https://www.scmp.com/rss/328528/feed The Taliban is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, and jihadist political movement that presently controls all of Afghanistan. It emerged in September 1994 as one of the prominent factions in the Afghan Civil War and largely consisted of students (talib) who had been educated in traditional Islamic schools. The movement spread nationwide, and ruled around three-quarters of the country from 1996–2001, before being overthrown by a United States-led invasion in the aftermath of... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press Afghanistan’s foreign ministry says Afghans who helped America’s war effort and have been stuck in Qatar in the hope of reaching the United States can safely return to Afghanistan. The statement on Saturday by foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi comes after reports emerged that the Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send 1,100 Afghans who assisted the US during its war in Afghanistan, and relatives of US service members, to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351436/taliban-says-afghans-stuck-qatar-who-helped-us-war-can-safely-return-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351436/taliban-says-afghans-stuck-qatar-who-helped-us-war-can-safely-return-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 14:09:21 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Samira Muhammadi hopes an international investigation can “extinguish” her pain after a Pakistani bombing killed her son and hundreds of other Afghans in the capital Kabul last month. The March 16 attack hit a drug treatment centre and killed 411 people, according to Afghan officials. A United Nations source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had verified at least 250 killed, with more still missing. “There should be investigations on this … Like me, many mothers lost their sons,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3349110/pakistani-strike-killed-her-son-rehab-now-afghan-mother-demands-answers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3349110/pakistani-strike-killed-her-son-rehab-now-afghan-mother-demands-answers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 01:14:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Afghanistan aims to increase trade with Central Asian countries to US$10 billion within the next three or four years, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Sunday. Trade with Central Asian countries to Afghanistan’s north came to about US$2.7 billion in 2025, itself a significant increase over previous years, Muttaqi said. He stated Afghanistan’s new trade goal with its neighbours at a “constructive dialogue” meeting in Kabul with representatives from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3349095/afghanistan-wants-us10-billion-trade-deals-central-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3349095/afghanistan-wants-us10-billion-trade-deals-central-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 13:26:29 +0000 Neeta Lal Neeta Lal As tensions simmer along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier – fuelled by disputes over the contested Durand Line, recurring cross-border strikes and the persistent threat of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters operating from Afghan soil – a subtle but consequential geopolitical shift is under way. India is quietly but steadily stepping up its engagement with the Taliban. The urgency of this recalibration was underscored on March 16, when Pakistani military forces carried out one of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348182/why-india-quietly-deepening-its-engagement-taliban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348182/why-india-quietly-deepening-its-engagement-taliban?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Afghanistan’s Taliban government announced the release of a US national on Tuesday who had been detained for more than a year, after a letter from his family requesting his freedom. The foreign ministry said the family of linguist and researcher Dennis Coyle had written to the supreme leader of Afghanistan, asking that he be released and pardoned for the Muslim holiday Eid. “The Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate deemed his period of detention sufficient and decided on his release,” a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347754/afghanistan-releases-detained-us-citizen-after-more-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3347754/afghanistan-releases-detained-us-citizen-after-more-year?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:57:39 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pakistan announced on Wednesday a pause in strikes against Afghanistan, saying the decision was made ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. In a statement, Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar said the pause in strikes on “terrorists and their support infrastructure in Afghanistan” would take effect at midnight on Wednesday and remain in place until midnight on Monday. “Pakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3347078/pakistan-pause-afghan-strikes-eid-request-saudi-arabia-qatar-turkey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3347078/pakistan-pause-afghan-strikes-eid-request-saudi-arabia-qatar-turkey?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:39:38 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Afghanistan accused Pakistan of killing at least 400 people in an air strike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital late on Monday. It marked a dramatic escalation of a conflict that began late last month and has seen repeated cross-border clashes as well as air strikes inside Afghanistan. International calls for a ceasefire have gone unheeded. Pakistan dismissed the accusation that it had hit a hospital, saying its strikes, which were also conducted in eastern Afghanistan, did... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3346806/afghanistan-accuses-pakistan-killing-civilians-fresh-kabul-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3346806/afghanistan-accuses-pakistan-killing-civilians-fresh-kabul-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 20:27:26 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pakistan’s president on Saturday warned neighbouring Afghanistan’s Taliban government that it had “crossed a red line” by launching drone attacks on civilian areas in Pakistan and said the administration in Kabul had brought “grave consequences upon itself”. The statement by Asif Ali Zardari was the latest in what has become the deadliest fighting yet between the two neighbours. The cross-border clashes, which erupted late last month, have shown no signs of abating despite efforts by China and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3346619/afghan-talibans-drone-attacks-civilians-crossed-red-line-pakistan-warns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3346619/afghan-talibans-drone-attacks-civilians-crossed-red-line-pakistan-warns?