Afghanistan

Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry said on Monday, 21 September, that 28 militants were killed in air strikes by the country’s military in border areas near Afghanistan.

Saleh Mohammad Registani, a senior commander of the National Resistance Front, says he has returned to Afghanistan to continue the fight against the Taliban.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has claimed that 70 to 80% of those carrying out terrorist attacks and targeting Pakistani troops are Afghans. He also urged Pakistani students not to support Afghan students in the country.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has condemned Pakistan’s attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces as crimes and aggression. Writing on X on Monday, 21 September, he said the attacks would receive an appropriate response.

Local sources and residents of Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, say the Taliban has increased drone patrols over the city following a rise in attacks by opposition groups.

Iran’s Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi has told the head of the Taliban’s state-owned companies that Tehran is ready to facilitate the supply of up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity to Afghanistan.

Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the Taliban Interior Ministry, said developments in Iran and tensions between Kabul and Islamabad were among the key issues discussed during meetings between Turkish and Qatari delegations and Taliban officials in Kabul.

Pakistani media, citing intelligence sources, have reported allegations of organised cooperation between the Taliban and Indian intelligence agencies aimed at fuelling instability and insecurity in Pakistan.

The role of colonial powers, the Soviet Union, the United States and their intelligence networks in Afghanistan’s wars has been widely exposed and examined. Yet oil companies, proxy wars, hired fighters and their brokers have received far less scrutiny.

The death toll from a suicide bombing and shooting by armed attackers in Kohat, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has risen to at least 31, with more than 100 injured. Local police say at least 16 of those killed were officers.

Informed security sources say the Taliban administration is seeking to encourage the Houthis to intensify attacks on Saudi Arabia, with the aim of drawing Pakistan into the Yemen conflict.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has warned Pakistan against any military action inside Afghanistan and called on Saudi Arabia to mediate in disputes between the Taliban and Islamabad.

A source at Germany’s Foreign Ministry told Afghanistan International that Berlin, together with international partners, is pursuing efforts to hold the Taliban accountable for violations of women’s rights.

Former Afghan national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib has published a book titled Shadows Over Kabul: An Insider Account of the Fall of the Afghan Republic, accusing former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad of betrayal.

The Haalvsh human rights group reported on Friday that at least four members of the Fatemiyoun Division were killed by gunmen in the Rudmahi area of Zahedan. Their vehicle was also set on fire.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry says the country is ready to reopen border crossings and resume trade with Afghanistan if the Taliban cooperates in stopping armed groups that Islamabad says cross from Afghan territory into Pakistan.

The Taliban governor’s office in Kandahar says İbrahim Kalın, head of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organisation, met Mohammad Shirin Akhund, the Taliban governor of the province, on Wednesday.

Turkish security sources said on Thursday that intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın travelled to Pakistan after visiting Afghanistan. Turkish media said he discussed bilateral ties, regional security and Middle East tensions with senior Pakistani officials.