Afghanistan

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has confirmed that Pakistan carried out strikes inside Afghanistan, saying Pakistani forces bombed civilian homes in Kunar, Khost and Paktika provinces. According to Mujahid, 13 people were killed and 14 others injured.

Sources told Afghanistan International on Tuesday that a meeting involving representatives close to the Taliban and Pakistan has begun in Istanbul.

Amnesty International has condemned the Taliban’s reported use of live ammunition against protesters in Herat, saying it marks a shocking escalation in attacks on the rights to peaceful protest, freedom of expression and women’s rights.

AzizurRahman Muhajir, the Taliban’s head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat, has denied reports that women were detained for failing to comply with the group’s dress code.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has told the UN Security Council that 3,687 security incidents were recorded in Afghanistan between 1 February and 30 April, representing a 57 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

Ismail Khan, a former jihadi commander, has criticised the Taliban over the reported harassment and mass detention of women in Herat, saying the treatment of women in the city is unacceptable.

An eyewitness to Tuesday’s protests in Herat told Afghanistan International that he personally witnessed one person being killed and at least 22 others injured during the protest.

China’s representative at the UN Security Council called on the Taliban to reopen secondary schools to girls. He said that the fundamental rights of the Afghan people, including access to education, must be respected.

A document obtained by Afghanistan International indicates that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has issued a new verbal order banning the use of smartphones by the group members and government employees.

Documents obtained by Afghanistan International show that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has issued a new decree regulating gold panning activities. The decree, dated May 18, 2026, is being published by Afghanistan International for the first time.

Sources told Afghanistan International that Sirajuddin, a former police officer in Ghor province and a former jihadi commander, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Sunday afternoon.

The Taliban’s Justice Ministry has announced the publication of a Law on the Preservation of Jihadi Heritage after it was approved by the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Residents of Herat told Afghanistan International that Taliban authorities launched a large-scale operation on Saturday to detain women accused of violating the group’s mandatory dress code, with more than 20 women reportedly arrested in one area alone.

Afghanistan International’s review of Taliban Interior Ministry statements suggests crime has risen sharply across major Afghan cities, with authorities reporting 1,878 arrests nationwide over the past month alone.

The Taliban’s ambassador in Moscow held separate talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk and Chamber of Commerce President Sergei Katyrin on expanding economic and trade ties.

The interior ministers of Pakistan and Tajikistan have expressed deep concern over the presence of militant safe havens and the growth of narcotics production in Afghanistan during a meeting on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation gathering in Bishkek.

Euractiv, a European outlet focused on EU policy, has criticised the Taliban's invitation to Brussels, reminding members that the Taliban Education Minister Habibullah Agha was sanctioned in 2023 for barring girls from schooling beyond grade six.

Local sources in Spin Boldak, Kandahar, say prolonged border closures and passport requirements for travel between Afghanistan and Pakistan have fuelled a rise in people smuggling across the frontier.