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 13:30:08 +0000 Jawad Khalid Jawad Khalid The latest exchange of air strikes and border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan has once again pushed the region to the brink, reviving a dread among those who have lived through this cycle before, the continuation of a war that never truly ended. The so-called war on terror has been waged for over two decades, with no end in sight. Since 2001, the war has claimed more than 33,000 civilian and security forces lives in Pakistan and displaced millions internally. Yet a fundamental question... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3345138/pakistans-forever-war-and-politics-exhaustion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3345138/pakistans-forever-war-and-politics-exhaustion?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:30:08 +0000 Chris Fitzgerald Chris Fitzgerald The fragile ceasefire between the Taliban and Pakistan has broken, and there is now open war in South Asia. This week has seen a dangerous escalation between the former allies, starting when Pakistan carried out a series of air strikes on what it says were terror “camps and hideouts” in Afghanistan’s border provinces. Pakistan claims it killed 80 militants, whereas the Taliban says villages were hit and 17 civilians were killed. The two have since engaged in a deadly tit-for-tat of ground and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3345086/why-talibans-only-hope-peace-pakistan-renouncing-terrorism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3345086/why-talibans-only-hope-peace-pakistan-renouncing-terrorism?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 09:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Explosions were heard in the Afghan capital Kabul Sunday, Agence France-Presse journalists said, with the Taliban government saying they were responding to aerial Pakistan attacks. A spokesman for Afghanistan’s defence ministry said “air defence strikes were carried out against Pakistani aircraft in Kabul”. Months of cross-border clashes have flared since Thursday when Afghanistan launched an offensive along the frontier, with Pakistani forces hitting back on the border and from the skies. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3345024/pakistani-afghan-clashes-widen-arab-states-struggle-halt-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3345024/pakistani-afghan-clashes-widen-arab-states-struggle-halt-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 09:49:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities are locked in a widening tit-for-tat confrontation that neither side seems willing to defuse, analysts said, warning the exchanges risked settling into a prolonged conflict along one of Asia’s most volatile borders. Islamabad has vowed to keep striking military targets inside Afghanistan until the Taliban takes action against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups Pakistan says operate from Afghan soil. Pakistani warplanes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344965/pakistan-taliban-showdown-risks-becoming-protracted-war-attrition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344965/pakistan-taliban-showdown-risks-becoming-protracted-war-attrition?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 08:00:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Friday they were willing to negotiate after Pakistan ⁠bombed their forces in major cities and said the allies-turned-foes were in “open war”. Pakistan struck the Afghan capital Kabul, the city of Kandahar, where Taliban leaders were based, and other towns, a Taliban spokesman said. The attacks were its first directly targeting Afghanistan’s government over allegations it harbours militants seeking to overthrow the Islamabad government. Taliban spokesman... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344949/afghanistans-taliban-open-talks-pakistan-open-war-continues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344949/afghanistans-taliban-open-talks-pakistan-open-war-continues?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:09:21 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pakistan has been the Afghan Taliban’s closest friend for decades. It was Islamabad ⁠that helped give birth to the Taliban in the ⁠early 1990s – as a way to give Pakistan “strategic depth” in its ⁠rivalry with India. What’s gone wrong? Pakistan carried out air strikes on Afghanistan’s major cities overnight, officials in Islamabad and Kabul said on Friday, escalating months of border clashes between the Islamic neighbours. The air and ground strikes, which hit Taliban military posts,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344904/once-close-allies-pakistan-and-afghan-taliban-are-now-trading-fire-what-went-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344904/once-close-allies-pakistan-and-afghan-taliban-are-now-trading-fire-what-went-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 01:00:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on Friday, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring the neighbours at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes. Journalists in Kabul and Kandahar heard blasts and jets overhead until dawn, as Pakistan launched air strikes on the Afghan capital and the southern power base of the Taliban authorities. Pakistan’s latest operation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night over... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344796/pakistan-declares-open-war-afghan-taliban-after-morning-strikes-kabul-kandahar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344796/pakistan-declares-open-war-afghan-taliban-after-morning-strikes-kabul-kandahar?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 01:01:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pakistan’s claim of killing at least 80 militants in strikes on Afghanistan is “false”, a Taliban government security source told Agence France-Presse on Sunday. “The figure of 80 martyrs given by the Pakistan regime is false and imaginary,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Talal Chaudhry, Pakistan’s deputy interior minister, offered no evidence for his claim in an interview with Geo News that at least 70 militants were killed in the strikes. Pakistan’s state-run media later reported... