Informed sources told Afghanistan International on Thursday that Taliban and Pakistani border forces once again clashed along the Durand Line, this time in Pakistan’s Zakha Khel Bazaar border area.
The cause of the clash remains unclear, and neither side has officially commented on casualties or provided further details.
Earlier, on 6 July, local sources in Nangarhar told Afghanistan International that Taliban and Pakistani security forces had clashed along the Durand line.
The bodies of 21 abducted police officers, who had been shot dead, were found on Thursday in the Mangi Dam area of Ziarat district, Pakistan's Balochistan province. The bodies were transferred to a government hospital in Quetta.
With the discovery of the bodies, the death toll from the insurgent attack on a Pakistani military convoy along the Karachi–Quetta highway has risen to 30.
According to a list released by Quetta Civil Hospital, 14 of the victims were from Ziarat district, three from Sanjavi, one from Musakhel, one from Loralai, one from Qila Abdullah and one from Sargodha district in Punjab province.
On Wednesday, July 8, militants blocked the highway and reportedly extorted money from travellers and local residents.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. Sources told Afghanistan International that the fighting began after an improvised explosive device (IED) struck a military convoy, triggering clashes between security forces and militants.
The incident came one day after nine police officers were killed in clashes with militants in the Ziarat area of Balochistan.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for that attack.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said at a press briefing on Thursday that security forces had also killed 15 militants during operations in Ziarat district.
Meanwhile, a protest sit-in in Quetta over the recent militant attacks has entered its fifth day. Protesters say they will continue demonstrating until their demands are met.
The demonstrators are calling for direct talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the country's army chief.
Rich in mineral resources and home to key routes of the multibillion-dollar China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Balochistan has faced years of separatist violence and armed attacks.
Germany plans to deport Afghans with no criminal record to Afghanistan for the first time in several years. The German newspaper Taz reported that at least five Afghan nationals who have committed no crimes are awaiting deportation.
The newspaper said its information was obtained from refugee councils in several German states.
Interior ministries across Germany’s federal states have declined to provide precise figures on the number of Afghans in this situation.
After the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Germany suspended deportations to Afghanistan because of the humanitarian situation and human rights concerns. Deportations resumed in autumn 2024 but were limited to convicted criminals and individuals considered security threats.
The current government has so far maintained the same policy. However, its coalition agreement envisages extending deportations in future to include people with no criminal convictions or security-related concerns.
In recent weeks, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt reached an agreement with the Taliban on the deportation of Afghan nationals and, in return, agreed to increase the number of Taliban diplomats in Germany.
According to Taz, four of the five Afghans currently awaiting deportation are being held in Bavaria, while one is detained in Hesse. Another Afghan national who had been held at a deportation detention centre in Lower Saxony was released on Tuesday.
The Lower Saxony Refugee Council said he was released because the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had made an error in serving an official decision.
The newspaper reported that the cases share notable similarities, with all of the individuals coming under the attention of the federal police after returning to Germany from trips abroad. Taz also reported a recent change in the federal police’s approach towards Afghan nationals, although Germany’s Interior Ministry denied the claim.
Meanwhile, the German government on Wednesday responded to parliamentary questions from Clara Bünger regarding cooperation with the Taliban. However, Taz reported that the government did not provide clear answers to many of the questions and, in some cases, declined to comment, citing “state interests”.
Bünger also said information concerning cooperation between German authorities and the Taliban was being classified or withheld from the public.
The German government also said it had deported 87 Afghan nationals between 1 January and 19 June 2026. Of those, 77 were returned on three charter flights and 10 on scheduled commercial flights. The three charter flights cost more than €1.06 million.
The Kazakh government and Ghazanfar Bank have agreed to simplify banking transactions to boost trade between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. The deal aims to expand banking cooperation, establish direct payment channels and facilitate financial transfers.
Kazakhstan Today reported that Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin met Mohammad Ismail Ghazanfar, chairman of Afghanistan’s Ghazanfar Bank, on Wednesday to discuss expanding banking and trade cooperation.
During the meeting, Zhumangarin said reliable banking infrastructure is essential to increasing bilateral trade and ensuring regular, uninterrupted payments between companies in both countries.
According to the report, two Kazakh banks currently maintain correspondent banking relationships with Afghan banks.
Cross-border payments between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan reached nearly $300 million in 2025, marking a 26 per cent increase compared with the previous year. Payments for goods and services also increased fivefold over the same period.
Trade between the two countries reached $342.4 million during the first four months of 2026, 2.3 times higher than in the same period last year. Of that amount, $338.5 million consisted of Kazakhstan’s exports to Afghanistan.
Higher exports of wheat, flour, sunflower oil and other goods were among the main factors driving the growth in bilateral trade.
A diplomatic source told Afghanistan International that Bangladeshi diplomat Rabab Fatima has been appointed the UN secretary-general’s new special representative for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). She succeeds Roza Otunbayeva.
Roza Otunbayeva’s mandate ended in September last year. During her final briefing to the UN Security Council, she highlighted Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, women’s rights and the country’s urgent needs, while calling for increased assistance and changes to Taliban policies.
The appointment comes after the UN Security Council voted on Monday, 16 June 16, to extend UNAMA’s mandate for another year. The resolution, introduced by China, was adopted unanimously with 15 votes in favour.
Rabab Fatima has previously served as president of the UNICEF Executive Board, president of the UN Women Executive Board and vice-president of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Pakistan’s military spokesman says 42 security personnel and 54 militants were killed in four days of clashes in Balochistan, accusing the Afghan Taliban of sheltering and funding armed groups.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said three major attacks had taken place in Balochistan and Karachi over the previous four days. He blamed the Pakistani Taliban for an attack on a Rangers headquarters in Karachi.
He said four attackers were involved, three of whom were Afghan citizens.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of supporting insurgents, an allegation the Taliban has consistently denied.
According to Chaudhry, the first attack occurred on Saturday evening, 4 July, in Babri, Balochistan. He claimed Pakistani Taliban fighters attacked local residents and that four militants were killed and six others wounded in the ensuing clash.
Pakistan’s military said the second attack targeted a police checkpoint in Ziarat on Monday, 6 July. It said nine Pakistani police officers and 15 militants were killed.
Chaudhry added that the attackers took 18 local police officers hostage while retreating and killed all of them after security forces surrounded the area. He said a total of 27 police officers and 26 militants were killed in the subsequent operation.
Pakistani Taliban Claims Attack on Police Centre in Balochistan
The military spokesman said the third attack took place on Wednesday, 8 July, in the Bela- Winder area, where members of the Baloch Liberation Army attacked a security forces convoy.
According to Chaudhry, 11 Pakistani soldiers and 14 militants were killed in the incident.
The Pakistani official also claimed that the recent attacks in Karachi, Balochistan and other areas were not isolated incidents, but part of a coordinated campaign involving shared leadership and logistical networks.
He also backed the deportation of undocumented Afghan refugees, saying armed groups opposed the policy because it weakened their support networks.