Taliban Deploys Forces To Badakhshan As Rift With Local Commander Deepens

During the meeting, Muttaqi described the trade potential between Afghanistan and Bangladesh as significant and called for greater use of these opportunities to promote what he described as the two countries’ economic growth.

The Speaker of Bangladesh’s parliament described relations between the two countries as longstanding and expressed hope that Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction would help strengthen bilateral trade.

The meeting comes nearly five years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Owing to widespread human rights violations, particularly restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights to work and education, the Taliban administration has not been formally recognised by any Islamic country, including Bangladesh. Taliban officials have sought to reduce the group's international isolation by expanding economic ties with regional countries.

An explosion shook the Kabul University dormitory on Friday night, injuring several students.

A video received by Afghanistan International shortly after the blast shows several ambulances outside the dormitory.

In an audio message, one student said strict security measures were imposed at the dormitory following the explosion.

The Taliban has not yet provided details about the cause or nature of the explosion.

Sources told Afghanistan International on Saturday that the TTP commander was shot by unidentified gunmen at around midnight on Thursday as he was leaving a local TTP camp in the Waghaz district. The attackers fled the scene after the shooting.

The sources also provided Afghanistan International with photographs of the commander's body.

The killing comes a week after another TTP member was shot dead by unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle in Kandahar province.

The Taliban has not commented on either incident.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is a militant group formed in 2007 through an alliance of several armed factions in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The Pakistani government designates it as a terrorist organisation, and the group has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks on security forces and civilians over the years.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to TTP members. The Taliban has consistently denied the allegation, insisting that no terrorist groups operate in Afghanistan and describing TTP as Pakistan’s internal problem.

Rejecting speculation over behind-the-scenes talks

As rival Afghan political figures travelled to Tehran, some sources suggested informal talks between the two sides might take place.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi are in Tehran alongside Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front, and Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan, to attend ceremonies honouring Ali Khamenei. Yasa said there were no plans for any meetings or talks between the two sides.

Speaking to Afghanistan International on Friday, Yasa said the main disagreement between the opposition and the Taliban concerned the political system. He said opposition groups were not opposed to negotiations in principle but insisted that any talks must take place within a defined framework and under agreed principles. He added that they would be prepared to negotiate with the Taliban under international mediation and stronger guarantees.

Tehran’s mediation efforts

Iran has previously sought to act as a mediator between Afghanistan’s rival political factions. In one such effort, Tehran hosted direct talks between Ahmad Massoud and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Those discussions ended without a tangible outcome because of fundamental differences between the two sides.

The Taliban’s opponents continue to call for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan, while the Taliban insists its administration is already inclusive.

Observers believe the Taliban’s insistence that opponents should end the conflict and return to live under its “Islamic system”, together with the opposition’s demand for an inclusive government based on the will of the people, has left little prospect of meaningful negotiations under the current circumstances.

Sources told Afghanistan International on Friday that, following a meeting in Shighnan, the Taliban delegation decided to dismiss and disarm individuals believed to be close to Fateh.

According to the sources, Ghulamullah Ahmadi, one of Juma Khan Fateh’s local rivals, has recently been appointed deputy commander of the Badakhshan division.

They added that the intelligence chief of Shekay district and Gulbuddin Almas, commander of the Shighnan battalion, have also been removed from their posts.

Sources said the delegation warned district governors, intelligence officials and Taliban commanders in all five districts of Darwaz region that they would be dismissed if they failed to prevent the movement of armed men operating outside the official chain of command.

According to the sources, the situation in Nusay district on Thursday evening was under heavy security, with a significant increase in Taliban military movements.

Another source told Afghanistan International that a large number of Taliban forces had been deployed to the area but had not yet entered the Darwaz districts, instead remaining in neighbouring districts.

The source added that a large convoy of Taliban intelligence personnel had also been dispatched from Kabul towards the Darwaz districts.

According to the same source, the Taliban has not only begun removing figures close to Juma Khan Fateh but has also started disarming them. The group is reportedly collecting weapons previously issued to armed men, including those deployed at mining sites and other locations.

Meanwhile, a source who met Juma Khan Fateh in Nusay district on Wednesday said the commander had placed his forces on alert but instructed them: “We will not fire the first shot.”

The source said that although Fateh was prepared for confrontation, he believed the Taliban would avoid fighting him because, in his view, “Kandahar knows the situation across Badakhshan is already tense.”

Sources say the main cause of the dispute is competition over control of the province’s gold mines.

Disputes over gold mining in Takhar and Badakhshan have escalated over the past year, repeatedly leading to deadly clashes between local residents, mining companies and the Taliban. Traditional small-scale gold mining has long been the main source of income for thousands of families in the two provinces, and the previous government did not prevent them from carrying out the work.