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344268/pakistan-targets-militants-afghanistan-testing-doha-truce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344268/pakistan-targets-militants-afghanistan-testing-doha-truce?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2026 12:07:16 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A suicide bomber backed by a group of gunmen rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the wall of a security post after troops signalled for it to stop in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold in northwestern Pakistan, causing part of the compound to collapse and killing 11 soldiers and a child, the military and police said on Tuesday. The military said in a statement that the attackers had sought to breach the checkpoint overnight but were thwarted by security forces. It said troops later pursued... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3343839/11-soldiers-1-child-killed-pakistan-after-explosive-laden-vehicle-rams-security-post?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3343839/11-soldiers-1-child-killed-pakistan-after-explosive-laden-vehicle-rams-security-post?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:44:11 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Fears are mounting of worsening violence across Pakistan’s mineral-rich Balochistan province following a string of armed attacks in recent days that have left hundreds dead, as Islamabad’s security forces struggle to deal with insurgents who continue to exploit local grievances. Pakistan has ruled out talks with the insurgents who seized control of security installations and administrative centres in more than a dozen urban areas during a lightning coordinated operation on Saturday. A total of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342424/violence-balochistan-rages-pakistan-rules-out-talks-insurgents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342424/violence-balochistan-rages-pakistan-rules-out-talks-insurgents?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 04:01:41 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pakistani police and military forces killed more than 100 “Indian-backed terrorists” in counterterrorism operations across the restive southwestern province of Balochistan over the past 40 hours, government officials said on Sunday, a day after coordinated suicide and gun attacks killed 33 people, mostly civilians. The raids began early on Saturday at multiple locations across Balochistan, and left 18 civilians, including five women and three children, and 15 security staff dead, authorities... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3341997/pakistan-hunting-separatists-after-deadly-balochistan-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3341997/pakistan-hunting-separatists-after-deadly-balochistan-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 10:05:45 +0000 Laura Zhou Laura Zhou China has condemned Monday’s suicide attack on a Chinese restaurant in Kabul, urging the Taliban to take further measures to protect the safety of its citizens in Afghanistan. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing had made “urgent representations” following the attack in a heavily guarded part of the capital that killed at least seven people – one Chinese national and six Afghans – and injured several others. Guo added that China had asked the authorities to “further adopt effective... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340584/china-urges-taliban-tighten-security-after-suicide-attack-restaurant-kabul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340584/china-urges-taliban-tighten-security-after-suicide-attack-restaurant-kabul?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A blast at a Chinese restaurant in central Kabul on Monday killed at least seven people and wounded more than a dozen others, emergency services said. An Agence France-Presse journalist saw police vehicles and an ambulance at the scene following the explosion on a street known for its flower sellers in the Shahr-e-Naw area. Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said the explosion occurred at the Chinese Noodle restaurant, which he said mainly served Chinese Muslims. “A Chinese Muslim, Ayub, and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3340473/explosion-chinese-restaurant-kabul-kills-7-injures-dozen-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3340473/explosion-chinese-restaurant-kabul-kills-7-injures-dozen-more?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 16:58:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nearly three months since border clashes prompted the closure of land crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan, university students, merchants and families are left hanging with no way of getting back. “We miss our parents and relatives,” said Shah Faisal, 25, who studies medicine at an Afghan university and was hoping to visit his family back in Pakistan during winter break. But the border has been shut since October 12, leaving many like him with no viable option of making it home. Flights... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338652/afghanistan-pakistan-border-closure-leaves-thousands-stranded-we-miss-our-parents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338652/afghanistan-pakistan-border-closure-leaves-thousands-stranded-we-miss-our-parents?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 03:58:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse An overnight exchange of gunfire and shelling at a major Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing killed four civilians and one soldier, Afghan officials said on Saturday, the latest flare-up of fighting between the two countries despite a ceasefire since deadly clashes in October. Five other civilians were wounded, an Afghan government spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, said in a video statement. The local hospital at the Pakistani border town of Chaman said three people suffered minor injuries during... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3335462/5-killed-latest-clash-afghan-pakistan-border-crossing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3335462/5-killed-latest-clash-afghan-pakistan-border-crossing?