Afghan Taliban | Pakistan

Fighting flared up again on Tuesday night between Pakistani forces and the Afghan Taliban in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reported state media. “Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij opened unprovoked fire in Kurram. Pakistani Army responded with full force and intensity,” reported state broadcaster PTV News, quoting security sources on X. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. It added that Taliban regime posts suffered heavy damage and a tank caught fire after being hit, with Taliban fighters fleeing from their posts. In a subsequent post, PTV said: “Another post and tank position of the Afghan Taliban destroyed in Kurram sector.’’ PTV added that a fourth tank position at Shamsadar post was destroyed. “There are reports of the killing of an important commander of Fitna al-Khawarij in this important operation of the Pakistan Army.’’ Earlier today, the Foreign Office (FO) said that Foreign Secretary Ambassador Amna Baloch gave...

The UN Security Council (UNSC) Committee has temporarily lifted a travel ban on the Afghan Taliban foreign minister, which would allow him to visit India between October 9 and 16, India’s foreign ministry said on Friday. If confirmed, it would be the first visit to India by a senior leader of the Taliban-run Afghan administration since it seized power in 2021 after 20 years of US military presence. Delhi and Kabul have traditionally enjoyed close ties when the Islamist Taliban were not in power. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is among Afghan Taliban members who are under UN sanctions, including a travel ban and asset freeze. Temporary exemptions are sometimes granted for diplomacy. The Afghan administration did not immediately respond to inquiries about Muttaqi’s travel plans. India’s foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters that New Delhi had already been speaking to the Afghan administration, and noted that it had provided support after an earthquake on August 31. He did not specifically confirm tha...

An Afghan Taliban government official said on Sunday that a deal over Bagram air base was “not possible”, after US President Donald Trump said he wanted the former US base back. Trump threatened the country on Saturday with unspecified punishment, just days after he raised the idea of the United States retaking control of the base while on a state visit to the United Kingdom. “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!” the 79-year-old leader wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump, who has previously said he wants the United States to acquire territories and sites ranging from the Panama Canal to Greenland, has appeared focused on Bagram for years. Asked on Saturday whether he would send in US troops to retake the base, Trump declined to give a direct answer, saying: “We won’t talk about that.” “We’re talking now to Afghanistan and we want it back and we want it back soon, right away. And if they don’t do it — if t...

ISLAMABAD: Days after Pakistan asked the Afghan Taliban to choose whether they want to stand with their neighbour, or the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pak­­i­s­tan (TTP) militant group, a key US official has called on Islamabad to seek a political settlement with Kabul. Zalmay Khalilzad, who was named US special representative to Afghanistan during the previous Trump administration, also called on Afghanistan to “help Pakistan with such negotiations”. The former diplomat recently undertook a visit to Kabul alongside US hostage envoy Adam Boehler, where he met with key members of the Afghan Taliban regime. In a tweet posted after he wrapped up his visit, Khalilzad noted that violence between Pakistan’s security forces and the TTP had resulted in the deaths of a significant number of security personnel and citizens. Imran echoes Khalilzad’s views, terms dialogue with Kabul only way to achieve lasting peace Saying that he believed pursuing a military solution to this challenge was a mistake, he called on Islamabad...

Tehran and the Afghan Taliban chief denounced on Saturday the US travel ban on the citizens of 12 mostly Middle Eastern and African countries, saying Washington’s decision was a sign of a “racist mentality”. US President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday an executive order reviving sweeping restrictions that echo his first-term travel ban, justified on national security grounds following a firebomb attack at a pro-Israel rally in Colorado. Alireza Hashemi-Raja, the foreign ministry’s director general for the affairs of Iranians abroad, called the measure, which takes effect June 9, “a clear sign of the dominance of a supremacist and racist mentality among American policymakers”. The decision “indicates the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian and Muslim people”, he added in a statement released by the ministry. Apart from Iran, the US ban targets nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. A partial ba...

The Taliban government in Afghanistan has issued a stern warning to dissident groups, cautioning them against engaging in armed conflict outside the country, particularly in Pakistan, without official approval, ARY News reported. Taliban commander Saeedullah Saeed, speaking at a recent event, stated that fighting against the orders of the Amir, particularly in countries like Pakistan, […]