Taliban Defence Minister Visits Afghan-Tajik Border

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.

In a note published on Saturday, 4 July, Durrani said the Taliban should recognise that it lacks international legitimacy. He claimed the Afghan Taliban was sheltering dozens of terrorist groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, Islamic State and the Baloch Liberation Army.

The Pakistani diplomat said alleged Indian financial support for the Pakistani Taliban and the Baloch Liberation Army was alarming. He warned that continuing such policies amounted to playing with fire for both the Taliban and New Delhi.

Durrani wrote that history had repeatedly shown violent proxies eventually endanger those who nurture them. His remarks come as Pakistan itself has long been accused of supporting and cultivating the Taliban, a group now at odds with Islamabad.

On Friday, the former Pakistani envoy also told Afghanistan International that Pakistani military strikes inside Afghanistan would continue as long as attacks by Pakistani Taliban militants were launched from Afghan territory against Islamabad.

Durrani said conflict and tensions between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan would persist until those threats were eliminated.

His warning of another 9/11 refers to one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in modern history. On 11 September 2001, members of al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger planes, two of which struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed and thousands more wounded in the attacks, which led to the collapse of the Taliban’s first regime and the deployment of international forces in Afghanistan.

According to a statement from the Taliban, the incident occurred at around 5pm on Friday in the Hasha Khel area of Chaparhar district, Nangarhar province.

In a statement issued on Saturday, 4 July, the Taliban police command said the suspect had been arrested.

The statement said the victim had gone home while on leave and was killed inside his house.

Media outlets close to the Taliban identified the slain commander as “Musafir”.

The motive remains unclear. However, the Taliban police command in Nangarhar said preliminary findings indicated that the detained man had a mental illness.

The Taliban also said the suspect would be referred to judicial authorities once the investigation was completed.