Taliban

Russia says it's establishing 'full-fledged partnership' with Afghan Taliban

Russia sees a need to work with Kabul as it faces a major security threat from Islamist militant groups based in a string of countries from Afghanistan to the Middle East.

|ByREUTERS
Taliban security personnel climb barefoot up a steep and sandy mountainside on a weekend at the Sayad area of Reg-e-Rawan in Kapisa province on April 24, 2026.
Mutasim Agha Jan.

Taliban arrests senior co-founder Mullah Mutasim Agha Jan amid deepening internal rifts

Agha Jan, a close associate of the late Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, served as finance minister in the group’s first government prior to the 9/11 attacks.

|ByARSHAD MEHMOOD/THE MEDIA LINE
Taliban Deputy Spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat speaks during a press conference about the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 3, 2026.

Afghan women’s rights advocates urge Melania Trump to support girls facing Taliban restrictions

Over 100 Afghan women’s rights defenders have written to Melania Trump, urging her to help restore education and freedom to Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule.

|ByARSHAD MEHMOOD/THE MEDIA LINE
Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is escorted, as he heads towards the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan, earlier this month. The handling of Maduro’s transportation to New York was done without discretion to send a message, the writer says.

Maduro returns to US court as rare narcoterrorism law faces key test at trial - analysis

Maduro, 63, led Venezuela from 2013 through his capture in Caracas by US special forces on January 3. He pleaded not guilty on January 5 to all US charges against him.

|ByREUTERS

Nine children killed in Pakistani attack in Afghan province, Taliban says

Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Khost province killed nine children and a woman, the Taliban say, escalating already fraught cross-border relations.

NOVEMBER 25, 2025ByREUTERS
WOMEN WITH their children try to get inside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday.

Taliban policing hospital entrances, denying entry to women without complete burqa covering - MSF

The report comes after women were left laying in rubble for hours, waiting for female rescuers following an earthquake.

NOVEMBER 19, 2025ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Afghan women and children wait for their turn to see a doctor at Yaka Dokan health clinic run by nonprofit organization World Vision, in Yaka Dokan village, Herat, Afghanistan

Taliban deputy PM orders traders to cut ties with Pakistan amid exploitation claims

Due to deteriorating relations, the Taliban instructed traders to find new trade routes outside of Pakistan. The move primarily affects pharmaceutical imports and transit dealings.

NOVEMBER 13, 2025ByARSHAD MEHMOOD/THE MEDIA LINE
Taliban soldiers celebrate on the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street near the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023

Afghanistan economic recovery buckles as nine in 10 families go hungry or into debt, UNDP says

Over 4.5 million returnees and restricted female employment are buckling Afghanistan's economy, forcing 90% of households into debt and food insecurity, UN data shows.

NOVEMBER 12, 2025ByREUTERS
Sediqa, an MSF doctor, examines Haliza, a two-and-a-half-month-old baby girl, at the therapeutic feeding centre of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) also known as Doctors Without Borders in Herat, Afghanistan

Iranian airline, banned by US and Europe, launches commercial flights to Afghanistan

 The inaugural flight reportedly landed in Mazar-i-Sharif with 120 passengers from Iran. 

NOVEMBER 9, 2025ByARSHAD MEHMOOD/THE MEDIA LINE
Arrival of Iran Air Airbus A321 (EP-IFA) to Mehrabad International Airport

Afghanistan-Pakistan peace talks collapse, ceasefire continues, Taliban says

Zabihullah Mujahid said negotiations had failed due to Islamabad's insistence that Afghanistan assume responsibility for Pakistan's internal security.

NOVEMBER 8, 2025ByREUTERS
Afghan Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid and Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif shake hands following the signing of a ceasefire agreement mediated by Qatar and Turkey, in Doha, Qatar, October 19, 2025.

Earthquake of magnitude 6.3 strikes near Mazar-e Sharif, causing widespread damage

A devastating 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit Mazar-e Sharif, damaging key sites like the Blue Mosque and prompting fears of heavy casualties.

NOVEMBER 3, 2025ByREUTERS
A boy stands in front of houses damaged by a deadly earthquake that struck Afghanistan's Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, at Masud village in Nurgal district, Kunar province, Afghanistan, September 4, 2025.

Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to restart peace talks in Istanbul, sources say

Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to restart peace talks in Istanbul, aiming to prevent further border clashes after deadly violence this month.

OCTOBER 30, 2025ByREUTERS
People inspect houses and vehicles destroyed during an airstrike, following a temporary ceasefire, amid the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, October 16, 2025.

Afghanistan-Pakistan peace talks 'failed', Pakistan minister says

The meeting followed Doha-mediated ceasefire discussions triggered by violent clashes between Pakistani and Taliban forces that killed dozens.

OCTOBER 29, 2025ByREUTERS
An Afghan Taliban fighter sit next to an anti-aircraft gun near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, following exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, October 15, 2025.

Pakistan reports border clashes during talks with Afghanistan

The Taliban denies accusations of sheltering insurgents and says Pakistan's military operations violate Afghan sovereignty.

OCTOBER 26, 2025ByREUTERS
People inspect houses and vehicles destroyed during an airstrike, following a temporary ceasefire, amid the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, October 16, 2025.