Local sources told Afghanistan International on Monday evening that Iranian border guards opened fire on a group of Afghan nationals near the Herat border, killing and injuring several people. One source said at least two people were killed.
Pakistan’s presidential spokesman Murtaza Solangi said the “illegitimate Afghan Taliban regime” is trying to damage Pakistan’s image as a supporter of global peace by backing terrorism from its territory to win the favour of India and Israel.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed deep concern over the recent clashes between Pakistan and the Taliban, calling for an immediate end to hostilities and the protection of civilians.
United Nations has confirmed that at least 28 civilians were killed and 49 others wounded in Pakistani air strikes on Paktia, Paktika and Kunar on Sunday evening. Women and children were among the casualties.
The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul following Pakistan’s airstrikes overnight.
Kabul residents reported hearing an explosion on Monday, followed by a fire and thick smoke rising over the capital. The cause and nature of the blast remain unknown.
Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has issued new instructions to provincial authorities and security agencies to detain undocumented Afghan nationals. Under the directive, Afghans without valid visas will be arrested immediately from 10 July.
Sources in Herat told Afghanistan International that Mohammad Hussain, the former police commander of Shahrak district in Ghor province, was killed in an attack on Airport Road in Herat. According to the sources, unidentified gunmen carried out the shooting.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Afghanistan International that at least 36 civilians were killed and 163 others injured in recent Pakistani attacks on three Afghan provinces. He said the casualties included women and children.
A Taliban spokesman told Afghanistan International that the group is following the case of Sediqa, a 17-year-old girl imprisoned in Badghis. According to her family, she has been in prison for two years after refusing a forced marriage to an elderly man.
Shahabuddin Delawar, a member of the Taliban’s Doha negotiating team, said US officials sought to retain a military base in Afghanistan during the Doha talks.
Jawad Mohseni, head of Tamadon TV, said the network’s managing director, Mohammad Rahmati, and staff member Mohammad Reza Ehsani have been detained for six days on the orders of the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice.
After years of displacement and fleeing Taliban threats, Afghanistan’s refugee women’s cricket team travelled to Britain and, following a meeting with King Charles III, finally took to the field in Cambridge to show the world that the dreams of Afghan women remain alive.
Shahabuddin Delawar, head of the Taliban’s Commission for Contact with Afghan Political Figures, warned that the collapse of the current administration would lead to crisis and chaos in Afghanistan.
The European Union’s delegation to Afghanistan marked the International Day Against Drug Abuse by reaffirming its support for reducing drug demand and rehabilitating people with drug addiction.
Sources in north-east Afghanistan report increased movements and a military build-up by Juma Khan Fateh, a disgruntled Tajik Taliban commander, in the Darwaz area of Badakhshan province.
Taliban officials issued no Ashura message this year, while Taliban-run outlets, including Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) and Bakhtar News Agency, provided no coverage of the ceremonies.
Informed sources in Laghman tell Afghanistan International that Taliban intelligence has rearrested Mohammad Azam Bakhtar Farashghani, a former local police commander in Dawlat Shah district.
The Afghanistan Media Support Organisation says the Taliban detained a female journalist and her colleagues in Kabul for covering Ashura ceremonies, raising concern over growing restrictions on the media.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) and the National Resistance Front (NRF) said in separate Ashura messages that Taliban pressure on Shia Muslims is fuelling sectarian tensions and threatening Afghanistan’s religious and cultural diversity.
Kazakhstan’s Health Ministry has announced that a team of the country’s doctors has been deployed to Afghanistan to provide medical care and perform surgeries.