The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) says it has provided vital assistance to more than 18,000 Afghans affected by conflict in border areas of eastern Afghanistan. The aid included temporary shelter, hygiene kits, kitchen supplies and cash assistance.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday defended the fencing and strengthening of security infrastructure along the border with Afghanistan. He said the spending on securing the frontier was a necessary measure to protect the lives of Pakistani citizens.
As civil protests continue over the Taliban’s recent arrests of women accused of violating the group’s dress code, and security tensions remain high in Herat, Taliban Governor Noor Ahmad Islamjar has travelled to Kabul.
The Taliban Ministry of Refugees announced on Saturday, June 13, that 763 Afghan nationals were released from Pakistani prisons over the past week. In a statement, the ministry said they returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings.
A Taliban spokesman says the group leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, used a cabinet meeting in Kandahar to stress the proper implementation of the Islamic system and his decrees.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) says its forces targeted a gathering of Taliban morality police at the entrance to the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice office in Herat on Friday night, June 12.
Informed sources in Kandahar told Afghanistan International that a Taliban cabinet meeting chaired by Hibatullah Akhundzada was held in the province on Wednesday. According to the sources, the Taliban prime minister also attended, and 11 issues were discussed during the session.
Doctors Without Borders has condemned the detention of one of its healthcare workers in Herat by Taliban forces, saying it is “outraged” by the incident. The organisation confirmed that one of its staff members was held in detention for two days.
Reuters has reported that the Donald Trump administration plans to transfer a group of migrants, including Afghans, to the Central African Republic. According to the report, the United States and the Central African Republic recently reached an agreement on the arrangement.
Noor Ahmad Islamjar, the Taliban governor of Herat, said compliance with the group’s dress code had been steadily declining in the province.
Local sources told Afghanistan International early on Friday that Taliban forces have been deployed across Herat with heavy weapons since Thursday night.
Magnus Brunner, the European Union’s Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, has defended the controversial plan to invite Taliban representatives to Brussels.
UN Women has expressed concern that women and girls are bearing the greatest cost of the ongoing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. The UN agency stressed that women and girls urgently need support to access healthcare, food and shelter.
Adam Boehler, the US president’s special envoy for hostage affairs, said the imprisonment of former Taliban commander Haji Najibullah sends a clear message to hostage-takers and supporters of terrorism.
Abdul Rahman Qanet, the Taliban’s deputy minister for mines, met Jeffrey Grieco, president of the Afghanistan-US Joint Chamber of Commerce, in Kabul.
Russia has called for the resumption of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)-Afghanistan Contact Group. Bakhtiyor Khakimov, Russia’s representative to the SCO, said Moscow believes reactivating the group is necessary.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has confirmed that 13 civilians were killed and 10 others wounded in recent Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. According to UNAMA, women and children were among the casualties.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has expressed concern over the Force suppression of protesters in the Jebrail area of Herat.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting said its military carried out strikes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border overnight.
Haji Najibullah, a Taliban commander involved in the kidnapping of American journalist David Rohde and two companions, was sentenced to 42 years in prison by a court in New York on Tuesday.
A Russian Foreign Ministry official says the Taliban continue to allow conditions in Afghanistan that enable some terrorist groups to operate. He said an estimated 20 militant groups with between 20,000 and 23,000 fighters are currently present in the country.
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.