Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban barred women from entering the Imam Abu Hanifa International Exhibition in Kabul, including Afghan women and invited female visitors from India and Iran.
Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and the EU’s new chargé d’affaires in Afghanistan, Nicola Bellomo, discussed bilateral ties, cooperation, counter-narcotics efforts and Afghanistan’s security situation.
Spain’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Javier Puig, said in Madrid that half of Afghanistan’s population lives under gender apartheid, warning that growing engagement with the Taliban must not lead to its normalisation.
UNAMA says the Taliban detained at least 52 women and one girl in Kabul and Herat between July and September 2026, voicing deep concern over arrests and threats of detention targeting women and girls.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for practical action against militant groups operating from Afghanistan during a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday.
Elisenda Calvet, a judge at the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan, said in Madrid that after five years of Taliban rule, conditions had not improved and the outlook remained bleak.
Iran’s energy minister and the Taliban’s industry and commerce minister discussed increasing Iranian electricity exports to Afghanistan to about 2,000 megawatts, as well as equipment supplies and joint investment.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front says it targeted a vehicle carrying a Taliban commander in Badakhshan on Tuesday evening, killing the commander and four of his guards.
Uzbekistan’s State Security Service says it seized nearly 50 kg of drugs smuggled from Afghanistan, hidden in 98 packages concealed inside a lorry.
Taliban police say they arrested four men in Kabul who allegedly planned to attack UNAMA’s office and staff, claiming they belonged to the National Resistance Front. The NRF rejected the allegation as intelligence propaganda.
Iran’s Jomhouri-e Eslami newspaper accused the Taliban of waging a silent war against Iran, warning that Tehran’s current approach towards the group could harm Iran’s long-term interests.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met Iranian diplomat Mohammad Reza Bahrami on the sidelines of the Moscow Format, discussing regional developments and ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s blast in Faizabad, saying a targeted attack on a vehicle carrying Taliban members killed four people, including a Taliban commander.
Taliban governors, police chiefs and intelligence heads from southwestern Afghanistan met in Kandahar on Tuesday to discuss security, with senior officials from five provinces and military bodies attending.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari told UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday that militant groups based in Afghanistan continue to target Pakistan, adding that Islamabad has shared evidence of foreign support for them.
An explosion struck near the Taliban police headquarters in Faizabad, Badakhshan, early Wednesday. Taliban police said explosives hidden inside a flowerpot targeted a Toyota Corolla, injuring two civilians.
Sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban forces and the Afghanistan Freedom Front clashed early Wednesday in Kamdesh district of Nuristan province. AFF spokesman Nusratullah Fateh confirmed the fighting.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday described the dispute between the Taliban and Pakistan that prevented a final statement at the Moscow Format meeting as an unpleasant development.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi called for expanded security, political and economic cooperation with Moscow during a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu.
UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo says she met Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid during a visit to Kandahar, discussing Afghan women’s rights, counter-narcotics efforts and the Doha Process.
Russia’s foreign ministry said Moscow Format participants agreed there was no alternative to expanding cooperation with the Taliban administration and integrating Afghanistan into the global economy.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-e Islami Afghanistan, has criticised the Taliban administration and called for power to be transferred to the people, saying Afghanistan’s future should be determined by its citizens.