Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the assassination of journalist Malalai Maiwand who was gunned down in Jalalabad in Nangarhar early Thursday morning.

With less than 50 days before president-elect Joe Biden takes office, speculation is growing as to how the US counterterrorism policies will shift under a new administration, with one expert saying it is naive to think the Taliban will stick to its promises, work in good faith with the Afghan government and break ties with al-Qaeda.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s political deputy and head of the group’s Qatar office, told a virtual meeting at the Center for Humanitarian Conflict Studies in Doha that Afghanistan’s future system must be Islamic and inclusive.

From drug revenue to extortion to charitable donations, the Taliban has plenty of avenues to fill their coffers. The Taliban militants of Afghanistan have grown richer and more powerful since their fundamentalist Islamic regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001.

Pakistan’s apex court has ordered the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) to install energy metres at an Afghan refugee camp. In a verdict on Monday, the Supreme Court also directed the Afghan refugees to submit applications for power connections.

After clinching an agreement on procedural rules last week, Afghan government and Taliban negotiators have met for the third consecutive day in Qatar.

The U.S.-led coalition seized land for hundreds of military bases, most now held by the Afghan military. Villagers have fought for years to collect compensation and to get their property back.

Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, on Tuesday expressed strong opposition to the Education Ministry’s plan to shift primary school classes—the first three years in school—to mosques, saying it is “completely wrong” and a “mistake.”

The Taliban militants of Afghanistan have grown richer and more powerful since their fundamentalist Islamic regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001.

A U.S.-based institute warned on Tuesday that there has been a dramatic increase in airstrikes conducted by Afghan government forces from July to September this year, attacks that have led to a sharp rise in civilian casualties.