The first special freight train from China’s Shandong province has departed for Hairatan in northern Afghanistan, carrying goods worth about 8 million yuan and expected to arrive in around 20 days.
Keith Kellogg, a former Trump national security adviser and US envoy for Ukraine, has urged Washington to engage Afghan political figures seeking to build a legitimate alternative to Taliban rule.
The European Union and Pakistan have voiced concern over the security implications of the situation in Afghanistan during their 10th counter-terrorism dialogue in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says militants enter the country from Afghanistan around the clock and target civilians and security forces, warning that the bloodshed must stop completely.
The New York Times reports that Pakistani military and intelligence officials have met leaders of armed anti-Taliban groups in recent months and discussed possible support.
The Kabul Institute says the transfer route for 91 per cent of humanitarian aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is unclear, with only about 9 per cent of $8 billion in assistance traceable.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front has claimed responsibility for Wednesday evening’s blast in Taloqan, saying one Taliban member was killed and three others wounded in an attack on the group’s city intelligence unit.
Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports fell sharply after trade with Afghanistan was halted, with their value dropping by more than 30 per cent in the 2026 financial year, according to Dawn.
A joint UNESCO-UNICEF report says Afghanistan’s education crisis extends beyond girls, with male university enrolment falling from about 306,000 in 2019 to 208,000 in 2026.
CSTO Secretary-General Taalatbek Masadykov says terrorism, drug trafficking, cybercrime, climate change and illegal migration are among the main challenges and threats facing Central Asian countries.
UNAMA says it is investigating and gathering information about a security incident involving one of its staff members in Bamiyan, confirming that the employee was not injured.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Moscow plans to expand cooperation with the Taliban in counterterrorism, anti-narcotics efforts and defence.
The European Parliament’s Petitions Committee will discuss recognising gender apartheid in Afghanistan at a meeting in Brussels on 5 November, according to a letter sent to former Afghan MP Baktash Siawash.
Iran Air says it will resume flights between Tehran and Kabul from Friday, 23 October, restoring passenger services between Iran and Afghanistan.
Uzbek and Norwegian officials have held two days of talks in Oslo on Afghanistan and regional security, discussing engagement, trade, energy, transit and regional connectivity.
The United Nations says six new polio cases have been recorded in Kandahar, Nangarhar and Kabul, bringing Afghanistan’s total for 2026 to 42 ahead of World Polio Day.
France says it has begun technical talks with the Taliban to facilitate the direct return of some Afghan nationals, including people without legal residency and those considered dangerous.
US Democrat Sam Liccardo says he will use a parliamentary procedure to force a House vote on a bill aimed at preventing the deportation of more than 8,000 Afghans who lost temporary protected status.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) says its forces attacked a Taliban post in Parwan on Tuesday evening, claiming three Taliban members were killed and two others wounded.
Russian and Uzbek forces have begun a joint military exercise, Cooperation-2026, at the Termez training ground near Afghanistan’s border, focusing on detecting and destroying armed groups.
A newly circulated video appears to show Taliban fighters entering a restricted area along China’s border in Wakhan, where Chinese border guards warn them in English to leave immediately.