Taliban Fighters Enter Restricted Zone Along China Border
A newly circulated video appears to show Taliban fighters entering a restricted area along China’s border in Wakhan, where Chinese border guards warn them in English to leave immediately.
A newly circulated video appears to show Taliban fighters entering a restricted area along China’s border in Wakhan, where Chinese border guards warn them in English to leave immediately.
The date on which the video was recorded is unclear. However, it shows that China has fenced its border with Afghanistan in Wakhan with two layers of barbed wire and installed surveillance cameras.
The footage also shows security towers and Chinese flags near the Wakhjir Pass on the Afghanistan-China border.
In the video, Chinese border guards tell the Taliban members in English to move away from the restricted area.
One Taliban member says they do not understand English and asks the guards to speak Persian. The Chinese border guards then repeat their warning in Pashto.
The China-Afghanistan border at the Wakhjir Pass in the Wakhan Corridor has been fenced for years.
According to reports, China strengthened security measures along the border after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Satellite imagery has also shown reinforced fencing and surveillance facilities along the Wakhan border.
The Taliban recently inaugurated a road near the Chinese border in Wakhan during an official ceremony.
The Taliban administration claimed the road would facilitate trade and transit with China.
Afghanistan International’s review of satellite imagery indicates that the road ends at the fencing and border wall with China.
The Chinese government has so far made no official announcement about opening the route to trade or cross-border travel.
China’s security concerns, particularly the risk of extremist groups infiltrating Xinjiang, have been cited as one of the main obstacles to opening the crossing.
Many of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries, particularly those in Central Asia, have also strengthened security measures along their borders with Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power, citing security concerns and the threat of terrorist infiltration.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has called for stronger joint action against terrorism and drug trafficking during a meeting with delegation heads from Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states.
The 25th meeting of heads of government of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states is being held on Tuesday in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe. The Taliban is not attending the meeting.
Member states are represented by prime ministers, vice-presidents and senior ministers.
During his meeting with the heads of delegations, Rahmon stressed the need to maintain peace and stability in the region and resolve disputes peacefully, saying Tajikistan supported strengthening the central role of the United Nations in these efforts.
Rahmon also called for greater cooperation among member states in combating terrorism, extremism, cyber threats, drug trafficking and transnational organised crime.
Economic and trade cooperation, investment, energy and food security, artificial intelligence and environmental issues were also discussed.
Images released from the meeting show representatives from member states including Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Iran and Uzbekistan alongside the Tajik president.
No Taliban representative appears in the images, and no Taliban official is listed among the official participants in the SCO meeting.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was established in 2001, and Afghanistan has held observer status since 2012.
At previous meetings, SCO member states have repeatedly stressed the need for an inclusive government in Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban returned to power, SCO meetings have been held in Dushanbe, Samarkand, New Delhi, Astana and Bishkek without Taliban representatives being invited.
Taliban officials have repeatedly called for participation in the meetings, arguing that SCO decisions concerning the region are incomplete without their involvement.
Tuesday’s meeting in Dushanbe includes delegations from member states and participating countries including Belarus, China, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia.
Final documents are expected to be signed at the end of the meeting.
Tajik Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda and SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev are also expected to hold a joint press conference on the meeting’s outcomes.
Sources in Kabul say Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has restricted cabinet meetings chaired by Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund, requiring his approval before they can be held.
The sources told Afghanistan International that cabinet meetings can now take place only with Hibatullah’s permission, while deputy prime ministers are also required to send their decisions to his office for approval.
The sources said on Monday, 19 October, that the Taliban Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund can no longer hold cabinet meetings at the presidential palace without prior approval from Hibatullah.
One Taliban source familiar with the matter said the group’s leader had verbally instructed Mohammad Hassan Akhund not to convene ministers in Kabul without his permission.
Afghanistan International’s review shows that the last cabinet meeting chaired by Mohammad Hassan Akhund at the presidential palace was held on 18 May this year, around five months ago.
According to information published on the Taliban-controlled presidential palace website, the last meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Hibatullah Akhundzada was held on 13 June.
Since then, the Taliban has not issued any official statement announcing another meeting of the Council of Ministers.
Sources said Hibatullah’s office has instructed all ministers and Kabul-based departments to send reports of their meetings to his office and obtain the Taliban leader’s approval before making major decisions.
The restrictions on the authority of Taliban officials are not limited to cabinet ministers.
Several officials close to Taliban governors told Afghanistan International that governors also require Hibatullah’s approval for major decisions at the provincial level and cannot act independently on significant matters.
Sources in the Taliban Interior Ministry also confirmed that reports from all meetings held by Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and his deputies are sent to Hibatullah’s office.
According to the sources, decisions made at those meetings can only be implemented after receiving approval from the Taliban leader’s office.
Meanwhile, a Taliban security official told Afghanistan International that all departments under the General Directorate of Intelligence have been instructed to send official correspondence directly to Hibatullah’s office in Kandahar rather than to intelligence chief Abdul Haq Wasiq and his deputy, Tajmir Jawad.