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Dec 2025 11:51:14 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A 13-year-old boy executed a man found guilty of killing his family in front of a cheering crowd in Afghanistan, in a chilling detail revealed after the event. The public execution, echoing the worst days of Taliban rule, was of a man who the Supreme Court ruled had killed 13 members of the same family, including nine children and their mother. About 80,000 people, including relatives of the victims, attended the execution in the sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost on Tuesday. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3335012/afghan-boy-13-executes-familys-murderer-echoes-worst-days-taliban-rule?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3335012/afghan-boy-13-executes-familys-murderer-echoes-worst-days-taliban-rule?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 05:51:20 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Pakistan dismissed on Sunday a warning by the UN rights chief of potential “far-reaching consequences” for the rule of law in granting the head of the all-powerful military legal immunity. The foreign ministry said Pakistan was “fully committed to protecting … basic freedoms and the rule of law as enshrined in the constitution,” responding to criticism from UN rights chief Volker Turk. A constitutional amendment approved by parliament earlier this month, shielding Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3334682/pakistan-rejects-un-warning-over-legal-immunity-military-chief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3334682/pakistan-rejects-un-warning-over-legal-immunity-military-chief?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 12:51:39 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Three Chinese workers in Tajikistan were killed in an attack launched from Afghanistan near the border, Tajik authorities said on Thursday. Tajikistan has strained relations with the Taliban in Afghanistan, and several border clashes have broken out in recent months. The foreign ministry said a drone and firearm attack hit workers of a Chinese company in the country’s south. “The attack, carried out with firearms and a drone loaded with grenades, claimed the lives of three employees of Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3334409/3-chinese-citizens-killed-tajik-afghan-border-clash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3334409/3-chinese-citizens-killed-tajik-afghan-border-clash?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 13:44:51 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain A ceasefire between Afghanistan’s Taliban regime and Pakistan, agreed after intense clashes last month, is hanging by a diplomatic thread, following a wave of suicide bombings in Pakistan and disputed claims that it retaliated with cross-border drone strikes on Tuesday. With both countries vowing vengeance, analysts say regional states acting as mediators – Qatar and Turkey, and Iran and Russia – have only a narrow window of opportunity to prevent another round of hostilities. Otherwise,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334306/can-mediators-stop-afghan-pakistani-war-cat-and-mouse-game-enters-retaliatory-phase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334306/can-mediators-stop-afghan-pakistani-war-cat-and-mouse-game-enters-retaliatory-phase?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 05:30:09 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India and Afghanistan will launch direct air cargo flights in a move that deepens their economic ties and signals a strategic shift in South Asia’s power dynamics, as both countries grow increasingly estranged from their mutual neighbour Pakistan. Analysts say the initiative reflects Kabul’s push to diversify trade routes and reduce dependence on Islamabad following deadly border clashes, while also underscoring New Delhi’s effort to reassert influence in a country where it once played a key... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334225/india-afghanistan-close-ranks-against-pakistan-marking-south-asia-power-shift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334225/india-afghanistan-close-ranks-against-pakistan-marking-south-asia-power-shift?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Nov 2025 09:11:00 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Two suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of a security force in northwestern Pakistan on Monday morning, killing three officers and wounding 11 others, police and rescue officials said. The attack took place in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, when security forces were preparing for the morning parade at the sprawling facility located in the heart of the city, Peshawar Police Chief Saeed Ahmad said. He said one attacker detonated his explosives at... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3333898/3-pakistani-officers-killed-suicide-bombers-attack-headquarters-near-afghan-border?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3333898/3-pakistani-officers-killed-suicide-bombers-attack-headquarters-near-afghan-border?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 05:23:30 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A suicide bomber struck outside the gates of a district court in Islamabad on Tuesday, detonating his explosives next to a police car and killing 12 people, Pakistan’s interior minister said, the latest in an uptick in violence across the country. Witnesses described scenes of mayhem in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, which also wounded 27 people. The blast was heard several kilometres away and came at a busy time of day when the area outside the court is typically crowded with... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3332361/islamabad-court-bombing-kills-12-amid-rising-taliban-violence-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3332361/islamabad-court-bombing-kills-12-amid-rising-taliban-violence-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 10:56:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Afghanistan’s Taliban government said on Saturday its ceasefire with Pakistan would remain even though their latest talks failed, blaming Islamabad’s “irresponsible and uncooperative” approach. The two sides met on Thursday in Turkey to finalise a truce agreed on October 19 in Qatar, following deadly clashes between the South Asian neighbours. Both have remained tight-lipped on the content of the discussions, which are known only to have addressed long-standing security issues. “During the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3332043/afghanistan-blames-pakistan-security-talks-collapse-ceasefire-will-hold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3332043/afghanistan-blames-pakistan-security-talks-collapse-ceasefire-will-hold?