Taliban – Page 2

‘Most welcome’: Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif backs Trump’s mediation in Taliban conflict; drags India into row

Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif (File photo) Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday called on US President Donald Trump to help ease tensions with its Taliban-controlled northern neighbor, lauding his past peace efforts and openly welcoming his mediation in the current negotiations.When asked about Trump’s possible role in peace negotiations between Pakistan and the […]

Pak-Afghan clashes: Heavy fighting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leaves senior commander dead; Taliban posts damaged

Pakistani troops engaged in heavy fighting with Afghan Taliban fighters on Tuesday night along the Kurram district border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The clashes came after the Taliban and militants linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, called Fitna al-Khawarij by authorities, reportedly opened fire without warning.PTV News said several Taliban posts were heavily damaged, including at […]

‘We don’t want conflict with anyone’: Afghan foreign minister on border clashes; calls Pakistan only ‘unhappy neighbour’

Except for Pakistan, all of Afghanistan’s neighbours are “happy” with the country, Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Monday. “We don’t want conflict with anyone. There is peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan is not our only neighbour — we have five other neighbours, and all of them are happy with us,” Muttaqi said, […]

Durand under duress: How Pakistan’s Taliban gamble backfired – and why it struggles to contain TTP

Taliban fighters in Kabul, 2021; Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif (File photo: AP) Afghanistan and Pakistan have once again found themselves on the brink of open conflict after days of deadly cross-border fighting that exposed the fragility of their long and volatile frontier. Afghan officials said their forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in overnight “retaliatory operations,” […]

Taliban bans books by Women in Afghanistan’s universities

Image used for representative purposes The Taliban government is purging books written by women from Afghanistan’s male-only university system and outlawing gender studies courses, the latest blows in a campaign against women’s rights since the group returned to power four years ago.More than 600 books, many of them written by women, were included in a […]

Afghanistan: What’s at stake as Taliban cut internet?

Afghan girls looking at empty screen (AI-Generated Image) Concerns are growing in Afghanistan over tightening Taliban restrictions on fiber-optic internet access.The war-torn nation’s northern Balkh province confirmed a fiber-optic internet shutdown on Tuesday after Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada imposed a complete ban on the technology. There are reports of severe disruption in other parts of […]

Taliban internet ban spreads across Afghanistan provinces

JALALBAD: A Taliban crackdown to “prevent immorality” is spreading across Afghanistan, with more provinces losing access to fibre-optic internet after the country’s leader imposed a complete ban on the technology.It’s the first time a ban of this kind has been imposed since the Taliban seized power in Aug 2021, and leaves govt offices, the private […]

WiFi ban to curb ‘immorality’: Taliban blocks fibre internet in Afghan province; orders ‘complete ban’ | World News

Taliban blocks fibre internet in Afghan province The Taliban have imposed a complete ban on fibre optic internet in northern Afghanistan’s Balkh province, a move officials say is aimed at curbing “immorality.” The restriction, announced Tuesday, marks the first such action since the group seized power in August 2021. The ban has cut off Wi-Fi […]

Pakistan military convoy attacked: Taliban ambush kills 12 soldiers in Waziristan; TTP claims responsibility

A Pakistani Taliban ambush in northwest Pakistan on Saturday resulted in the deaths of at least 12 soldiers, as confirmed by local government and security officials to AFP.During a military convoy’s passage through South Waziristan district at 4:00 am, “armed men opened fire from both sides with heavy weapons”, resulting in 12 security personnel deaths […]

Did Taliban divert international aid? US watchdog blames Afghanistan rulers of using force; blocking assistance to minorities

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities are reportedly diverting international aid through coercion and other methods, denying assistance to minority communities, and may be working with UN officials to solicit kickbacks, a US watchdog reported on Tuesday. The findings, from the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), are based on accounts from nearly 90 current and […]