Afghanistan International English

A message attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, has been published, calling for improved relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. afintl.com/en/202603206311

Afghanistan International has obtained documents showing the Taliban have removed Abdul Baqi Popal, Afghanistan’s acting ambassador to Germany, from his post. afintl.com/en/202603205642

The Taliban claim Pakistani artillery strikes have continued in Kunar province despite a temporary ceasefire between the two sides. afintl.com/en/202603208099

US lawmakers have called for accountability following the death of an Afghan asylum seeker in immigration detention. afintl.com/en/202603203286

Pakistan has rejected Taliban claims that it violated a ceasefire along the border. afintl.com/en/202603209356

Afghanistan Journalists Centre says Afghan journalist Mehdi Ansari has been released from a Taliban prison after completing his sentence. afintl.com/en/202603202617

The US State Department says the Taliban are detaining American citizens for political gain and warned the actions will not go unanswered. afintl.com/en/202603192108

Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban have detained several Shia clerics in Herat after they refused to mark Eid al-Fitr on the day declared by the group. afintl.com/en/202603195670

China’s foreign ministry says it welcomes a temporary ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban. afintl.com/en/202603193790

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime says it did not support the Omid hospital in Kabul that was destroyed in a Pakistani airstrike, citing its control by the Taliban interior ministry. afintl.com/en/202603199183

Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Hasan Akhund says he supports dialogue and peaceful solutions to resolve issues with Pakistan. afintl.com/en/202603197990

The Taliban say their leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, attended Eid al-Fitr prayers at Kandahar’s Eidgah Mosque on Thursday and delivered a speech. afintl.com/en/202603196714

Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban temporarily shut down telecommunications networks across Kandahar on Thursday during the presence of their leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, at the Eidgah Mosque. afintl.com/en/202603195791

The Taliban’s interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, said the group is “not weak” and capable of confronting Pakistan but does not want the situation to escalate. afintl.com/en/202603183245

A United Nations official told Reuters on Wednesday that the UN mission in Afghanistan estimates 143 people were killed in a Pakistani strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul. afintl.com/en/202603184366

The Taliban’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has held a virtual meeting with the group’s diplomats in various countries to discuss the ongoing conflict with Pakistan. afintl.com/en/202603181236

Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan said Moscow is concerned about escalating tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban and warned they could lead to a full-scale war. afintl.com/en/202603188447

A senior official of Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front said the group has carried out more than 2,000 attacks against the Taliban over the past five years. afintl.com/en/202603183913

The Taliban’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said at a meeting with foreign diplomats in Kabul that 408 people were killed and 265 others wounded in Pakistani airstrikes on Monday night, which he said targeted a drug treatment centre. afintl.com/en/202603171946

Afghan political figures have reacted strongly to a Pakistani airstrike in Kabul which, according to the Taliban, targeted a drug rehabilitation centre and left “hundreds” dead. afintl.com/en/202603177470