8am: Economic mafias, in collusion with corrupt Taliban factions, have reportedly presented construction projects and sold state properties and public facilities at the cheapest price as low as the price of a kilogram of “potatoes”! The Stomatology Hospital, Rabia Balkhi Hospital, and the land of the Baihaqi Directorate of the Ministry of Information and CultureRead More...

Arab News: While Daesh immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the situation may not be so straightforward. In the past, Daesh has been known to claim responsibility for attacks it had no part in to boost its image. A more plausible explanation is that this was an inside job, reflecting the fractured nature of theRead More...

Afghanistan International: The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) claimed that four Taliban members, including a commander, had been killed in an attack by the group’s forces in front of the entrance to the Bagram Airfield on Thursday evening. According to the front, in another attack by its forces in Jabal al-Sarraj district, two Taliban members wereRead More...

By Firuza Azizi Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty December 20, 2024 The Taliban has banned organ transplants in a move that could deprive Afghans of potentially lifesaving treatment. The extremist group said that the transplant of vital organs like the heart, kidneys, and lungs was “un-Islamic.” The move has angered patients and doctors, who say thousands ofRead More...

Afghanistan International: After the assassination of Taliban leader Khalil Haqqani, Abdul Ahad Talib, commander of his special forces; Mullah Shirin, the governor of Kandahar, and Yousuf Wafa, the governor of Balkh, have been asked to pay attention to their security. Reliable sources in Kandahar told Afghanistan International that the Taliban leader has asked them toRead More...

8am: The assassination of Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, the Taliban’s Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, signals that the power struggle between Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group’s Minister of Interior and the head of the Haqqani Network, has entered a new phase. This phase seems unlikely to be confinedRead More...



The Diplomat: The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad marks a turning point not only for Syria but also for Islamist movements worldwide. For the Taliban, this moment is bittersweet. While the collapse of a rival regime offers a symbolic victory, the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) poses a direct ideological and strategic challenge.Read More...

Afghanistan International: A US State Department spokesperson said that Washington has the ability to engage with “designated terrorist groups” to advance US interests. Matthew Miller said that the US has engaged with various groups, including the Taliban and Tahrir al-Sham, to advance its interests. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan International: Local sources in Badakhshan told Afghanistan International on Monday that Taliban forces shot dead a 14-year-old Ismaili boy in Wakhan district.  A source close to the Taliban described the incident as an “accident” and said that two Taliban forces were arrested. A few days ago, the Taliban shot and killed a man inRead More...

Amu: Russia’s parliament approved legislation on Tuesday that would allow the country’s Supreme Court to remove the Taliban and other previously “designated terrorist organizations” from its list of banned groups. According to Reuters, the bill could pave the way for Russia to normalize relations with the Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021,Read More...

Amu: The Afghanistan National Liberty Party, led by Rahmatullah Nabil, the former chief of the National Directorate of Security, announced on Monday that it would not be joining the recently formed political coalition known as the National Assembly for the Salvation of Afghanistan. In a statement, the party cited differences in “political paths and approachesRead More...

Amu:  The Taliban’s ban on education for girls above sixth grade and women in universities has forced many young women into marriages they neither wanted nor consented to, as families struggle with the restrictive environment. Ziba, a 21-year-old former university student, is one such victim. Forced into marriage after the Taliban shut down universities, sheRead More...



As the academic year ends in Afghanistan, students are saying goodbye to their teachers and classmates. But for girls as young as 11, it’s the end of their education altogether, due to the Taliban’s prohibition on girls studying after the sixth grade. One top student, whose identity has been concealed for her safety, told RFE/RL’sRead More...

8am: Farhad, a pushcart vendor, explained, “People don’t have money to buy things. Every morning, we leave home hoping for work, but there are fewer customers now. On top of that, the Taliban don’t let us work freely, and we’re forced to pay them bribes.” Shopkeepers in Kunduz are also grappling with reduced consumer spendingRead More...



Afghanistan International: Reliable sources in Kabul have informed Afghanistan International that the Taliban’s intelligence agency has arrested two employees of the Ministry of Refugees on charges of involvement in the assassination of Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, the Taliban’s Minister of Refugees. No further details regarding the identities of the arrested individuals have been disclosed. Click here toRead More...

Afghanistan International: The US Department of Justice announced that it has sentenced Abdul Sattar Barakzai, 59, to 30 years in prison for “participating in narcoterrorism for the benefit of the Taliban and the Haqqani Network.” Barakzai is also charged with importing heroin into New York and forging documents. He was found guilty after a two-weekRead More...

Afghanistan International: Andrés Efren Montalvo Sosa, head of the UN Sanctions Committee said on Thursday (December 12) that a number of key Taliban officials are complicit in drug cartels and production and trafficking networks. However, according to Sosa, the Taliban leadership encourages ordinary Afghan farmers to cultivate alternatives. Click here to read more (external link).

By Ayaz Gul VOA News December 13, 2024 ISLAMABAD — The recent assassination of a Taliban minister in Afghanistan by a local Islamic State offshoot has raised concerns about the terrorist network’s expansion in the region, while signifying an escalation of the terror group’s conflict with the country’s de facto Taliban leaders. Taliban Minister of Refugees andRead More...

8am: Over the past three years, the Taliban’s restrictive policies on women have significantly disrupted Afghanistan’s healthcare system. These policies include bans on medical education and training for women, restrictions on women entering specialized medical programs, replacing doctors with clerics in healthcare management, prohibiting simultaneous visits of men and women to hospitals in some provinces,Read More...

Afghanistan International: Tim Burchett, a pro-Trump representative in the US Congress, told Afghanistan International that he had invited Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front (NRF), to visit Washington and discuss Afghanistan. “I also invite the leaders of other groups opposed to the Taliban,” he added. Burchett had previously invited Amrullah Saleh, theRead More...

8am: An audio recording of a speech by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, has been obtained by the Hasht-e Subh Daily, in which he issued an order to close all schools, including both girls’ and boys’ schools, in Afghanistan. In the speech, Akhundzada compares the concept of school with that of a madrassa, statingRead More...

Ayaz Gul VOA News December 10, 2024 Islamabad — The United Nations reported Tuesday that women and girls are bearing the brunt of a persistent “dangerous erosion” of human rights in Afghanistan, attributing the crisis to an “intentional failure” of the country’s radical Taliban leaders. “With authority comes responsibility,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the head of theRead More...

Afghanistan International: Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhil, the former governor of Nangarhar, has accused the Taliban regime of marginalising the Afghan people and ignoring their voices. Amarkhil asserted that neglecting public demands has created a significant divide between the populace and the ruling authorities. Click here to read more (external link).



Afghanistan International: This research is based on interviews with 38 individuals who had been detained and tortured by the agents of the Taliban’s intelligence agency. It also includes data from petitions given to the Taliban’s Administrative Office of Appeals, wherein released detainees documented their imprisonment and the torture they suffered at the hands of theRead More...