The Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister's Office for Economic Affairs announced a meeting to coordinate economic cooperation with Russia. It said participants reviewed progress on bilateral economic agreements and investment opportunities across various sectors.
According to the Taliban, the meeting was held in Kabul on Tuesday, 3 November, chaired by Abdul Ghani Baradar, the group's deputy prime minister for economic affairs. During the meeting, the Taliban's Finance Ministry presented a report on the latest session of the Afghanistan-Russia Joint Economic Commission.
Taliban officials said an economic cooperation document prepared with the Russian side had been finalised on the sidelines of the recent Kazan meeting in Tatarstan and was expected to be signed with Moscow in the near future.
The statement said the meeting examined opportunities for cooperation and investment with Russia in several sectors, including trade, electricity, transport, mining, higher education, agriculture, healthcare, business visas, telecommunications and information technology.
Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration. Moscow, which faces sanctions from Western countries, is seeking to expand trade relations with regional countries, including Afghanistan.
According to Russian officials, trade between Russia and Afghanistan doubled during the first six months of 2026.
Previously, Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban's Minister of Industry and Commerce, also emphasised the importance of expanding economic and trade relations between Afghanistan and Russia during a meeting with a delegation of Russian businesspeople.
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, said Taliban restrictions have severely limited or destroyed young Afghans' hopes of pursuing higher education, finding employment, achieving financial independence, starting families and contributing to society.
Speaking on Monday, 2 November, at an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's Third Committee, Bennett stressed that Afghanistan cannot achieve lasting peace and stability without the participation of young people in education, employment, leadership and decision-making.
The event, titled "Afghanistan's Youth at a Crossroads: Rights, Aspirations, Challenges and Opportunities", was organised by Afghanistan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in cooperation with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, with support from the permanent missions of Ireland and Denmark.
Citing figures from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Bennett said approximately 34% of Afghanistan's population, nearly one-third of the total, is aged between 10 and 24, while two-thirds of the country's population is 25 or younger.
He said young Afghans aspire to pursue higher education, find suitable employment, achieve financial independence, start families, participate in social life and contribute to their communities. However, many of these opportunities have been severely restricted or completely eliminated in Afghanistan.
The UN Special Rapporteur emphasised that young people have different experiences, priorities and aspirations, and that their needs must be considered individually, according to their circumstances.
Bennett warned that systematic human rights violations by the Taliban affect not only the current generation but also the future of generations to come in Afghanistan.
According to him, young Afghans face a range of interconnected challenges, including discrimination, exclusion from education and employment, poverty, limited access to information and freedom of expression, and exclusion from decision-making processes.
Bennett added that the consequences of Taliban restrictions do not affect all young people equally but vary depending on gender, ethnicity, religion, place of residence, economic circumstances, disability and educational background.
He described the situation of women and girls as particularly concerning, saying they face severe and structural discrimination that could amount to gender-based persecution and oppression.
Bennett also expressed concern about increasing restrictions on academic freedom and critical thinking, alongside a growing emphasis on ideological education, warning of their implications for Afghanistan's future.
He said young people also have limited opportunities to develop leadership skills and participate in decision-making processes.
The UN Special Rapporteur called on the international community to invest in creating practical opportunities for Afghanistan's young people.
He identified scholarships, high-quality online education programmes, technical and vocational training, digital skills development, entrepreneurship and access to international employment opportunities as important areas for supporting Afghan youth.
Qaiser Afridi, UNHCR spokesman in Islamabad, told Afghanistan International on Monday, 2 November, that the US had not contacted the agency about deporting Afghans via Pakistan.
He said UNHCR had no role in the process and was unaware of any talks between the two countries.
On 28 October, The New York Times reported that Washington was finalising a plan with Islamabad to return around 150 Afghan asylum seekers to Afghanistan via Pakistan. Their asylum applications in the United States had been rejected, and they had received deportation orders.
Responding to the reports, the spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told Afghanistan International: Our position is absolutely clear: people whose lives are at risk and who need protection must not be forcibly deported.
He added that, given the difficult conditions in Afghanistan and the denial of education to girls, forcibly returning asylum seekers poses serious risks. He stressed that any transfer must take place with the consent of the asylum seekers and in accordance with international law.
Referring to concerns raised by human rights organisations, Afridi emphasised that respecting human rights and refugee laws is a fundamental obligation for all countries.
Pakistani officials and informed sources in Islamabad had previously told Afghanistan International that they had no knowledge of any plan to bring these asylum seekers into Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Taliban's Foreign Ministry has also expressed concern over the reports, urging Washington to ensure that any decisions concerning the fate of Afghan citizens are made through bilateral coordination and respect their human dignity.
These developments come amid widespread human rights concerns over Washington's reported plans to return Afghan asylum seekers.
At the same time, pressure on Afghan migrants in neighbouring countries has intensified. According to UN figures, millions of Afghan refugees and migrants have returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan during waves of forced deportations from Pakistan and Iran alone.
Human rights activists warn that forcibly returning people who fled Afghanistan because of security threats, their work with foreign organisations or the Taliban's restrictive policies could expose them to irreversible threats to their lives and safety.
The secretariat of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Afghanistan told former Afghan MP Baktash Siawash it would support efforts to advance recognition of gender apartheid. It said work on a new convention on crimes against humanity was ongoing.
According to a copy of the letter obtained by Afghanistan International, Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle, chair of the delegation, expressed appreciation for Siawash's petition.