The changes indicate that the Taliban leader has increased his direct oversight of government decision-making in Kabul and the provinces while further limiting the authority of ministers, governors and senior security officials.
Sources say the growing concentration of power in Hibatullah’s hands has caused dissatisfaction among some senior Taliban officials, including Sirajuddin Haqqani.
Afghanistan International had previously reported in an investigative report on 9 September 2025 that the authority of Taliban ministers in Kabul had been restricted.
Sources at the time said many Taliban cabinet members lacked independent decision-making powers and played little effective role even in financial matters, staff recruitment and policymaking.
In another report on 15 May this year, Afghanistan International said Hibatullah Akhundzada had taken control of appointments to senior civilian and military positions, leaving the prime minister and other Taliban officials in Kabul with little role in key appointments.
The UN Security Council also said in its 2024 report that major political, economic and security decisions within the Taliban are made by the circle around Hibatullah in Kandahar, while the Kabul-based cabinet largely handles administrative and executive matters.
Iran’s Mobarakeh Steel Company has reached a broad agreement with the Taliban on cooperation in Afghanistan’s mining sector, according to Iran’s specialist industry and mining outlet Irasin.
The report, published on Monday, 19 October, said a preliminary mining cooperation agreement is expected to be signed during an upcoming visit by Taliban officials to Tehran.
The plan aims to transfer between one and two million tons of Afghan iron ore to Iran each year.
In a report by Irasin, Mobarakeh Steel had come close to an initial agreement to enter Afghanistan’s mining sector after around a year and a half of negotiations with the Taliban.
The effort builds on attempts by Iranian companies dating back around 15 years to invest in Afghanistan’s mines.
Hassanali Haghshenas, chief executive of Mobarakeh Steel’s Mineral Supply and Processing Holding, told Irasin that the company, acting as Iran’s official representative, had carried out extensive assessments of state-owned and private mines in Afghanistan.
He said the preliminary agreement, once signed, would pave the way for involvement in the exploration and extraction of various mineral deposits.
Up to Two Million Tons of Iron Ore a Year
Under the plan, Mobarakeh Steel intends in the first year after the agreement is signed to transfer between one and two million tons of graded iron ore with a purity of more than 61% to Iran annually.
Haghshenas said it had been proposed that initial processing take place inside Afghanistan or directly at the border.
He added that a comprehensive plan had also been presented to the Taliban that would extend as far as producing steel billets inside Afghanistan.
He stressed that the agreement was not limited to iron ore and could also include Afghanistan’s copper, gold, zinc and polymetallic deposits.
According to Haghshenas, suitable mining areas have already been identified in these sectors, but entry into them would depend on final Taliban approval.
Noting that the development of Afghanistan’s mining sector is closely linked to railway expansion, Haghshenas emphasised the importance of the Herat-Iran railway for transporting heavy mineral cargo.
He described security, mining infrastructure and processing facilities as the main prerequisites for the project and said these issues could be resolved at the government level.
He said the broader aim of establishing this framework was to open the way for an organised presence by other Iranian mining and industrial companies in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan and Iran are currently connected by the roughly 225-kilometre Khaf-Herat railway, one of the most important transit links between the two countries.
The railway was first inaugurated online by senior officials from both countries in December 2020, but operations were suspended after the political changes of August 2021 and the Taliban’s return to power.
Freight services on the route resumed in July 2023 following diplomatic consultations and repairs to the railway.
Major Iranian industries see the Khaf-Herat railway as the main economic route for transporting up to two million tons of Afghan iron ore annually.
The line also provides landlocked Afghanistan with access to international waters through Iran’s railway network.
Sources say the Taliban has opened a second drone operations centre near the governor’s office in Badakhshan amid rising insecurity and repeated attacks on Taliban facilities in the province.
According to the sources, the Taliban plans to establish additional drone operations centres across Badakhshan.
Local sources in Badakhshan told Afghanistan International that the second centre had recently begun operating on Kala Minar hill, around two months after the Taliban established its first drone operations centre beside Badakhshan airport and installed a control tower there.
Afghanistan International first published images and details of the control tower at the Taliban’s first drone management centre in Badakhshan in mid-September.
The main purpose of the new centre is said to be protecting the governor’s office and Taliban institutions in the old city of Faizabad, the provincial capital.
Taliban offices, including the governor’s compound, have repeatedly been targeted in recent months by anti-Taliban fronts, with some attacks causing casualties.
A Taliban source told Afghanistan International that the new centre had begun operating to reduce threats against the governor’s office and that additional sites would soon be established in vulnerable areas.
The source said it had been difficult to cover all vulnerable areas simultaneously from the main site, prompting plans for additional centres.
The source, a member of the Taliban’s 219 Omar-e-Sales Division in Badakhshan, said personnel and equipment at the drone management centre beside the airport had recently been strengthened and that drone operations facilities would also be expanded.
Another source confirmed the establishment of the Taliban’s second drone operations centre in Faizabad and said the group’s security concerns were increasing by the day.
