Abdul Latif Mansoor, Taliban minister for rural rehabilitation and development, says the Taliban respects all sects, amid growing reports of pressure on Shia citizens and the detention and mistreatment of Shia clerics.
Nooruddin Azizi, Taliban’s commerce minister, called for stronger economic ties with Russia during talks with Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, warning that some groups were trying to undermine bilateral relations.
Shia cleric Hussein Dad Sharifi says Taliban morality police beat him in Kabul for registering a “temporary marriage”. He said dozens of shia clerics have recently been detained and warned against conducting such marriages.
Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the Taliban chief justice, warned during a visit to northern Afghanistan that “a system built on oppression cannot survive”, urging Taliban officials to avoid abusing prisoners and detainees.
Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the People’s Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, said the Taliban have stripped the Jaafari jurisprudence of official recognition and imposed widespread pressure on the religious practices of Shia Muslims.
Taliban governors, intelligence chiefs and police commanders from Afghanistan’s north-western region held a meeting in Sar-e Pol province to discuss security and coordination among Taliban institutions.
Yue Xiaoyong, Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, held separate meetings with a Qatari deputy foreign minister and the Taliban ambassador in Doha to discuss Afghanistan and rising tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan.
Tawus, a 26-year-old married woman from Daykundi, says a man allegedly backed by the Taliban is trying to force her into a second marriage, driving her into hiding to avoid arrest and coercion.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice says a new regulation on marital separation, approved by the group leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has been published, setting out conditions for divorce and separation between spouses.
The United States announced on Thursday it would provide $1.8 billion to the United Nations, saying the aid must be spent in line with the foreign policy priorities of President Donald Trump.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, again claimed that the recent attack on a police post in Bannu was organised and directed from Afghan territory.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed serious concern over the Taliban’s detention of at least three journalists on “unspecified charges”.
The United Nations Development Programme says around 1.4 million more people in Afghanistan fell into livelihood insecurity in 2025 amid deepening economic and humanitarian crises.
Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, says between 18,000 and 23,000 militants from more than 20 groups are currently active in Afghanistan, calling the situation a major concern for regional security.
Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu says ongoing instability in Afghanistan remains one of the main security threats within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The European Union says Afghans are facing poverty, food insecurity, climate shocks and widespread displacement, stressing that restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan must be lifted.
Local sources reported that explosions and gunfire were heard in Kabul early on Thursday, followed by the sound of fighter jets and drones flying over the Afghan capital.
The Afghanistan Shia Commission says it discussed the “insulting treatment” of Shia cleric Ayatollah Hussaindad Sharifiwith Taliban morality officials and urged steps to prevent similar incidents.
A new global displacement report says around 7 million people in Afghanistan were internally displaced last year by conflict and natural disasters, accounting for nearly half of South Asia’s internal displacement cases.
The Taliban’s economic office said it signed a $46 million contract with Indian company TCRC to build and equip laboratory centers in Kabul and nine Afghan customs facilities.
The Taliban has published a new law allowing it to seize land deemed “state-owned”, including existing residential areas, and resell it to residents and property owners.