The founder of an Italian aid organisation said she established a secret school for girls in Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, only to discover two years later that daughters of some Taliban members were among its pupils.
Susanna Fioretti, founder of the aid organisation Nove Caring Humans, told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the girls' parents wanted their daughters to receive an education.
She said she decided to establish an underground school in Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power and banned women from higher education.
According to Fioretti, classes were held in a room containing sewing machines. If Taliban inspectors arrived, notebooks and pens were to be hidden, and the pupils would pretend to be sewing.
She said no Taliban officials visited the premises for inspections during the first two years. After that period, she discovered that daughters of several Taliban members were also attending the school.
Asked whether there had been Taliban informants among the pupils, Fioretti replied that no, they were daughters of Taliban members. Their fathers and mothers wanted them to study.
She added that not everyone associated with the Taliban shared the same views, and that some wanted to change restrictions they considered wrong but pursued such changes discreetly.
The Italian aid worker said operating the secret school for girls involved serious risks. If someone had reported its activities to the Taliban's morality police, those involved could have faced severe consequences.
The founder of the Italian organisation also spoke about her efforts to create economic opportunities for Afghan women. She said that through dialogue and compromise with the Taliban, she had managed to establish a programme recognising Afghan women entrepreneurs.
According to Fioretti, Taliban officials were initially surprised by the proposal and asked whether she understood which country she was in. She said she explained that women's economic activities could generate income for the country to secure their approval.
Fioretti added that the Taliban eventually approved the programme, and the women who received awards attended a ceremony in the presence of a Taliban minister.
She recalled that during one meeting, a senior Taliban official asked what she, as an Italian woman, thought of the Taliban government.
Fioretti said that if she had grown up under a government like the Taliban, she would not be here today doing the work she does with this organisation.
According to her, the Taliban official responded by accusing her of having a colonial mindset but then invited her to share a meal. Fioretti said she never met the official again.
Several sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban has recently begun reshuffling civilian and military officials across Badakhshan province. The changes have so far affected police commanders, district governors and intelligence chiefs.
As part of the reshuffle, the Taliban has appointed new officials in Faizabad, Yaftal district and the Darwaz districts of Badakhshan.
Sources said those appointed to civilian and military positions in the Darwaz districts were close associates of Ghulamullah Ahmadi, deputy commander of the Taliban's military division in Badakhshan.
According to the sources, Musaddiqullah has been appointed district governor of Nusay, Mawlawi Shafiqullah as district governor of Shekay, Salahuddin Ayubi as police commander of Nusay, and Abdul Ghani Fayeq as police commander of Maimay district. Sheikh Mohammad, also known as Abdul Basir, who is Ghulamullah Ahmadi's son-in-law, has been appointed intelligence chief of Maimay district.
Local sources in Darwaz said the reshuffle was also continuing at administrative levels below district governors and police commanders. According to them, individuals close to Juma Fateh are being dismissed and replaced by associates of the Taliban's deputy divisional commander.
According to information obtained, Mawlawi Saqib has been appointed deputy head of administration at Badakhshan's police command, Shadab Raghi as head of the second police district, and Qari Samiullah Rasuli as the new district governor of Yaftal. The border commissioner of Ishkashim district has also been replaced.
Another source in Faizabad said changes had been made across various departments of the Taliban's police command in Badakhshan.
A credible source within the Taliban told Afghanistan International that extensive personnel changes were being implemented at all levels of the group's administration in Badakhshan. According to the source, the local Taliban administration recently decided that officials in various departments should be appointed from among Badakhshan residents and people native to the respective areas.
The latest changes come after the Taliban replaced nearly all district governors, police commanders and intelligence chiefs following the fall of Yaftal district in July this year.
Experts view the frequent and rapid reshuffling of Taliban officials in Badakhshan as a sign of the group's concerns over maintaining control of the province. They believe anti-Taliban resistance groups are gaining strength and that the Taliban is preparing for the possibility of widespread clashes next spring.
Pakistan has urged the international community to hold the Taliban accountable for failing to meet counterterrorism commitments. On Monday, 26 October, its Foreign Ministry rejected Taliban claims of civilian casualties in Pakistani strikes on Afghanistan.
In a statement, the ministry called on the international community to pressure the Taliban administration and hold it accountable for failing to fulfil its international counterterrorism obligations.
Islamabad said armed militant groups were using Afghan territory to destabilise Pakistan and accused the Taliban of contributing to regional instability by providing safe havens and failing to contain these groups.
The ministry stressed that Pakistan reserved the right to defend its security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, describing its military operations as a legitimate response to cross-border threats.
Pakistan's strongly worded statement came in response to an interview with Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the Taliban Foreign Ministry's spokesman, on CNN's AsiaNow programme. On Saturday, 24 October, Balkhi claimed that Pakistani military strikes on Afghanistan since 2022 had killed or wounded 1,119 civilians, mostly women and children.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry dismissed the figures as completely baseless and fabricated, insisting that its operations were aimed at destroying militant hideouts rather than harming civilians.
However, multiple United Nations reports have confirmed civilian casualties resulting from Pakistani strikes on Afghanistan. Last month, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that military incidents along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border over the previous year had killed 512 civilians and wounded another 1,236.