The source added that the Taliban was placing particular emphasis on investment in drone warfare capabilities.
On Saturday, 10 October, the Taliban also issued a notice telling residents of Badakhshan that its drones would be flown by the Ministry of Urban Development for topographical surveys and urban planning, and that residents should not be concerned.
However, local sources said that in the days after the notice was issued, groups of drones were seen flying outside Faizabad along the road towards Baharak district, near the area where the new drone centre has now reportedly been established.
According to the sources, the people operating the drones were wearing military uniforms.
Local sources in Badakhshan say that, contrary to the Taliban’s official statement, the purpose of the drone flights and aerial filming over Faizabad is military and security-related.
Attacks on the Taliban Governor’s Office
Several security incidents took place in Faizabad in August this year.
Anti-Taliban resistance fronts claimed responsibility for several attacks on the Taliban governor’s office and nearby checkpoints.
The Taliban-appointed mayor was also killed in an explosive attack claimed by the National Resistance Front.
Following these incidents and the establishment of the drone operations centre in Faizabad, Taliban drones have continuously flown over the city, conducting patrols and aerial surveillance.
Residents of the old city of Faizabad who live around the governor’s office have complained about strict Taliban security measures.
They say Taliban drones fly at very low altitudes over their homes and film residential courtyards, making it difficult for women to leave their homes or carry out daily activities in their yards during the day.
Residents also raised these concerns during a meeting with the Taliban governor, but said their complaints had so far produced no results.
Fighting Intensifies in Badakhshan
In recent months, Taliban forces have repeatedly engaged in direct clashes with Afghanistan Freedom Front fighters in Zebak district.
The front also claims that its forces are present in parts of the district.
In recent days, a video was released showing dozens of Afghanistan Freedom Front fighters in parts of Zebak.
In addition, armed groups opposed to the Taliban have been carrying out guerrilla-style operations against the group.
Sources say these forces have an active and widespread presence in Yaftal, Argo, Ragh districts, Darwaz districts, Faizabad city, Kishm, Tagab, Baharak and other parts of Badakhshan.
Four Explosions in Two Weeks
Four explosions have occurred in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, in less than 20 days.
According to sources, senior Taliban security and intelligence officials and other high-ranking members of the group were among the intended targets.
The first explosion occurred on 28 September in the Jalghar area.
The second took place on 29 September in Dasht-e Wakilabad, near the university and within the jurisdiction of the city’s second security district.
A third explosion occurred on 5 October, followed by a fourth on 7 October near the Taliban police headquarters.
Several explosions also took place in the city the previous month, two of which targeted religious and jihadist schools.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front, the National Resistance Front and Amrullah Saleh’s Green Unit have claimed responsibility for the explosions.
The repeated blasts and worsening insecurity in Faizabad have increased Taliban security concerns.
At the same time, the Taliban has carried out widespread arrests in the city.
Twenty police officers have been abducted by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, while armed men separately destroyed an empty police post in Qila Abdullah district.
According to reports, the abducted officers were travelling from Kalat towards Nushki and were seized along the Sarband route, a shorter road between the two districts.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Saturday, 17 October, that the officers were from Washuk, Chagai, Kharan and Nushki districts in the Rakhshan region and had been undergoing training at the police training centre in Kalat.
The official said the officers were travelling on leave in a private passenger vehicle when armed men abducted them within Kalat district and later moved them towards Mastung district.
The attackers released the driver and two or three other passengers along the way, but took the police officers to an unknown location.
Officials said efforts had begun to secure the release of the abducted officers. No group has so far claimed responsibility.
In a separate incident, unidentified armed men destroyed an empty police post in the Pankai area of Qila Abdullah district.
A police officer in Quetta said police and security forces launched an operation against the attackers after receiving reports of the incident. The gunmen later fled towards the Panjpai area.
Rising Insecurity and Kidnappings in Balochistan
The incidents come as Balochistan has seen a rise in armed attacks, kidnappings of government officials and assaults on security forces in recent years.
Baloch separatist groups, particularly the Balochistan Liberation Army, are among the main groups involved in the armed insurgency against the Pakistani state.
These groups seek independence for Balochistan and have targeted security forces, government facilities and some economic projects.
In one of the most significant recent incidents, armed men linked to the Balochistan Liberation Army stopped the Jaffar Express passenger train, travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, on 11 March 2025 and took hundreds of passengers hostage.
Pakistani security forces launched an operation to free the hostages, and dozens of people, including passengers and attackers, were killed.
The attack was one of the most prominent examples in recent years of the growing operational capacity of Baloch separatist groups.
Despite its extensive natural resources, Balochistan remains one of Pakistan’s less developed regions.
Long-standing grievances over local communities’ share of natural resources, political demands and reports of enforced disappearances of Baloch activists are among the factors that have contributed to the continuation of the insurgency in the province.
Alongside Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province also faces frequent attacks by armed groups, particularly Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The two provinces remain among the main centres of insecurity in Pakistan.