A Taliban spokesman told Afghanistan International that the group is following the case of Sediqa, a 17-year-old girl imprisoned in Badghis. According to her family, she has been in prison for two years after refusing a forced marriage to an elderly man.
Shahabuddin Delawar, a member of the Taliban’s Doha negotiating team, said US officials sought to retain a military base in Afghanistan during the Doha talks.
Jawad Mohseni, head of Tamadon TV, said the network’s managing director, Mohammad Rahmati, and staff member Mohammad Reza Ehsani have been detained for six days on the orders of the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice.
After years of displacement and fleeing Taliban threats, Afghanistan’s refugee women’s cricket team travelled to Britain and, following a meeting with King Charles III, finally took to the field in Cambridge to show the world that the dreams of Afghan women remain alive.
Shahabuddin Delawar, head of the Taliban’s Commission for Contact with Afghan Political Figures, warned that the collapse of the current administration would lead to crisis and chaos in Afghanistan.
The European Union’s delegation to Afghanistan marked the International Day Against Drug Abuse by reaffirming its support for reducing drug demand and rehabilitating people with drug addiction.
Sources in north-east Afghanistan report increased movements and a military build-up by Juma Khan Fateh, a disgruntled Tajik Taliban commander, in the Darwaz area of Badakhshan province.
Taliban officials issued no Ashura message this year, while Taliban-run outlets, including Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) and Bakhtar News Agency, provided no coverage of the ceremonies.
Informed sources in Laghman tell Afghanistan International that Taliban intelligence has rearrested Mohammad Azam Bakhtar Farashghani, a former local police commander in Dawlat Shah district.
The Afghanistan Media Support Organisation says the Taliban detained a female journalist and her colleagues in Kabul for covering Ashura ceremonies, raising concern over growing restrictions on the media.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) and the National Resistance Front (NRF) said in separate Ashura messages that Taliban pressure on Shia Muslims is fuelling sectarian tensions and threatening Afghanistan’s religious and cultural diversity.
Kazakhstan’s Health Ministry has announced that a team of the country’s doctors has been deployed to Afghanistan to provide medical care and perform surgeries.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned in its World Drug Report 2026 that the unprecedented collapse in opium production in Afghanistan, alongside the spread of synthetic opioids, is reshaping the global drug market.
Nearly five years after taking power, the Taliban are seeking to transform their fighters into a regular army by finding new ways to equip armoured units, artillery, an air force and logistical networks.
Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, said Moscow and the Taliban administration want Afghanistan’s frozen assets to be released. However, he said no breakthrough is expected soon because the United States and Europe are ignoring the issue.
Taliban Deputy Minister of Urban Development and Housing Sheikh Madar Ali Karimi said the orders of the group’s prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, are being ignored. He criticised the Taliban’s treatment of Shia Muslims, particularly during Muharram.
Iranian authorities have transferred another 164 Afghan prisoners to the Taliban, Alireza Sarhadi, the prosecutor of Hirmand County, announced.
Former UK Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood has called for engagement with the Taliban, warning that continued isolation of Afghanistan will only benefit groups such as Islamic State and expand China’s influence.
Taliban Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharaei met security commanders from four security zones of Kabul after detaining Shia Muslims in his private prison, instructing them to maintain security, prevent disorder and enforce the orders of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected criticism that Berlin’s engagement with the Taliban amounts to normalising relations with the group. He said any cooperation is limited to technical matters and serves Germany’s national interests.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) has released a video claiming responsibility for a rocket attack on Taliban positions in Laghman province.
A day after Taliban forces raided Tamadon TV’s headquarters in Kabul and halted its broadcasts, the channel said “unknown individuals” were removing equipment, assets and other property from its premises. The broadcaster did not identify those involved.