Taliban Will Respond To Any Pakistani Aggression, Says Group’s Defence Minister

The report, titled The Human Rights Situation of Hazaras in the Fifth Year of Taliban Rule, was published to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power.

It examines the situation of Hazaras across six areas: personal security, economic conditions, political participation, religious rights, cultural rights and legal protections.

The authors said their findings point to continuing patterns of deprivation, discrimination and vulnerability affecting the community under Taliban rule.

According to Bolaq, Hazaras have continued to face deadly attacks by Islamic State Khorasan Province over the past five years, while also suffering from what the report describes as a lack of effective security protection.

The report refers to targeted attacks against Hazaras and continuing concerns over sectarian violence.

The Bolaq Analysts Network also criticised the limited political participation of Hazaras under the Taliban, saying the group has failed to provide meaningful representation for Afghanistan’s different ethnic and religious communities.

It said Hazaras have only a very limited presence in decision-making institutions and government structures.

On the economy, the report highlighted poverty, unemployment, forced migration, land disputes and livelihood difficulties in Hazara-majority areas.

The authors said many people in central Afghanistan have faced shrinking economic opportunities and growing pressure on household livelihoods.

The report also cited religious restrictions affecting Shias and Hazaras.

According to the report, restrictions on religious ceremonies, pressure on Shia religious institutions and certain changes to the education system are among the concerns raised by the Hazara community.

On cultural rights, the research organisation pointed to a shrinking space for media activity, cultural restrictions and pressure on some cultural and educational centres associated with Hazaras.

The report said these developments have affected efforts to preserve and promote the community’s cultural identity.

Bolaq Analysts Network warned that the continuation of these conditions could deepen social and ethnic divisions in Afghanistan.

It called on the international community to pay greater attention to the human rights situation of Hazaras and other ethnic and religious communities in Afghanistan.

A reliable source said the Taliban’s defence and interior ministers and intelligence chief were dissatisfied with the actions of Tajmir Jawad, deputy head of the Taliban intelligence agency. According to the source, Jawad moved to disarm Juma Khan Fateh without coordinating with the Taliban’s security institutions, triggering widespread clashes, serious challenges and casualties.

The source said Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, the Taliban’s defence minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister, and Abdul Haq Wasiq, the director-general of intelligence, were unhappy with Jawad’s actions.

According to the source, around 300 Badri special forces were deployed to the area on Jawad’s orders on Tuesday, without coordination or consultation with the defence minister, intelligence chief or interior minister. Their mission was to disarm individuals deemed “undesirable” and armed local ethnic Tajik Taliban fighters.

The source said the Badri forces attempted to disarm fighters under Juma Khan Fateh’s command, but his men resisted the operation and fought back against the Taliban forces.

Heavy Casualties Among Badri Forces

Sources said a number of Badri fighters were killed or seriously wounded during four days of clashes. They attributed the heavy casualties to the deployed forces’ unfamiliarity with the area and lack of knowledge about local conditions and complexities.

According to the sources, Fateh sent a message to Taliban army chief Fasihuddin Fitrat and Defence Minister Yaqub Mujahid, asking whether Jawad’s order for the operation had been issued with their knowledge and approval. The sources said both replied that they had been unaware of the move.

Taliban Concerned Over Wider Spread of Attacks

The source said the Taliban now regard the confrontation as a decisive “test case” that could influence future decisions and even the group’s fate.

According to the source, if Fateh is killed or captured, the Taliban may be able to maintain control of the situation, but failure of the operation would deal a major blow to the group.

The source also warned that the recent fighting in Badakhshan could become the starting point for the emergence of a broader anti-Taliban front in other parts of Afghanistan.

Juma Khan Fateh is a disgruntled Taliban commander. Tensions between him and the Taliban administration intensified in recent months after the Taliban governor of Badakhshan detained several people close to him in connection with mining activities.

On Thursday, Fateh said in a message addressed to Taliban army chief Fitrat that his forces had no dispute with the Taliban administration itself and opposed only the forces deployed to the area. He accused those forces of entering people’s homes and opening fire, causing civilian casualties.

The local Taliban commander also said the deployment of forces to Darwaz and Yaftal districts, despite earlier assurances that there was no problem, had led to the establishment of security posts and increased tensions. He claimed the forces had carried out house-to-house searches and entered residents’ private homes. Fateh also said the deployed forces had seized several armoured vehicles.

Fighting Intensifies in Nusay

Taliban helicopters bombed positions held by Fateh’s fighters near the centre of Nusay district over the past two days.

Fateh’s fighters also shot down a Taliban helicopter in the district centre on Thursday. The Taliban confirmed the incident.

Local sources said both the deployed Taliban forces and Fateh’s fighters had suffered casualties, but no precise figures for the dead and wounded have yet been released.

Tajikistan Protests to Taliban

Tajik media reported that a Tajik woman was killed by gunfire from Afghan territory during the fighting in Nusay, Badakhshan, in the border region of Darvoz. Reports said the woman was pregnant.

Nusay district borders Tajikistan’s Darvoz region, which has been affected by the heavy fighting across the frontier.

Following the incident, Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry sent a formal protest note to the Taliban administration over what it described as a violation of the country’s airspace, damage to residential homes and the death of a 21-year-old woman as a result of armed clashes inside Afghanistan.

The ministry strongly protested the consequences of the border fighting, saying the continuation of the situation seriously threatened Tajikistan’s sovereignty and the security of its border areas and constituted a clear violation of international law.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon also expressed sympathy and offered condolences to the family of the young woman killed by gunfire from Afghanistan.

