A senior adviser to Uzbekistan’s president says the country joined the peace initiative launched by Donald Trump primarily over security concerns, including fears about the spread of extremism from Afghanistan.
According to a document obtained by Afghanistan International, the Taliban’s Council of Clerics in Badakhshan has offered financial rewards and security guarantees to Ismaili Muslims who convert to Sunni Islam.
Local sources in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, say two young men from the Ismaili community were wounded after being shot by armed assailants.
The United Nations has urged urgent assistance as heavy snowfall continues across Afghanistan, with UNICEF warning that worsening weather is compounding the suffering of children affected by recent earthquakes in the east of the country.
The Supreme Council of National Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan says the Taliban’s newly approved penal code would push the country into conditions “far worse than the Middle Ages”.
Sweden’s migration minister said on Thursday that deporting Afghan nationals whose asylum applications have been rejected is “almost impossible” because many lack national identity cards and passports.
The European Union has announced the launch of the second phase of its Afghan Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme, committing €10 million to support women’s livelihoods in Afghanistan.
Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban have placed a guesthouse in Kabul housing Afghans promised admission to Germany under heightened surveillance following a raid earlier this week.
The European Commission said it has allocated €1.9 billion for life-saving humanitarian assistance in 2026, including €126 million to address urgent needs in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
Heavy snowfall and storms have forced the closure of several highways and transport routes across Afghanistan, including the Salang Pass, officials said on Thursday.
Anwar-ul-Haq Ahadi, a former finance minister, says the conditions necessary to attract investment do not exist under Taliban rule, citing insecurity, the absence of a legal framework and the dominance of clerics over state institutions.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday condemned the Islamic State group’s terrorist attack on a Chinese restaurant in Kabul’s Shahr-e Naw neighbourhood.
The Taliban Ministry of Finance has warned that the customs clearance of Pakistani medicines will be completely halted at all border crossings from February 9, when a previously announced three-month deadline expires.
The Taliban’s minister for the propagation of virtue has claimed that the rights of Ismailis in Afghanistan are protected, despite multiple reports documenting abuses against the religious minority.
Taliban provincial governors from across Afghanistan have held a meeting in Kandahar to discuss political, security and economic issues, the office of the Taliban governor in the province said.
Richard Lindsay, the UK’s special envoy for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, the Taliban’s representative in Islamabad, to discuss regional security and the impact of Taliban policies on Afghan women and girls.
Donald Trump has again criticised the administration of Joe Biden over the manner of the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying Washington should not have left Bagram Air Base.
The 10th meeting of ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) opened on Wednesday in Islamabad without the participation of a representative from the Taliban. The two-day meeting is focused on strengthening regional cooperation on disaster risk reduction.
Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan will not achieve stability unless the roots of terrorism are eliminated, accusing the Afghan Taliban of failing to prevent militant activities originating from Afghan soil.
China has urged its citizens not to travel to Afghanistan following a deadly ISIS attack in Kabul, warning that the country’s security situation is highly complex and dangerous.
The Taliban Supreme Court said 19 people, including two women, were publicly flogged in the provinces of Nangarhar and Balkh.
The special envoys of Pakistan and the United Kingdom for Afghanistan held talks in Islamabad focused on cross-border militant attacks and wider regional security concerns.