UNAMA has also confirmed civilian casualties, including women and children, in separate Pakistani strikes on Afghan territory. The Afghan Taliban has likewise maintained that Pakistan targets civilians and civilian areas during its military operations in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, citing reports by the UN monitoring team on the activities of armed groups, particularly Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamabad said organised militant attacks originating from Afghanistan had left more than 3,500 people dead or wounded inside Pakistan during the Afghan solar year 1405, which began in March 2026.
A recently circulated video shows a man identifying himself as a member of the Pakistani Taliban approaching Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister, and whispering something in his ear.
In the video, published on Saturday evening, 24 October, the man identifies himself in Khost as a former associate of Hakimullah Mehsud, the slain leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The 48-second footage shows Haqqani sitting inside a vehicle as supporters attempt to approach him and shake his hand.
At the beginning of the video, several young men kiss Haqqani's hands and face, while he takes cash from his pocket and distributes it among them.
At the 26-second mark, a young man wearing a green headscarf approaches Haqqani and says in Pashto, with a Waziri accent: "I have something to tell you ... Jalalim and I wanted to come with the mujahid district governor. I am Zabihullah, from Kotkai, and one of Hakimullah Mehsud and Qari Hussain’s men."
The footage shows Haqqani reacting immediately upon hearing the names of Hakimullah Mehsud and Qari Hussain. He appears to push the young man away with his hand and directs him towards a security officer accompanying him, reportedly a member of his security detail. Haqqani then quickly turns away and resumes greeting other supporters.
Hakimullah Mehsud was a former leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, while Qari Hussain was a prominent and notorious figure within the group who was primarily responsible for training, organising and equipping suicide bombers.
Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan on 1 November 2013, while Qari Hussain was reportedly killed in a similar US strike on 7 October 2010.
According to security reports, a significant number of suicide bombers deployed by the Haqqani network in deadly attacks against Afghanistan's former government and international forces were recruited and dispatched directly from bases and training centres operated by Qari Hussain in Waziristan.
The video's circulation has attracted considerable attention amid heightened security tensions between the Taliban and Islamabad. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban, particularly the Haqqani network, of sheltering TTP members and providing them with logistical support, allegations that Taliban officials in Kabul have consistently denied.
Experts told Afghanistan International that the video once again draws attention to the deep historical ties between the Haqqani network, suicide bomber networks in Waziristan and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Saturday, 24 October, rejected allegations that it was arming Afghans to fight the Taliban or anti-Pakistan militant groups, describing the claims as "baseless and misleading".
In a statement on X, the ministry said the allegations were based on speculation and were intended to support the Taliban administration.
The response came after Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, claimed that Pakistan was recruiting Afghans to fight anti-Pakistan insurgents.
Pakistan's Information Ministry stressed that its operations targeted armed groups operating from areas under Taliban control in Afghanistan that threatened the security of Pakistani citizens. It added that such operations should not be equated with allegations of recruiting Afghan nationals or supporting armed groups inside Afghanistan.
The ministry also referred to United Nations monitoring reports, saying that groups including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and al-Qaeda continued to maintain a presence and operate in Afghanistan. It held the Taliban administration responsible for preventing Afghan territory from being used to launch attacks against Pakistan and alleged that Indian-backed proxy groups were also operating from Afghan soil against Pakistan.
However, The New York Times reported on 22 October 2026 that Pakistani military and intelligence officials had met leaders of armed groups opposed to the Taliban in recent months and discussed the possibility of providing them with support. The report emerged as Islamabad continued to deny allegations that it was backing Afghan armed groups.
Khalilzad served as the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation during Donald Trump's first presidency and negotiated Washington's agreement with the Taliban, which led to the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan.
He has visited Afghanistan several times over the past five years and maintained close relations with the Taliban. Khalilzad has also repeatedly called for the release of Pakistan's former prime minister, Imran Khan, from prison.
New documents reveal that Switzerland spent more than $16,000 on a Taliban delegation's visit to Geneva in August 2025 to identify Afghans facing deportation and paid each of the four delegates a daily allowance.
Swiss newspaper Le Courrier reported on Saturday, 24 October, citing documents obtained by the investigative group WAV through transparency laws, that the four-member Taliban delegation stayed at Geneva's Mövenpick Hotel for two nights, from 19 to 21 August 2025. The visit cost approximately $16,250.
According to published receipts, the Swiss government paid each of the four Taliban representatives a daily allowance of 150 Swiss francs upon arrival. Swiss officials said the money was intended to cover expenses related to meetings and local transport.
The delegation travelled to Switzerland to identify 13 Afghan nationals who had been convicted of crimes in the country and whom Swiss authorities intended to deport. Documents show that Swiss officials had shared the individuals' personal information with Taliban representatives before the interviews.
According to the final report, Taliban representatives confirmed the identities of eight individuals. Following further checks, one additional person's identity was verified, but the Taliban agreed to issue documents for only six people. Switzerland's State Secretariat for Migration said three individuals were ultimately deported to Afghanistan, with further deportations planned.
The cooperation has drawn criticism from asylum law experts and human rights organisations, who warned that sharing asylum seekers' personal information with the Taliban authorities could endanger their safety and lend legitimacy to the group.
Jean Tschopp, a Social Democratic Party member of the Swiss parliament, said the cooperation went beyond providing consular services to Afghan citizens.
He said that this approach legitimises an authoritarian regime, while it remains unclear what guarantees, if any, were obtained regarding the fate of the individuals concerned.
Switzerland's State Secretariat for Migration maintained that the Taliban delegation's visit was consular in nature and that issuing visas to its members did not constitute recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan's government.