitment that our nation has demonstrated in practice for nearly half a century.”

He added that after the events of 1979, millions of Afghans fled war and insecurity and sought refuge in Pakistan. Despite its limited resources, he said, Pakistan opened not only its borders but also its arms to successive generations of Afghan refugees.

Sharif claimed that, in keeping with its humanitarian traditions, Pakistan has remained one of the world’s largest refugee-hosting countries for more than four decades, establishing settlements and camps where several generations of Afghan families have lived with dignity.

His remarks about providing Afghans with a dignified refuge come as Pakistan has been carrying out a large-scale campaign to expel undocumented Afghan migrants since September 2023. According to Islamabad, more than 2.4 million Afghans had returned to Afghanistan by June 2026.

The statement also comes at a time of heightened tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban administration over security concerns, recent cross-border attacks and Pakistan’s allegations that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants operate from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. Relations between the two sides have deteriorated sharply, and the ceasefire has effectively collapsed.