By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal and Rashid Khattak February 5, 2025 ISLAMABAD — Afghan journalist Mahmood Kochai and his family had plane tickets to the United States, where they hoped to make a fresh start after spending more than three years in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. But their travel plans were canceled after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administrationRead More...

Khaama: Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, told Voice of America on Tuesday, February 4, that several members of the High Council of Resistance, including himself, met with a delegation sent by the Global Peace Operations Initiative. According to him, the American delegation visited them around two days ago to discussRead More...

Ayaz Gul VOA News February 4, 2025 ISLAMABAD  — The Taliban have warned that the military weapons left behind by the United States in Afghanistan now belong to them as “spoils of war” and will be utilized to defend against any attempts to reclaim them. The statement marks the first official response from the internationally unrecognizedRead More...

Ayaz Gul VOA News February 3, 2025 Islamabad — Pakistan has decided to deport thousands of Afghan nationals if Western countries, including the United States, do not relocate them as promised for resettlement abroad by the end of March, officials confirmed Monday. The individuals in question took refuge in Pakistan after the Taliban regained control ofRead More...

Afghanistan International: Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, has responded to reports of meetings between Pakistani intelligence officials and Afghan political leaders in Türkiye, warning them against becoming pawns of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Khalilzad stated that Pakistan’s security apparatus is likely attempting to use these leaders as leverage in negotiations withRead More...



Afghanistan International: Khalid Pashtoon, spokesperson for the National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan, has denied reports of a meeting between the council’s leadership and a high-ranking delegation from Pakistan’s intelligence agency. Referring to the differing perspectives within Pakistan’s government and military, Pashtoon noted that while the Pakistani government opposes the Afghan Taliban, “PakistaniRead More...

Amu: A blast occurred on Saturday evening near the gate of the Taliban’s police department in Takhar province, local sources told Amu. The explosion caused casualties, according to the sources, though the exact number remains unclear. Click here to read more (external link).

Tolo News: US Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) has introduced a bill to prevent the Islamic Emirate from accessing American funds through the United Nations. According to this bill, US aid sent via the UN will be subject to the US State Department’s guarantee that Washington’s cash assistance will not be included in UN humanitarianRead More...

Afghanistan International: Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, the Deputy Minister of Security and Police of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that despite the Taliban’s ban on the cultivation of narcotics, the smuggling of these drugs to Iran continues. Pourjamshidian said that smugglers in Afghanistan continue to maintain their drug stockpiles. Click here to read more (externalRead More...

Amu: Public employees in Taliban-controlled institutions say they have not received their overdue salaries for nearly two months, compounding financial hardships amid economic uncertainty. With the suspension of U.S. aid, Afghanistan’s currency has fluctuated sharply, with the exchange rate exceeding 80 Afghanis per U.S. dollar in recent days. Meanwhile, public employees are raising concerns overRead More...

Afghanistan International: Three reliable sources told Afghanistan International that they met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, in the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was supposed to be arrested and hence, left Kabul. Other sources had previously said that Stanekzai was supposed to be tried in a military court.Read More...

Ayaz Gul VOA News January 29, 2025 ISLAMABAD — A senior World Health Organization official cautioned Wednesday that the eradication of polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the only countries where the paralytic virus persists, is threatened by the suspension of funding from the United States. In an online news conference, Hanan Balkhy, regional director for theRead More...

Amu: In an effort to stabilize the Afghan currency, Taliban on Wednesday issued a six-point decree banning the transfer of more than $5,000 through airports and more than $500 through land borders. The decree warns that violators will be arrested and imprisoned. The move follows a sharp decline in the value of the afghani againstRead More...

Tolo News: Alan Pughsley, a former senior commander of the British police, has criticized the slow pace of the investigation into war crimes committed by the UK’s special forces in Afghanistan. Alan Pughsley, who was responsible for investigating “Operation Northmoor” conducted by British special forces in Afghanistan in 2014, stated that a three-year delay inRead More...

Forbes: Simply put, Afghanistan women’s cricket remains extremely bleak. But on Thursday, many miles away in Melbourne, hard-bitten expatriates will take the field will pride. Click here to read more (external link).

Amu: The Afghanistan Human Rights Center has reported an unprecedented surge in the construction of jihadi madrassas under Taliban rule. The 30-page report highlights how these institutions have become a tool for power consolidation among Taliban leaders and warns of their potentially harmful impact on the mindset and future of the country’s younger generation. AccordingRead More...

Amu: Eighteen people, including 14 civilians, were killed and 61 others injured in seven armed attacks and explosions across Afghanistan in the last quarter of 2024, according to a quarterly report from the United Nations. Among the casualties, 55 of the injured were civilians. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan International: Afghanistan International sources reported that Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, has left Afghanistan after Hibatullah Akhundzada issued an exit ban and arrest warrant against him. According to these sources, Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban’s defence minister, provided the conditions for his immediate visit to Dubai. A well-informed source in Kabul said thatRead More...

Amu: Afghanistan — Eight individuals arrested in various provinces, including Kabul, by the Taliban were “tortured and killed” on charges of collaborating with armed opposition groups, sources told Amu on Sunday. According to the sources, the detainees were tortured before being shot. The identities of three victims have been confirmed, and one source provided anRead More...



Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 26, 2025 The United States may place a bounty on the top leaders of the Taliban, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on January 25 after finding out that the group may be holding more American hostages in Afghanistan. “Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than hasRead More...

Afghanistan International: Hayatullah Mohajir Farahi, the Taliban’s Deputy Minister of Information and Culture, defended the group’s ban on the distribution and publication of dozens of books, saying that banning books is a “common practice” in many countries. Farahi added that the Taliban has banned some books in order to build a “single nation” in Afghanistan.Read More...

By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal and RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi January 24, 2025 Afghan rights groups have applauded the International Criminal Court’s announcement that it is seeking arrest warrants for two top Taliban officials for allegedly persecuting Afghan women and girls, an accusation the Taliban-run Foreign Ministry called “baseless.” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement on January 23 thatRead More...

Amu: Afghanistan’s Ali Reza Asahi, a two-time world bodybuilding champion, on Thursday died due to an illness. He was 49. The National Bodybuilding Federation confirmed Asahi’s death in a statement, adding that his funeral is scheduled for Friday in the Omid Sabz township in Kabul. A celebrated figure in the sport, Asahi won back-to-back goldRead More...

Ayaz Gul VOA News January 23, 2025 Islamabad — Taliban justice officials in Afghanistan said Thursday that 12 people, including two women, had been publicly flogged this week after being tried and charged with adultery, sodomy, eloping, and having “illicit relations.” The regime’s Supreme Court announced the punishments, saying they were carried out in the southeasternRead More...