Archive

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.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned in its World Drug Report 2026 that the unprecedented collapse in opium production in Afghanistan, alongside the spread of synthetic opioids, is reshaping the global drug market.

Nearly five years after taking power, the Taliban are seeking to transform their fighters into a regular army by finding new ways to equip armoured units, artillery, an air force and logistical networks.

Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, said Moscow and the Taliban administration want Afghanistan’s frozen assets to be released. However, he said no breakthrough is expected soon because the United States and Europe are ignoring the issue.

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) says Taliban forces routinely use violence, particularly in day-to-day security operations, and that the practice has been codified in the group's penal system.

Taliban Deputy Minister of Urban Development and Housing Sheikh Madar Ali Karimi said the orders of the group’s prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, are being ignored. He criticised the Taliban’s treatment of Shia Muslims, particularly during Muharram.

Iranian authorities have transferred another 164 Afghan prisoners to the Taliban, Alireza Sarhadi, the prosecutor of Hirmand County, announced.

Former UK Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood has called for engagement with the Taliban, warning that continued isolation of Afghanistan will only benefit groups such as Islamic State and expand China’s influence.

Taliban Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharaei met security commanders from four security zones of Kabul after detaining Shia Muslims in his private prison, instructing them to maintain security, prevent disorder and enforce the orders of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected criticism that Berlin’s engagement with the Taliban amounts to normalising relations with the group. He said any cooperation is limited to technical matters and serves Germany’s national interests.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) has released a video claiming responsibility for a rocket attack on Taliban positions in Laghman province.

A day after Taliban forces raided Tamadon TV’s headquarters in Kabul and halted its broadcasts, the channel said “unknown individuals” were removing equipment, assets and other property from its premises. The broadcaster did not identify those involved.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, downplayed reports about the Taliban’s planned 8,000-strong special border force, saying the matter is an internal Taliban decision. He said: “This is up to them.”

As the Taliban intensifies restrictions on Shia communities during Muharram, the group’s Security and Vetting Commission, chaired by Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, has held a meeting.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), marking International Day of Women in Diplomacy, stressed the need for the meaningful participation of Afghan women in public life and political decision-making.

Sources told Afghanistan International that Abdul Hakim Sharaei, the Taliban’s justice minister, released a number of detained Shia Muslims from his personal detention facility after receiving orders from the Taliban prime minister and interior minister.

Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said Taliban authorities have fulfilled their commitments on counter-narcotics efforts and have effectively eliminated drug production and trafficking in Afghanistan.

Kazakh media have reported that a Kazakh company plans to begin field operations for the exploration and development of chromium deposits in Afghanistan and may acquire a mine in the country.

Russian President’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told Izvestia that the main obstacle to Taliban participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is the explicit opposition of one member state.

Zabihullah Amiri, the Taliban’s Director of Information and Culture in Badakhshan, told Afghanistan International that the group’s leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has established a high-level commission to address problems in the province.

The Taliban governor’s office in Daikundi has denied allegations that members of the group were involved in the killing of a former Afghan military officer in Shahristan district.