Officials from the CSTO and the United Nations discussed regional security, stressing the need to monitor the impact of Afghanistan on peace and take preventive measures against emerging threats.
The UN says food prices in Afghanistan have risen sharply this year, with rice up 47 percent, wheat 20 percent, oil 10 percent and sugar 19 percent.
The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan says resolving the country’s crisis requires an inclusive political process involving all sides under UN and international oversight, rejecting Taliban calls for exiled figures to return.
Pakistani state media say a detained member of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has confessed to receiving training in Afghanistan and alleged support for the group from Afghan Taliban and Indian intelligence.
As pressure grow on religious freedoms in Afghanistan, students at several universities say the Taliban are carrying out organised efforts to enforce religious conformity on campuses.
The Pentagon says its special review team on the Afghanistan withdrawal has completed the main phase of interviews with senior US military and civilian officials, examining 9 million documents.
Sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban intelligence has detained Mullah Mutasim Agha Jan, a former finance minister and ex-member of the group’s leadership council, in Kandahar.
Taliban-run Radio Television Afghanistan reported that a health center in Kunar was destroyed in Pakistani artillery strikes, with at least 10 rockets hitting the facility and halting its operations.
Uzbekistan’s envoy for Afghanistan and Norway’s ambassador in Tashkent discussed bilateral cooperation and Afghanistan, stressing the need to maintain dialogue to address the country’s challenges.
A Taliban minister said the group has developed military capabilities over the past four years to carry out drone strikes on Pakistani cities, including Islamabad and Lahore.
The United Nation says recent devastating floods in Afghanistan have affected more than 70,000 people, destroying homes and disrupting access to basic services.
Pakistan envoy and the EU special envoys for Afghanistan discussed terrorism-related threats and the region’s political and security outlook, Pakistan envoy said.
Noor Mohammad Haqqani, Taliban Deputy Minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said the group does not seek war but would respond to any attack on Afghanistan, as another minister stressed efforts to strengthen both military and civilian sectors.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, claimed in Kabul that different ethnic groups are represented in the administration, ensuring balance. He said that the group pursues a balanced foreign policy without favouring one country over another.
Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, says tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban are delaying regional projects in Afghanistan involving Moscow, and have further weakened the region’s fragile security.
Pakistani security sources said a mortar fired from Afghanistan struck a house in Bajaur on Wednesday, killing at least three people, including two children and a woman.
Local sources in Herat say Taliban Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice police raided Herat University on Wednesday morning, detaining more than 20 students and taking them to an unknown location.
Local sources in Herat say Taliban forces have detained 13 former members of Afghanistan’s previous security forces, with no explanation given for the arrests.
The International Organization for Migration has provided emergency assistance to more than 2,300 flood-affected families in Afghanistan, including tents and non-food items distributed across several regions.
Sources told Afghanistan International that tribal elders in Kunar and Nuristan sought assistance from Pakistan to ensure their security. Elders confirmed the Taliban had no role in the new agreement reached in Chitral.
Local elders in Nuristan and Nari district of Kunar say the Taliban played no role in a recent agreement with Pakistani forces in Chitral, which led to the reopening of key routes after weeks of closure.
India has delivered 13 tones of vaccines and medical supplies to Afghanistan to support child immunisation against tuberculosis, its foreign ministry spokesman said, in cooperation with WHO and UNICEF.