8am: Now, nearly four years into the Taliban’s rule, occasional physical and virtual meetings on Afghan affairs are held. Alongside these, alliances and forums have emerged, composed primarily of Mujahideen leaders, former government officials, and individuals who directly intervened in Afghanistan’s politics over the past twenty years. Much like in the past, these alliances lackRead More...
BBC: Former members of UK Special Forces have broken years of silence to give BBC Panorama eyewitness accounts of alleged war crimes committed by colleagues in Iraq and Afghanistan. Giving their accounts publicly for the first time, the veterans described seeing members of the SAS murder unarmed people in their sleep and execute handcuffed detainees,Read More...
Khaama: On Saturday, May 10, retired government employees once again protested in front of the Pension Treasury building, demanding their overdue pension payments. This marks the latest in a series of weekly protests, but the retirees say their grievances have been ignored by the authorities..Despite repeated requests, the retirees claim that relevant Taliban institutions haveRead More...
Amu: Some analysts believe the mass dismissals are part of a broader Taliban effort to reshape the country’s academic institutions by removing independent or critical voices and replacing them with ideologically aligned figures. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: The Taliban’s Sports Authority has formally suspended the Afghanistan Chess Federation, declaring the game of chess “haram” (forbidden under Islamic law), Afghanistan International has learned. The game has now been officially banned, following in the footsteps of other sports such as mixed martial arts, which were previously outlawed under similar justifications. Click hereRead More...
Afghanistan International: Shawn VanDiver, head of Afghan Evac, an organisation advocating for the relocation of Afghan nationals to the United States, has announced that the US federal government has granted a 60-day extension to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans. Click here to read more (external link). Other Afghan Refugees / Migrants News Turkey arrestsRead More...
Afghanistan International: According to a statement released by the group, the attack targeted a Taliban checkpoint that had allegedly been used to harass local residents. The operation took place around 8:00 p.m. on Friday near the former headquarters of Police District 4 in Kunduz city. The AFF reported that the assault was carried out withoutRead More...
Khaama: A recent report from a U.S.-based agency warns that Afghanistan is on the brink of a widespread food security crisis due to unprecedented declines in rainfall, rising temperatures, and severe agricultural conditions. More than half of the country’s population now requires humanitarian aid. The findings from the “Famine Early Warning Network,” supported by U.S.Read More...
Japan Times: Pakistan’s relationship with Afghanistan has become strategic quicksand. So deep is the quagmire that, under growing public pressure, segments of Pakistan’s government have suggested turning to the United States for assistance and even offering drone bases to the US to target militants in Afghanistan. The idea that sophisticated US drones and other weaponsRead More...
Amu: Taliban leader has dismissed Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, following rare public criticism of Hibatullah Akhundzada, according to multiple sources in Kabul and Kandahar. The removal was reportedly ordered directly by Akhundzada with sources citing “incompetence” and waning popularity as the reasons behind the decision. Stanikzai came under internalRead More...
8am: Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, recently voiced his opposition to “intra-Afghan” negotiations, stating that the group has no desire to repeat what he called a “bitter experience.” Yet, in the same breath, he affirmed that “Afghanistan is the shared home of all Afghans.” If that is true, why can Afghans not engageRead More...
Afghanistan International: The Taliban have confirmed that hundreds of books have been banned and removed from libraries and bookstores across Afghanistan over the past three years. In addition to suppressing independent publications, the Taliban have also banned several university textbooks, further restricting academic freedom and access to diverse sources of knowledge within higher education institutions.Read More...
NPR: Roughly 200,000 Afghan immigrants and refugees came to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021. That includes about 10,000 in Greater Houston. While some of them have since received green cards or even U.S. citizenship, many have more tenuous legal status, such as humanitarian parole or temporary protectedRead More...
Afghanistan International: The Taliban have detained three journalists in Takhar province, with local sources alleging they were subjected to torture while in custody. The detainees include Sayed Munir Hadaf, director of Tasweer Weekly and head of the National Journalists’ Union of Takhar; Asadullah Timur, a local reporter; and Nasratullah Ebrahimi, a journalist with Ariana News.Read More...
