Taliban official Hayatullah Mohajer Farahi dismissed Donald Trump’s remarks about retaking Bagram Air Base, saying the former US president would regain the base “only in his dreams”. He said Bagram would remain under Taliban control.
The second National Dialogue conference, organised by a group of Afghan activists, researchers and civil society figures, was held on Sunday in Hamburg, Germany.
Amid rising internal Taliban tensions and increased activity by opposition groups in north-eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban defence minister visited Ismaili-populated areas of Badakhshan.
As tensions and military clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan reach unprecedented levels, another Taliban minister has travelled to India, signalling a new phase in Kabul’s engagement with Islamabad’s long-standing regional rival.
The United Nations says Afghanistan is facing one of the world’s largest displacement crises amid widespread poverty, drought and recurring earthquakes.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for an attack on a police post in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The group claimed more than 20 security personnel were killed or wounded in the assault.
The Taliban said on Tuesday that Agriculture Minister Attaullah Omari has travelled to India to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Kabul and New Delhi.
Pakistani security sources said on Monday that border forces from Pakistan and the Taliban clashed for a second consecutive day in Khyber district. The fighting reportedly involved both light and heavy weapons.
Local sources in Badakhshan said on Monday that Taliban helicopters were flying over Nusay district, the stronghold of dissident Taliban commander Juma Khan Fateh. The aircraft were reportedly monitoring his positions and forces.
Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s former presidential envoy for Afghanistan, defended the invitation extended to Ahmad Massoud, leader of Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front, and other Taliban opponents to Ali Khamenei’s funeral.
The Taliban Defence Ministry said Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid visited the first border battalion of the 15th Border Brigade in Ishkashim district of Badakhshan, near Afghanistan’s border with Tajikistan.
Uzbek media reported that the country’s security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle drugs by drone from Afghanistan into the Surxondaryo region. Authorities said they seized a drone carrying just over 2 kilograms of opium.
Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi criticised the group's exclusion from international meetings, saying humanitarian aid to Afghanistan should not be made conditional on political considerations.
Pakistani security sources told Afghanistan International on Sunday that three Pakistani border troops were wounded after Taliban border forces opened fire on Pakistani border posts in Khyber district. One of the injured is reported to be in critical condition.
Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former envoy for Afghanistan, says the Taliban’s harbouring of terrorist groups risks a repeat of the 9/11 attacks and could have unpredictable consequences for the region.
Taliban authorities in Nangarhar say a group’s commander in Chaparhar district was shot dead on Friday, and his brother has been arrested on suspicion of killing him.
Reports from Afghanistan’s north-eastern Badakhshan province indicate that internal Taliban tensions have reached a peak.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met Bangladeshi Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad during his visit to Tehran. The Taliban Foreign Ministry said the talks focused on expanding bilateral ties, particularly trade cooperation.
A credible source in Kabul told Afghanistan International on Saturday that about 20 students were injured in Friday night's explosion at Kabul University. They were taken to Aliabad Hospital, and their condition is reported to be stable.
Sources told Afghanistan International that Khalid Masood, a commander of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was killed in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province. Taliban authorities have not commented on the incident.
Hussain Yasa, spokesperson for the National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan, said no meetings will take place in Tehran between leaders of anti-Taliban groups and the Taliban’s deputy prime minister or other senior Taliban officials.
Local sources in Badakhshan told Afghanistan International that a Taliban delegation sent by the group's leader failed to reach an agreement with dissident Taliban commander Juma Khan Fateh. Sources said Taliban military activity has since intensified.