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.

The Presidential Palace on Monday termed claims about the release of 7,000 more Taliban prisoners as premature and said government negotiators were currently engaged in discussions on agenda of peace talks in Qatar.

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.

Afghanistan and India will ink soon deal on the construction of a major dam in Kabul, a news channel reported on Tuesday. The project, when executed, would supply safe drinking water to two million inhabitants of Afghanistan’s capital.

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.

At least two security force members were killed and three others were wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in Andar district of Ghazni, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Wednesday.