Taliban counternarcotics units have withdrawn from the Khash district of Badakhshan Province following two days of local protests against the destruction of poppy fields, according to residents and local sources. Sources told Amu TV that the demonstrations erupted after Taliban forces began eradicating poppy crops in the remote district, prompting pushback from farmers who rely on the cultivation of opium […]

A dramatic shortfall in international funding has left nearly 23 million Afghans — nearly half the country’s population — in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said on Wednesday, warning that hard-won humanitarian progress is now at risk of unraveling. According to OCHA, an estimated 22.9 million people — including 5.7 […]

Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, in his Eid al-Adha sermon, delivered Saturday in Kandahar, from which only an audio recording was released, warned that disunity, disobedience and internal power struggles could bring down the Taliban’s rule. According to the 45-minute audio posted by the Taliban’s chief spokesman, Akhundzada cautioned that the Taliban rule would face collapse if its members failed […]

The two top diplomats expressed mutual optimism that the remaining formalities would be completed soon, allowing for the full normalization of diplomatic representation. In a significant diplomatic development, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, held a telephonic conversation with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, to discuss the elevation of diplomatic […]

Russia has accused Western powers of re-engaging in Afghanistan’s affairs after retreating in August 2021, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warning of the risks posed by any potential return of NATO’s military presence in the region. Speaking at a press conference during his visit to Uzbekistan, Lavrov said: “We’ve observed that the West is actively attempting to re-enter the Afghan […]

Since regaining control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have been attempting to transform themselves from an insurgent group into a governing entity. Central to this transition is their ambitious plan to leverage Afghanistan’s geostrategic location at the intersection of Central and South Asia to become a regional connectivity hub. Investments in infrastructure projects aimed at reviving the country’s […]

In a significant diplomatic development, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with the interim Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Amir Khan Muttaqi, on May 15. Coming on the heels of Operation Sindoor – India’s retaliatory strikes against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam attack – the EAM reiterated […]

Talk about mixed signals. At the beginning of May, a prominent critic of Emomali Rahmon’s government in Tajikistan, Sharofiddin Gadoev, gave an interview to the Afghan television channel TOLOnews tearing into the 72-year-old strongman. Days later, the Taliban’s chief spokesman issued a upbeat assessment of bilateral ties, praising the “positive relations” between Dushanbe and Kabul and pledging cooperation. The contrasting […]

Key topics on the agenda included the establishment of joint industrial parks in Afghanistan and the development of shared export processing centers Senior officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan and China came together in Kabul to discuss the strengthening and expansion of trade relations between thethree nations. The meeting was attended by Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan; […]

Akhundzada emphasized that the intelligence agency must neutralize any plots designed to undermine the Islamic government. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate, Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada, has stated that Afghanistan’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) is obligated to dismantle all covert and overt plans orchestrated by enemies of the Islamic system. Speaking at a one-day seminar for intelligence officials, Akhundzada […]