The secretariat stressed that, where appropriate and within its mandate, the delegation would cooperate in advancing consideration of the codification of "gender apartheid" in the European Parliament.
The secretariat also noted that the website of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Afghanistan provides welcome packs and information brochures for newly elected members.
The European Parliament's Committee on Petitions recently informed Baktash Siawash in a written letter that it would examine the recognition of gender apartheid in Afghanistan on 5 November in Brussels.
In recent months, Afghan women's rights activists and human rights defenders have staged sit-in protests in Brussels, Strasbourg and Geneva, collecting thousands of signatures to urge European institutions to take a firmer stance against the systematic exclusion of women from public life in Afghanistan.
Siawash previously told Afghanistan International that he had been in contact with European Union representatives and had shared a petition containing more than 5,000 signatures.
He warned that protests would continue and intensify if the demands of Afghan women and the wider population were not taken seriously.
In recent days, the European Union expressed concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan during the Third Committee of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, strongly condemning severe and institutionalised gender-based discrimination and repression against women and girls.
In a statement, the EU said the systematic violation of women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan could constitute gender-based persecution and a crime against humanity.
In May 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
During a plenary session, the Parliament condemned the Taliban's criminal procedure code for courts and called for an end to public floggings and executions, as well as sanctions against Taliban leaders.
The Afghanistan United Front, led by Sami Sadat, says it carried out 16 attacks against Taliban forces across eight provinces in the past week. According to statements issued between 22 and 29 October, 18 Taliban members were killed and nine wounded.
A review of statements released by the Afghanistan United Front shows that the attacks were concentrated in Kandahar, Kapisa, Helmand, Ghor, Zabul, Badakhshan, Ghazni and Parwan provinces.
According to the statements, four operations were carried out in Kandahar, two in Ghor and two in Zabul. One operation was reported in each of Badakhshan, Ghazni and Parwan, while four additional operations took place in Helmand and Kapisa.
Timeline of Attacks and Reported Casualties
According to a statement issued by the front on 22 October, four separate attacks were carried out in the first and fifth police districts of Lashkar Gah city in Helmand and in Hesa Awal Kohistan district of Kapisa. The attacks reportedly killed five Taliban members and destroyed a Ranger vehicle.
In another statement issued on 23 October, the front said it had targeted a Taliban police officer in Daman district in Kandahar, killing him and seizing his motorcycle.
A further statement issued on 26 October said the front had conducted seven simultaneous operations across six provinces.
In separate attacks in Charsada district and Firozkoh city in Ghor province, four Taliban members were reportedly killed and seven wounded.
On the same day, attacks in Qalat city in Zabul, Muqur district in Ghazni, the Gulbahar foothills of Jabal Saraj in Parwan, Tagab district of Badakhshan, and Dand district in Kandahar reportedly killed five other Taliban members and wounded two.
According to a statement issued on 27 October, a Taliban intelligence officer was killed in Shahr-e Safa district of Zabul, while a Taliban police officer identified as Mullah Samargul was killed in Tagab district in Kapisa.
Statements issued on 29 October reported two further operations in Kandahar province.
The front said it attacked a Taliban checkpoint in Arghistan district without causing casualties. In a separate attack in Spin Boldak district, the group said it targeted a Taliban vehicle, killing one Taliban member and destroying the vehicle.
Taliban officials have not yet commented on the reported attacks.
The Afghanistan United Front formally announced the launch of its armed activities against the Taliban administration in August this year.
The front initially began its attacks in southern Afghanistan, particularly in Kandahar province, and says it has since carried out numerous operations against Taliban forces across the country.
The 93rd meeting of the Council of Border Troop Commanders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was held in Astana on Thursday, 29 October, with a focus on border security, terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration and cross-border organised crime.
The meeting, held in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, focused on strengthening security along the CIS's external borders and countering security threats.
Representatives of member states discussed ways to combat terrorism, illegal migration, drug trafficking and transnational organised crime.
Improving the exchange of operational intelligence between border security agencies was among the key topics discussed.
Participants also examined the use of modern technologies for border control and the coordination of joint responses to emerging security threats.
Alexander Manilov, deputy chairman of the CIS Council of Border Troop Commanders, emphasised the need for coordinated efforts, saying that addressing existing threats requires constant operational readiness among border units and coordinated action by military agencies.
Yerlan Aldazhumanov, deputy chairman of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee and head of the country's Border Guard Service, said the meetings are held twice a year to assess the operational situation along external borders and organise protective measures.
According to Aldazhumanov, particular attention is given to joint border operations covering areas from Afghanistan's borders to the western frontiers of CIS member states, facilitating coordination in addressing cross-border threats.
In addition to operational matters, the meeting addressed personnel training, military education and development programmes, and scientific and research cooperation.
Aldazhumanov noted that most decisions adopted by the council are approved unanimously, helping member states coordinate their approaches to border security.
The meeting comes as the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) has repeatedly expressed concern in recent weeks about security threats originating from Afghanistan, particularly along its border with Tajikistan.
The organisation's secretary-general recently announced that member states, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, are expected to begin supplying weapons and military equipment to Tajikistan by the end of this year to strengthen its border with Afghanistan.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov previously warned that Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) intends to use Afghanistan as a base to expand its terrorist activities into Central Asia and Russia.
Lavrov said terrorist groups maintain a significant number of training camps in Afghanistan's border regions with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.