Afghanistan

Tajmir Jawad, the Taliban’s deputy intelligence chief, has acknowledged the presence of opportunistic individuals within the Taliban administration, saying their activities are being monitored and action will be taken against them.

Rawadari, a human rights organisation, says human rights violations and repression have remained widespread in Afghanistan over the past five years, with at least 6,929 civilians killed or wounded between 15 August 2021 and 31 December 2025.

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told The New York Times that the United States could reopen its embassy in Kabul and restore a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban interior minister, says the group is seeking to resolve existing challenges through engagement with the world, while warning that some circles abroad are trying to create disorder in Afghanistan.

Taliban Defence Minister Yaqoob Mujahid warned on Friday that the group’s forces were ready to confront internal and external threats, saying any Pakistani aggression against Afghan territory would receive a calculated response.

The Bolaq Analysts Network said in a new report that Hazaras have faced widespread security, political, economic, religious and cultural challenges during the five years of Taliban rule.

Local sources told Afghanistan International on Friday, 14 August, that the Taliban had launched a large-scale operation against Juma Khan Fateh’s positions in Nusay district, Badakhshan, with fierce fighting under way.

Sources told Afghanistan International that senior Taliban leaders in Kabul are divided over the fighting in Nusay, Badakhshan, amid criticism of the group's deputy chief of intelligence Tajmir Jawad’s handling of the operation.

Tajikistan has lodged a formal protest with the Taliban over what it described as a violation of its airspace and territorial integrity during fighting across the border in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, which left a 21-year-old woman dead and damaged residential properties.

The United Front of Afghanistan said on Friday, 14 August, that its forces had carried out three operations against Taliban forces in Helmand and Kandahar over the previous 24 hours.

Local sources told Afghanistan International that a Taliban military helicopter crashed on Thursday, 13 August, around central Nusay district in Badakhshan.

Lotfullah Hakimi, the Taliban Defence Ministry’s chief inspector, said recent armed opposition activity should be neutralised or reformed, noting that the Taliban itself began its fight against the US and former government with small clashes.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of hosting Taliban opponents and trying to provide them with offices and safe havens, while also blaming Islamabad for recent armed opposition activity in Badakhshan.

The National Resistance Front said the Taliban-appointed mayor of Faizabad in Badakhshan was killed in an attack by its forces. The group said the mayor’s guards were also killed.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says opposition groups are divided and pursue different goals, rejecting a political settlement with them and saying their return to power could take Afghanistan back to past conditions.

Local sources told Afghanistan International on Thursday that a vehicle carrying Mawlawi Abdul Rahman Mansour, the Taliban mayor of Faizabad in Badakhshan, was targeted in an explosion.

Local sources told Afghanistan International on Thursday, 13 August, that Taliban helicopters bombed positions held by Juma Khan Fateh’s fighters near the centre of Nusay district in Badakhshan.

As fighting intensifies between Taliban forces and fighters loyal to Juma Khan Fateh in Badakhshan, local sources say scattered gunfire has been heard in the centre of Nusay district since Thursday morning.