Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban temporarily shut down telecommunications networks across Kandahar on Thursday during the presence of their leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, at the Eidgah Mosque.
The Taliban’s interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, said the group is “not weak” and capable of confronting Pakistan but does not want the situation to escalate.
A United Nations official told Reuters on Wednesday that the UN mission in Afghanistan estimates 143 people were killed in a Pakistani strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul.
The Taliban’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has held a virtual meeting with the group’s diplomats in various countries to discuss the ongoing conflict with Pakistan.
Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan said Moscow is concerned about escalating tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban and warned they could lead to a full-scale war.
A senior official of Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front said the group has carried out more than 2,000 attacks against the Taliban over the past five years.
The Taliban’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said at a meeting with foreign diplomats in Kabul that 408 people were killed and 265 others wounded in Pakistani airstrikes on Monday night, which he said targeted a drug treatment centre.
Afghan political figures have reacted strongly to a Pakistani airstrike in Kabul which, according to the Taliban, targeted a drug rehabilitation centre and left “hundreds” dead.
The United Nations has rejected Taliban claims that 400 people were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, saying instead that “dozens” were killed or wounded.
Findings by Afghanistan International indicate that the site targeted in Pakistan’s airstrike in eastern Kabul on Monday night was a former NATO base where a drug rehabilitation centre had been established about 10 years ago.
Credible sources told Afghanistan International that Pakistan carried out airstrikes on nine targets in Kabul and Nangarhar province on Monday night.
Residents of Kabul said they heard the sound of a fighter jet followed by at least two powerful explosions across the city at about 8:50 p.m. local time, according to reports shared with Afghanistan International.
Taliban officials say at least four civilians were killed and nine others injured in Pakistani attacks over the past 24 hours in the provinces of Khost, Nuristan, Kunar and Paktika.
Sources told Afghanistan International that Pakistan has invited several prominent political groups opposed to the Taliban to Islamabad. At least two officials confirmed discussions about a possible visit to Pakistan.
The UN Security Council’s sanctions committee has released an updated list of 22 senior Taliban officials subject to sanctions, along with brief biographies.
A two-day meeting of Taliban opponents has begun at the European Parliament, which is hosting several political and military opponents of the Taliban on Monday, March 16, and Tuesday, March 17.
Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada made no mention of Pakistan’s airstrikes, border clashes with Pakistan or civilian casualties in his Eid message.
The UN Security Council’s sanctions committee has updated its list of senior Taliban members and officials subject to sanctions.
Informed sources told the Express Tribune that while Pakistan welcomes China’s efforts to reduce tensions, it has made clear it will continue its current policy of not engaging or holding talks with the Taliban regime.
India’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned Pakistan’s recent airstrikes inside Afghanistan, saying the attacks had killed civilians and damaged infrastructure.
Taliban local officials in Afghanistan’s Kunar province on Saturday accused Pakistan’s military of firing at least 271 rockets and heavy artillery shells into the province.