Taliban Helicopters Patrol Over Dissident Commander's Stronghold

The former Iranian presidential envoy, who is also a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said Iran’s policy is to engage with the people of Afghanistan regardless of which political faction is in power.

Qomi said the Afghan people have different representatives. According to him, those currently in power represent only part of the population, while other sections of Afghan society remain outside government.

Speaking to IRAF News, he said Iran’s relationship with the Afghan people is based on shared cultural, historical, religious and moral ties and should not be viewed as purely political. He added that the Islamic Republic regarded the presence of Taliban opponents in Tehran as a blessing.

Qomi said that despite changes of government and political movements in Afghanistan over the past 48 years, Iran has consistently sought to maintain relations with all Afghans. He also said part of the Afghan people is in power today, while another part is not. The Islamic Republic’s approach is towards all the people of Afghanistan.

Referring to Iran’s hosting of Afghan refugees, Qomi said millions of Afghan citizens from different ethnic and religious backgrounds have lived in Iran over the past five decades, and that the Iranian people have always welcomed them.

He stressed that inviting Taliban opponents to Tehran reflected Iran’s policy of engaging with all Afghans and should not be interpreted solely as a political move.

On Friday, during the first day of ceremonies honouring former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli and US strikes, the simultaneous presence in Tehran of senior Taliban officials and the group’s opponents attracted widespread attention.

A Taliban delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi attended the ceremony. At the same time, an opposition delegation led by Ahmad Massoud and Mohammad Mohaqiq was also present.

Iran’s official reception for Massoud and Mohaqiq had already angered many Taliban supporters.

In a statement on Monday, the ministry said Mujahid assessed the condition and performance of Taliban forces stationed at the battalion and stressed the need to increase readiness and strengthen efforts to protect and defend Afghanistan’s borders.

Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid began visiting Taliban forces and border posts in north-eastern Afghanistan on Sunday morning. He has so far visited Zebak, Ishkashim, Kuran wa Munjan districts in Badakhshan and reviewed Taliban forces in areas bordering Pakistan, China and Tajikistan.

The Taliban Defence Ministry said Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Taliban army chief of staff, is accompanying Mujahid on the trip.

Ishkashim is one of Badakhshan’s border districts adjacent to Tajikistan. Earlier this month, Taalatbek Masadykov, secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, visited parts of the Tajik-Afghan border at the invitation of Tajikistan’s president and assessed efforts to strengthen border security.

The Taliban defence minister’s trip to Badakhshan comes amid growing speculation about deepening internal divisions within the group. It also follows inconclusive talks between a Taliban delegation and Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident ethnic Tajik commander.

Sources told Afghanistan International on Sunday that, during Mujahid’s visit to Badakhshan, some newly deployed Taliban forces had been stationed in the centre of Nusay district, Fateh’s main base. The sources said the forces had been sent to contain any possible uprising or armed confrontation.

Mujahid’s visit also coincides with growing speculation about a possible attempt to disarm Juma Khan Fateh. Afghanistan International sources say fresh Taliban forces were sent to Nusay district to disarm fighters loyal to him. However, Taliban-linked media on Saturday published an audio file attributed to Fateh in which he denied reports that his forces had been disarmed.

Uzbekistan’s State Security Service said on Sunday that unidentified individuals near the Amu Darya border attempted to transport narcotics into the Surxondaryo region using a drone. The agency said the suspects attached the drugs to the drone on the Afghan side of the river and directed it towards Uzbek territory.

Uzbek officials said a rapid response security unit detected the drone in time and neutralised it before it reached its destination. They added that efforts were under way to identify those involved.

Security officials said a criminal investigation had been opened into the incident. Investigators will examine the drone’s launch site, the intended destination of the narcotics and any suspected accomplices in Uzbekistan’s Surxondaryo region.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan has repeatedly reported seizing drugs originating from Afghanistan. However, this is the first time the country has reported an attempt to smuggle narcotics across the Afghan border using a drone.

The Taliban prime minister’s office said on Sunday that a meeting attended by the World Health Organization’s regional director, officials from UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Qatar’s ambassador discussed strengthening Afghanistan’s health sector, polio eradication efforts, healthcare for returning migrants and continued cooperation with international organisations.

During the meeting, Hanafi urged international organisations to separate political issues from health matters and called for Taliban representatives to be invited to international conferences related to healthcare.

No country has formally recognised the Taliban government. As a result, its representatives are rarely invited to major international meetings.

Western countries, once among Afghanistan’s largest donors, sharply reduced assistance after the Taliban returned to power because of human rights concerns, particularly the ban on girls’ education.

Although the Taliban has repeatedly said domestic revenues are sufficient to meet Afghanistan’s needs, its officials have simultaneously urged international organisations to increase aid and spend it in line with priorities set by the Taliban.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said its ambassador to Kabul, Mirdif Al-Qashouti, met Abdul Salam Hanafi.

According to the ministry, the two sides reviewed the latest developments in Afghanistan and discussed ways to support the Afghan people.

The ministry added that Qatar’s ambassador also briefed Hanafi on his country’s health projects in Afghanistan and reaffirmed Doha’s commitment to continuing cooperation in the sector.

According to the sources, the clash involved both light and heavy weapons before subsiding. The wounded personnel were taken to a medical facility for treatment.

Pakistani security sources claimed that Taliban border forces opened fire on Pakistani positions in the Tabai area without provocation. The Taliban has not commented on the allegation.

The clash comes amid heightened tensions between the Taliban administration and Pakistan in recent weeks. On June 29, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in the Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Kunar, killing at least 28 civilians, according to the United Nations. The Taliban reported a higher death toll and described the strikes as aggression.

The Taliban later launched several drones towards Pakistan. Pakistan’s military said it intercepted and shot down what it described as the Taliban’s rudimentary drones.