Afghanistan

Taliban forces have detained the 12-year-old son of prominent cleric and vocal Taliban critic Mawlawi Abdul Qadir Qanit during a raid on the family’s home in Kabul, sources close to the family told Afghanistan International.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Ishaq Dar, has proposed the formation of a regional bloc comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, and Bangladesh.

Taliban-affiliated individuals have reportedly threatened female employees of United Nations agencies in Kabul with death, marking a serious escalation in the group’s campaign of intimidation against women working with international organisations.

The Taliban has publicly flogged a woman and two men in Yangi Qala district of Takhar province after convicting them of theft and engaging in sexual relations outside of marriage.

China has announced that Pakistan and the Taliban have agreed to elevate their diplomatic relations to the level of ambassadors.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, has strongly condemned the recent attack on a school bus in Balochistan and called on Pakistani officials to refrain from levelling baseless accusations against the group.

Iran and Pakistan deported more than 3000 Afghan migrants in a single day, according to the Taliban’s High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Issues.

The Taliban judiciary has announced the public flogging of nine individuals, including two women, in Kabul and Kunduz provinces. The punishments were carried out by the group’s counter-narcotics court in Kabul and its primary court in Qala-e-Zal district, Kunduz.

Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry has announced that Deputy Ambassador Berris Ekinci met with Yue Xiaoyong, China’s special envoy for Afghan affairs, to discuss ongoing engagement with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and joint efforts to address the country’s humanitarian crisis.

The Taliban has described China as one of its most important economic partners during high-level talks held in Beijing on Wednesday, 21 May.

The World Bank has formally rejected claims made by the Taliban that it has begun repaying outstanding debts owed to Afghan companies.

Yousuf Wafa, the Taliban governor of Balkh province, has declared that all laws from previous Afghan governments have been fully abolished and replaced with the Taliban’s own legal framework.

The Taliban has dismissed at least 300 employees from Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), including 91 women, as part of a nationwide cost-cutting initiative aimed at reducing government spending.

In a significant step toward strengthening regional connectivity and economic cooperation, the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan, and the Taliban have agreed to extend the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s primary court in Khidir district of Daikundi province has sentenced six teachers from the Ofuq-e Nowin educational centre to prison, sources told Afghanistan International.

The head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Roza Otunbayeva, has called for international support and recognition of regional initiatives aimed at resolving Afghanistan’s ongoing crisis.

The Torkham Highway, a key trade route between Pakistan and Afghanistan, has reopened following an hourslong blockade by protesters demanding the release of a tribal leader, Malik Nasir Ahmad Kokikhel.

Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade, Mohammad Atabak, has expressed Tehran’s willingness to expand economic collaboration with the Taliban through the transfer of technical expertise and the establishment of joint industrial zones in Afghanistan.