Afghanistan International: According to the detainees, many have been held without formal charges or legal proceedings for between 10 and 15 days. In a video obtained by Afghanistan International, the detainees allege that they are being held in inhumane conditions crammed into a small room and denied access to food and water. Several sources haveRead More...
Afghanistan International: The Taliban have deployed additional forces to Argo district in Badakhshan province amid growing unrest and protests by local residents. Sources report that more than 30 people have been arrested by the group as tensions escalate. Residents of Argo have expressed growing discontent over the Taliban’s poppy eradication campaign, which they say hasRead More...
Afghanistan International: In response to the rising unrest, Taliban officials including the Minister of Defence, Mullah Yaqub Mujahid; the Minister of Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani; and the head of the intelligence directorate, Abdul Haq Wasiq, reportedly travelled to Kandahar. According to informed sources, the senior leaders met with Hibatullah Akhundzada to express their concerns about theRead More...
Amu: Taliban authorities in the eastern province of Logar have once again destroyed fields of tomato crops cultivated by local farmers, according to multiple sources who shared video evidence with Amu. The farmers said the provincial Department of Agriculture, under Taliban control, had previously warned them against planting tomatoes this season, claiming that the cropRead More...
Amu: In April, Pakistan deported 144,500 Afghan nationals, marking the highest monthly total since the mass repatriation campaign began in September 2023, according to a joint report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The report indicates that 72 percent of those returned were undocumented, whileRead More...
Khaama: Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari admitted to Pakistan’s historical support for terrrorist and extremist groups. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan, has admitted to Islamabad’s support for terrorist groups and the Taliban. In an interview with Yalda Hakim from Sky News, Zardari responded to a question about Pakistan’s backingRead More...
Reuters: Russia will help the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan fight against the Afghan branch of Islamic State, Moscow’s special representative for the country was quoted as saying on Friday. Zamir Kabulov, a former Russian ambassador to Afghanistan, referred to Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) as the “common enemy” of Moscow and Kabul. Click here to readRead More...
Tolo News: The acting foreign minister said that after Donald Trump’s return to power, direct communications with the United States resumed, and he expressed hope that relations between the two countries will improve. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Amir Khan Muttaqi emphasized that the Islamic Emirate has fulfilled its commitments under the Doha Agreement.Read More...
Ariana: After US President Donald Trump issued an executive order instituting a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance, emergency humanitarian assistance providing lifesaving food, nutrition, and healthcare was initially exempted, but terminated in April due to concerns that the Islamic Emirate benefits from such aid, a US government watchdog said. Click here to read moreRead More...
Amu: The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented at least six killings of former Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) members in the first three months of 2025, highlighting ongoing violence and targeting of individuals linked to the former government. According to UNAMA’s quarterly human rights update, released this week, theRead More...
Khaama: In a rare incident in Nangarhar province, three members of the Taliban forces were killed at a security post by the cook. The Nangarhar provincial police confirmed the incident, which took place on Tuesday, April 29, at a security post in Patlu, Shirzad district. Authorities reported that the cook, who was responsible for theRead More...
The Spectator: This month Pakistan has expelled more than 80,000 Afghans in what the government has labelled its Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan. In total, since September 2023 the United Nations estimates that approximately 910,000 Afghans have reluctantly returned to their country. Many of these are holders of Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), which were given toRead More...
By Ray Furlong, Current Time and RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi April 30, 2025 Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers were shunned by foreign governments after seizing power in 2021, but recently the hard-line militants have notched up some big wins in their diplomatic efforts to forge international ties. This week, Indian special envoy Anand Prakash was in Kabul forRead More...
Amu: Taliban on Tuesday suspended the operations of Rah-e-Farda Television, a private broadcaster based in Kabul over “staff complaints” and “unpaid salaries.” In a statement, the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture cited “repeated complaints” from journalists and employees about years of unpaid salaries and benefits as the reason for the suspension. Founded in 2006Read More...