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Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Kabul early Saturday, leading a high-ranking delegation on his first official visit to Afghanistan since assuming office.

The press office of the Taliban governor in Nimruz province has confirmed that the Islamic Republic of Iran handed over 199 Afghan prisoners to Taliban officials at the Pul-e-Abrisham border crossing on Thursday evening.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will visit Kabul on Saturday at the invitation of the Taliban, leading a senior delegation for a one-day official visit.

The Taliban’s High Commission for Addressing Migrant Issues reported that 2,962 Afghan migrants were deported from Pakistan on Thursday, 17 April. Of these, 2,100 were returned via the Torkham border crossing, and 862 through Spin Boldak.

Following Russia’s recent suspension of the Taliban’s inclusion on its list of terrorist organisations, the United Nations has maintained that the group’s status—determined by its member states—remains unchanged.

Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, announced that the suspension of the Taliban’s designation as a terrorist organisation eliminates legal barriers to establishing formal relations between Moscow and the Taliban.

Russia’s Supreme Court has approved a request from the Prosecutor General’s Office to suspend the Taliban’s designation as a terrorist organisation, marking a significant shift in Moscow’s legal stance toward the group.

The Taliban have arrested Nadima Noor, an Afghan-Canadian social media activist, according to sources who spoke to Afghanistan International on Wednesday.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, announced on Thursday that he will soon travel to Kabul as part of Islamabad’s efforts to normalise relations with neighbouring countries.

Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday approved a request from the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office to suspend the Taliban’s designation as a terrorist organisation.

More than 40 members of the US Congress have called on the State Department to immediately reinstate the country’s refugee admissions programme, which was suspended and defunded at the start of former President Donald Trump’s second term.

The Taliban’s High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Issues has reported that a total of 5,136 Afghan migrants were deported from Pakistan on Wednesday, marking one of the largest single-day returns in recent months.

The Afghan Taliban have shown a notable shift in their position towards the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), according to a visiting Pakistani delegation that recently concluded a visit to Kabul.

A senior Norwegian diplomat has reportedly discussed expanding the Taliban’s diplomatic engagement with European nations, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.

Local sources in Jaghori district, Ghazni province, report that Taliban fighters have killed a teenage boy and detained at least 12 of his relatives, including several school students, following an alleged attack on the district administrative building.

The Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture in Uruzgan has issued a public notice inviting residents to witness the public flogging of 15 individuals at the Tarinkot stadium on Thursday morning.

The Human Rights Activists Union (HRAU) has raised alarm over what it describes as a surge in lobbying efforts by individuals attempting to "whitewash and legitimise the Taliban regime" across Western countries.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reacted the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for urging an end to the use of capital punishment, calling the request “an insult to Islamic rulings, irresponsible, and intolerable.”

Zalmay Khalilzad, former US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, has expressed concern that Pakistani institutions may be using the ongoing deportation of Afghan refugees as a cover to transfer Islamic State (ISIS) militants into Afghanistan.

India’s Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, on Tuesday accused Pakistan of playing a “double game” with both the Taliban and the former Afghan government — a strategy he said has ultimately backfired following the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan.

The Taliban have announced that the seventh session of the Afghanistan–Pakistan Joint Coordination Committee will take place in Kabul.