Pakistan’s commerce minister has said that national security would remain the country’s top priority in its trade ties with Afghanistan and diplomatic engagement with the Taliban. Jam Kamal Khan warned that Islamabad would not compromise on what he described as militant threats emanating from Afghanistan’s territory. Khan said that “terrorism originating from Afghanistan” is unacceptable and that peace, trade and […]

Mohammad Fazel Mazloom, a former Taliban deputy defence minister who is under U.N. sanctions, has been appointed minister of transport and civil aviation in a cabinet reshuffle ordered by the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. Under the same order, the Taliban transport minister, Hamidullah Akhundzada, has been appointed as the Taliban’s first deputy minister of defense, a similar pattern of […]

The Taliban’s defense minister on Sunday urged members to “forget the past” and avoid settling old scores, warning that revenge and factional rivalries could once again plunge the country into internal conflict. Speaking at a gathering in Kabul marking the 37th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid called on Taliban members to set aside political […]

The Taliban have begun enforcing their newly approved penal code, sentencing a man in western Afghanistan to one year in prison and 39 lashes for allegedly insulting their supreme leader, according to three local and informed sources. The sentence, issued by a Taliban primary court in Badghis Province, appears to be the first known application of the new code since […]

The Taliban-run higher education ministry has begun issuing bachelor’s degrees to 325 madrassa graduates, including alumni of religious schools in Pakistan, according to a ministry statement and an official list. The ministry said the process started on Thursday, Feb. 12. Among those set to receive degrees are 10 graduates of what it described as “jihadi” madrassas. According to the list […]

Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior Affairs, says the officials of the Islamic Emirate have repeatedly emphasized that the security of Afghanistan is the security of the region and the world. Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the sixth professional police course, Haqqani stated that insecurity in the region is insecurity for the entire world. Addressing the police officers, Haqqani […]

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari has warned that the presence of militant groups in the region poses risks to global peace, and repeated Islamabad’s concerns regarding what it describes as the activities of “terrorist organisations operating from Afghanistan.” Zardari made the remarks in a statement issued Sunday, as he thanked world leaders for expressing solidarity with Pakistan following the recent […]

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari claimed on Sunday that Afghanistan had become a safe haven for militant groups threatening regional and global peace, following a deadly attack on a Shia mosque near Islamabad. Zardari made the remarks in a statement issued after a suicide bombing at an imambargah in Islamabad on Friday that killed at least 36 people and wounded […]

Taliban deputy chief minister Abdul Ghani Baradar on Sunday urged countries to respect each other’s sovereignty and avoid policies that fuel regional instability, as tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban remain high. Speaking at a graduation ceremony for Taliban security forces in Kabul, Baradar did not name any country but said long-term political and economic interests required states to respect […]

At least 14 members of Afghanistan’s former security forces were killed between October and December last year, while dozens more were arbitrarily detained or tortured, the United Nations said, highlighting continued human rights violations under Taliban rule despite pledges of a general amnesty. In its latest quarterly report released Sunday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it documented […]