Patients, pharmacists and health workers in Kandahar say medicine prices have risen sharply after border closures and the Taliban’s ban on pharmaceutical imports from Pakistan, leaving some essential medicines scarce or entirely unavailable.
Taliban Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid said at an international security conference in Moscow that the Taliban administration needs a professional defence system to ensure Afghanistan’s security and contribute positively to regional stability.
The US State Department said it is time for the Taliban to play a constructive role in supporting the health and wellbeing of Afghans, amid growing UN concerns over Afghanistan’s worsening food crisis.
Vasily Osmakov, Russia's deputy minister of defence, met Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban's defence minister, in Moscow on Thursday to discuss regional security and prospects for bilateral military cooperation.
United Nations Security Council says Taliban officials and fighters committed sexual violence against women, with United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan documenting 21 cases involving 15 women and six girls in 2025.
Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban's defence minister, says Afghanistan’s Hindu and Sikh minorities have the right to return home and should feel a sense of ownership and belonging in the country.
Ayatollah Waezzada Behsudi, a prominent and senior Shia emulation and cleric, says Taliban pressure on followers of the Ja'fari school has steadily increased over the past five years, adding that people approach religious scholars in tears to complain about mounting restrictions.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says heavy rainfall and flash floods in Laghman Province killed five people in one day, including an employee of the Danish Refugee Council.
Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, says the Taliban regime is helping India’s activities against Pakistan and vowed to continue military operations against threats inside Afghanistan.
Alexander Venediktov, deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, announced in a meeting with Azad Sajjad Khan, deputy national security adviser to Pakistan's prime minister, that Russia is ready to help resolve the disputes between Pakistan and the Taliban.
Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban's defence minister, told Ali Bagheri, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in Moscow that Afghan territory and airspace have never posed a threat to Iran.
United Nations Children's Fund has expressed concern over the Taliban’s new marital separation regulations, warning that the decree raises serious concerns about the rights of children and women.
Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, said in his Eid sermon that Muslims are obliged to have a ruler to preserve unity, warning that anyone who dies “without allegiance and obedience” to an emir dies “a death of ignorance”.
China to resume mediation efforts between Pakistan and the Taliban, with plans underway for a second round of talks following last month’s meeting in Urumqi, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
A cybersecurity research platform has reviewed Afghanistan International’s report on technical cooperation between the Taliban and Islamic Republic of Iran to develop software capable of surveilling Afghan users.
In an Eid Message, Hamid Karzai, former Afghan President said Afghanistan can achieve progress only with a united and educated nation, again urging the reopening of schools and universities to Afghan women.
Sources in Kabul told Afghanistan International on Tuesday that the Taliban has temporarily released Mansoor Niazi and Imran Danish on bail, with their trial expected after Eid.
The World Bank says Afghanistan’s economy has shown limited growth but still faces serious challenges, including inflation, population growth and declining foreign aid.
China and Pakistan have stressed the need to prevent militant groups from using national territories to threaten regional security and said they will continue close coordination on Afghanistan.
Alexander Bortnikov, Director of Russia’s Federal Security Service, says ISIS-K, affiliated jihadist groups and armed anti-Taliban factions are trying to weaken the Taliban administration with the active support of British intelligence services.
Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says that reducing tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban is important for Tehran. At a press briefing, he stressed that Iran would spare no effort to reduce these tensions.
From the dusty lanes of Sperwan village in Kandahar’s Panjwai district and the barren deserts of Takhta Pul district emerges the story of a man who today rules Afghanistan through decrees and edicts, yet whose face and private life remain cloaked in secrecy.