In an interview with Iraf, Mujahid described previous political arrangements as unsuccessful and said Taliban opponents had already been tested.

He said if they return to the scene and take a share of power, they will bring back the same conditions in Afghanistan that we have already experienced.

Mujahid added that if the opponents had not already been tested repeatedly, we might have hoped that they were part of Afghanistan, could serve the country, were genuinely connected to Afghanistan’s social issues and that we could hold talks and engage with them.

On the return of opponents to Afghanistan, Mujahid mentioned that the Taliban do not prevent anyone from returning to Afghanistan, but political participation is a different matter and, for now, it is not in Afghanistan’s interest.

Denial of Fighting in Badakhshan

In the interview, Mujahid denied reports of clashes in Badakhshan, saying Badakhshan is calm and the group has no problems there.

The interview was conducted before the fighting involving Juma Khan Fateh in Badakhshan and was published by Iraf on Thursday, 13 August.

Mujahid described previous reports about the dissident commander as enemy propaganda.

He said Juma Khan Fateh was one of the very prominent commanders of the Taliban administration in Badakhshan, adding that for a while, enemy propaganda was spread about him, but it was not true.

The Taliban spokesman also described the brief capture of Yaftal district by the Sepahiyan-e Mihan Front as a small threat, saying the situation had been brought under control within a few hours.

He claimed those who tried to create disorder were arrested.

Mujahid stressed that the Taliban administration was not facing any major threat anywhere in Afghanistan.

His comments describing reports about Juma Khan Fateh as enemy propaganda come as fighting between the dissident commander’s forces and the Taliban has been under way in Nusay district of Badakhshan for the past two days.

At the same time, opposition fronts have carried out repeated attacks in recent weeks, particularly in several districts of Badakhshan.

Without naming any specific country, Mujahid linked developments in Badakhshan to foreign intelligence services.

About Badakhshan he said that there were no protests there, and hands from outside were at work and were encouraging some young people to create unrest.

Tensions With Pakistan

Speaking about tensions with Islamabad, Mujahid said that currently a small military group is in power that has taken all of Pakistan’s interests’ hostage and wants Afghanistan to remain in tension as well.

He added that the Taliban administration does not want conflict with Pakistan and would not allow Afghan territory to be used against other countries.

Referring to clashes with Pakistan, Mujahid said that if they held talks, we also talked to them. If they made accusations, we responded to their accusations, and if they fought and violated Afghanistan’s territory, they received their response as well.

At the same time, residents of Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province, reported seeing a large convoy of Taliban intelligence forces heading towards Badakhshan.

Reports indicate that additional Taliban reinforcements have also been sent to Badakhshan from Kunduz, Balkh and Kabul.

The continuing fighting has made life increasingly difficult for local residents. Reports say roads linking villages in Nusay with the district centre have been completely blocked because of the intensity of the clashes, preventing residents from travelling.

The fighting began on Tuesday evening, 11 August, after Taliban forces attacked positions held by Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident commander of the group, in Nusay district.

Following the attacks, Fateh released an audio message calling on his forces and residents to take up arms against the Taliban.

His dispute with the Taliban, where he previously served as deputy governor of Zabul before being removed, has intensified over mining activities in Badakhshan.

According to reports from the ground, heavy clashes have taken place in several areas of the district.

Forces loyal to Fateh have reportedly captured two Taliban outposts in the Doabi and Sarkoh areas. Shurian, Joy Dara and Shakh Dara, along with large parts of rural Nusay, have also reportedly fallen out of Taliban control, although the district centre remains in the group’s hands.

Both sides have suffered significant casualties in the fighting. Some sources told Afghanistan International that more than seven members of Taliban special forces had been killed and 11 others wounded.

On Fateh’s side, at least two people, including one of his fighters and a mine worker, have been killed and several others wounded.

Because of the growing number of casualties, the Taliban has taken control of all health centres and the district clinic in Nusay and removed civilian patients to treat its wounded fighters.

Taliban intelligence medical teams, accompanied by five ambulances and helicopters, are transporting the dead and wounded, while Faizabad hospital has been placed on alert.

As Taliban helicopters and drones continue flying over the area, the group has also cut Wi-Fi internet access and communications lines across large parts of Nusay district.

According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Grozin said in an assessment of the latest Russia-Kyrgyzstan drills that security threats in Central Asia remain high.

He said regional military exercises, whether held under the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or through bilateral cooperation, are mainly designed to prepare for potential threats originating from Afghanistan.

The Russian researcher recalled the “Batken events” of 1999 and 2000, when trained militants from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and extremist groups based in Afghanistan attempted to enter Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan.

According to Grozin, despite the relatively small number of attackers, they inflicted heavy losses on local forces, forcing Bishkek to seek military assistance from Moscow, Tashkent and Astana.

He said that experience has led regional governments to continue taking seriously the possibility of similar scenarios originating from Afghanistan.

Other security experts have also warned that recent developments along Afghanistan’s northern borders, particularly in Badakhshan province near Tajikistan, indicate that instability in the area persists.

The CIS Institute is based in Moscow and regularly focuses on political, security, economic and social developments in the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

Russia-Kyrgyzstan Joint Military Exercise Begins

The comments come as a new joint military exercise involving Russian and Kyrgyz forces began on 11 August in difficult mountainous terrain and is due to continue until 17 August.

During the drills, forces from the two countries are practising border closures, assaults, the clearance of simulated illegal armed groups and the use of drones to prevent possible infiltration by extremist groups.

The exercise command said the drills were important for strengthening combat coordination and friendly relations between Moscow and Bishkek.