Germany To Stop Recognising Extended Afghan Passports From August

The ministry said in a statement on Thursday, 23 July, that the drugs had been carefully concealed in a vehicle and that the traffickers intended to transport them to an unknown location.

The statement said the detainees remain in Taliban custody. The Taliban police command in Takhar said they would be handed over to judicial authorities after preliminary investigations are completed.

The Taliban has repeatedly claimed that poppy cultivation and opium production have fallen to zero across Afghanistan.

However, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in its 2026 World Drug Report, released in late June, that Afghanistan’s existing opium stockpiles were expected to last until the end of this year.

The agency added that the unprecedented decline in Afghanistan’s opium production, alongside the expansion of synthetic opioids, is reshaping the global drug market.

The agents also seized the organisation’s equipment, documents and work materials. There is still no information about where the six employees are being held or what has happened to them.

Sources said no information has yet emerged about the fate of the six detainees. Two of those arrested are relatives of Zarqa Yaftali, the organisation’s head, who lives outside Afghanistan.

Yaftali is a women’s rights activist who last year received the 2026 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity from the United Arab Emirates.

According to information obtained by Afghanistan International, the families of those detained have expressed concern and called for clarification about their relatives’ situation, their place of detention and their wellbeing.

The Women and Children Research Organisation has worked in education, advocacy, research and the preparation of investigative reports about women and children.

Since the Taliban returned to power, many civil society organisations, particularly those working on women’s rights, have faced extensive restrictions.

Several activists in this field have also been detained or forced to suspend their work.

The aid agency said its teams are carrying out urgent assessments in affected areas to determine the scale of the damage and identify communities’ immediate needs.

It also said emergency assistance is being prepared for rapid delivery to affected families.

According to initial reports, the floods have killed 23 people across parts of Nuristan, injured others and damaged homes and vital infrastructure.

The International Organization for Migration warned that Afghanistan has faced increasingly severe and frequent natural disasters linked to climate change in recent years.

Changing weather patterns and phenomena such as El Niño can alter climate conditions and increase the risk of heavy rainfall and flash floods in some areas.

El Niño is a climate phenomenon caused by unusual warming of surface waters in parts of the equatorial Pacific Ocean and can affect rainfall patterns around the world.

Experts say Afghanistan’s high vulnerability to climate change leaves it at greater risk of floods, droughts and other extreme weather events.

The International Organization for Migration said that as climate-related disasters become more severe in Afghanistan, it remains committed to supporting emergency relief operations.

Motiur Rahman was introduced as Shuhada district governor on Monday, 13 July. Relatives and friends placed flower garlands around his neck and posted congratulatory messages on social media, but his title lasted little more than a week.

On Monday, 20 July, the Taliban appointed Mawlawi Karamuddin Rahib as the new district governor of Shuhada.

Local sources in Badakhshan say the move reflects deep Taliban mistrust of its local allies in the province. Motiur Rahman is not the only district governor to have held office for a short period. Earlier, Sayed Ahmad Modaqiq served less than three full months as district governor of Nusay.

86 Days in a Troubled District

Sayed Ahmad Modaqiq was appointed district governor of Nusay on Sunday, 26 April.

He took the post after the Taliban transferred Juma Khan Fateh to Zabul as deputy governor. The district governor’s position had remained vacant for about a month.

During Modaqiq’s charge, Nusay became a focus of Taliban attention and media coverage after Fateh returned from Zabul about a month later and tensions grew between the local commander and the Taliban leadership.

Less than three months later, the Taliban removed Modaqiq from his post. Qari Samiullah Rasouli began work as Nusay district governor on 19 July.

Following the appointment of the new district governor, the Taliban ordered armed men in Nusay and Shekay who do not hold official positions in the Taliban administration to surrender their weapons.

Malang said on Wednesday, 22 July: “I am in full health. Do not follow the enemy’s propaganda. We are all safe and well.”

He also stressed that the front “has its own plans and objectives” and that its members prefer freedom above everything else.

The newly formed Sepah-e Mihan Front recently launched a surprise attack and seized Yaftali Sufla district, near Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, for several hours.

The attackers entered government buildings, seized some military equipment and raised their flag over several buildings.

The attack brought Qayum Malang into the spotlight. The young commander led the military operation that resulted in the temporary capture of Yaftal.

Following the incident, the Taliban said it had detained several Sepah-e Mihan fighters.

In his first audio message, Malang rejected the claim and said all members of the front were safe and in good health. He urged supporters not to pay attention to Taliban propaganda.

Yaftali Sufla is one of the important districts of Badakhshan province. Its brief capture by an anti-Taliban group has become one of the province’s most significant recent security developments and continues to prompt political reactions and analysis.

Following Sepah-e Mihan’s unprecedented attack on Yaftal, the Taliban assigned its army chief, Fasihuddin Fitrat, to contain the group.

Fitrat travelled from Kabul to Yaftal in Badakhshan and claimed the attackers’ operation had been thwarted and that they had failed to achieve their objectives.

The Taliban army chief said in Badakhshan that authorities had learned in advance of the armed attackers’ plan to target Yaftal district.

He said they had received information early in the morning that the “enemy” planned to create unrest in Yaftal.

Fitrat added that after receiving the information, he travelled from Kabul to Badakhshan and ordered Taliban forces to act. He claimed the Taliban had thwarted the plan and prevented the attackers from achieving their objectives.

Hayatullah Muhajir Farahi, the Taliban’s deputy minister of information and culture, wrote on X on Friday that domestic and foreign enemies should understand the sensitivity of the Taliban’s security forces to any threat against the area.

The Taliban official also said that those who, in his words, obstruct Afghanistan’s economic progress “do not deserve any mercy”.