Archive

Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is reportedly planning to convene a Loya Jirga in an effort to transition his administration from an interim government to a recognised ruling body.

Taliban Minister of Refugees Abdul Kabir has urged Pakistan to resolve bilateral tensions through dialogue, emphasising that closing the Torkham border, war, and violence are not viable solutions.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Munir Akram, met with Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, on Thursday, expressing Pakistan’s full support for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has confirmed in his latest report that anti-Taliban armed groups conducted 91 attacks against the Taliban over the past three months.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur announced on Wednesday that the Afghan Taliban have agreed to engage in negotiations on security issues, with a committee established to facilitate the process.

A new executive order on travel restrictions, expected to be signed next week by U.S. President Donald Trump, may include citizens of Afghanistan and Pakistan, potentially barring their entry into the United States, Reuters reported, citing three informed sources.

The Pakistani military has talked of Afghan nationals involvement in a deadly attack on a military cantonment in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claiming the assault was orchestrated by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Afghan soil.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has confirmed that the mastermind behind the attack on Kabul Airport is an Afghan national who was apprehended during an operation at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

On the eve of 8 March, International Women’s Day, UN-Habitat has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering women and girls in Afghanistan.

Sources have confirmed to Afghanistan International that Taliban forces and Pakistani border guards clashed once again on Wednesday, 5 March, at Torkham. Neither Pakistani nor Taliban officials have yet commented on the incident.

The United Nations Regional Centre for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Afghanistan and Central Asia will be established in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s Presidential Office announced in a statement.

Three journalists, including a Shamshad TV reporter, were injured by Pakistani forces’ gunfire while covering the ongoing clashes between Taliban and Pakistani troops at the Torkham border, Shamshad TV reported on Wednesday.

Hamid Noori, the police chief of Zahedan in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, has announced that Iranian security forces have arrested 486 Afghan migrants as part of a social security enhancement initiative.

On Tuesday night, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced in his first speech to Congress that the mastermind behind the August 26, 2021, suicide attack at the Abbey Gate entrance of Kabul Airport had been captured with Pakistan’s assistance.

A former Afghan army officer has alleged that he was severely beaten and tortured by Taliban forces in Kabul, showing visible marks of whipping and bruising on his body.

The German Foreign Ministry has stated the Taliban transforming Afghanistan into a “social dungeon” for women and girls, citing their escalating restrictions on female participation in public life.

Ongoing clashes between Pakistani security forces and Taliban fighters at the Torkham border crossing have displaced thousands of local residents, officials and locals report.

Intense clashes between Taliban and Pakistani forces at the Torkham border have resulted in the destruction of a mosque on Pakistani soil, reportedly due to Taliban shelling.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) of publishing negative and inaccurate reports on the country’s situation.

During his visit to Iran, Afghan jihadi leader Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf urged the Taliban to establish a Shurā-ye Ḥall wa ‘Aqd, a council composed of “those who are qualified to unbind and to bind”—also described as “the people who loosen and bind”—instead of holding elections.

Gholam Hossein Mozaffari, the governor of Khorasan Razavi province in Iran, announced on Tuesday that approximately 1,800 undocumented Afghan migrants are deported from the border each day. He also noted that between 2,000 and 3,000 Afghans legally enter Iran daily.