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2025 09:22:56 +0000 dpa dpa Several countries as well as the European Union have offered their condolences after a powerful earthquake struck northern Afghanistan, killing 20 people and injuring hundreds, according to official reports. The country’s national disaster management authority said 20 people have died and 643 were wounded, revising down earlier figures reported by the state-run news agency Bakhtar, which had put the death toll of the overnight quake at 27, with more than 700 injured. Pakistan, India, Iran,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3331402/international-condolences-pour-after-afghanistan-earthquake-kills-20?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3331402/international-condolences-pour-after-afghanistan-earthquake-kills-20?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Nov 2025 23:20:15 +0000 Agencies Agencies A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 300 others, a health official said. Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, provided the updated death and injury toll. The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicentre was located 22km (14 miles) west-southwest of the town of Khulm, and that it struck at 12.59am at a depth of 28km. The USGS issued an orange alert in its PAGER... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3331265/magnitude-63-earthquake-shakes-northern-afghanistan-casualties-feared?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3331265/magnitude-63-earthquake-shakes-northern-afghanistan-casualties-feared?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Nov 2025 01:29:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Afghan and Pakistani negotiators are to meet in Istanbul on Saturday to address security issues and establish a lasting ceasefire along their shared border after an outbreak of unexpectedly intense bloody clashes. The confrontation – which resulted in dozens of deaths, among them civilians – began two weeks ago following explosions in central Kabul, which the Taliban government blamed on its Pakistani neighbour, launching a retaliatory offensive at the border. Vowing a strong response, Islamabad... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3330316/afghan-pakistani-negotiators-strengthen-truce-istanbul-after-doha-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3330316/afghan-pakistani-negotiators-strengthen-truce-istanbul-after-doha-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Oct 2025 10:24:06 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Afghanistan and Pakistan, embroiled in fighting that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds, pledged on Sunday to respect a ceasefire. The truce, mediated by Qatar and Turkey, came into effect immediately and is intended to pause hostilities. Violence has escalated between the neighbours since earlier this month, with each country saying they were responding to aggression from the other. Afghanistan denies harbouring militants who carry out attacks in border areas. Pakistan is... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329583/afghanistan-and-pakistan-agree-ceasefire-after-deadly-fighting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329583/afghanistan-and-pakistan-agree-ceasefire-after-deadly-fighting?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 11:51:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire during talks in Doha, both sides said on Sunday, after a week of fierce border clashes, the worst violence between the South Asian neighbours since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021. The ceasefire “has been finalised”, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif posted on social media on Sunday, saying both sides would meet again on October 25 in Istanbul to discuss “detailed matters”. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329545/pakistan-and-afghanistan-agree-immediate-ceasefire-after-doha-peace-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329545/pakistan-and-afghanistan-agree-immediate-ceasefire-after-doha-peace-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2025 23:42:03 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Pakistan and Afghan officials were holding peace talks in Qatar on Saturday, a day after Islamabad launched air strikes that killed at least 10 people in Afghanistan and broke a ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the border. The strikes targeted what Pakistan security sources said was a militant group linked to the Pakistani Taliban in the Afghan border areas, following an attack that killed Pakistani paramilitary troops in North Waziristan, a district in Pakistan’s northwest. Kabul... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329536/pakistan-afghanistan-hold-peace-talks-qatar-after-latest-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329536/pakistan-afghanistan-hold-peace-talks-qatar-after-latest-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2025 14:10:26 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pakistan said on Wednesday it agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire with Afghanistan following days of violence that have killed dozens of people on both sides of the border. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the ceasefire was at Afghanistan’s request. Moments later, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the truce was at “the insistence” of the Pakistani side. His social media post did not mention a 48-hour time frame. All Afghan forces have been instructed to observe the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329155/pakistan-and-afghanistan-agree-48-hour-ceasefire-after-deadly-border-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329155/pakistan-and-afghanistan-agree-48-hour-ceasefire-after-deadly-border-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Oct 2025 14:00:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan has vowed to respond to future terrorist attacks launched from Afghanistan with overwhelming military force after deadly cross-border clashes over the weekend, with the conflict setting the stage for prolonged hostilities between Islamabad and the Taliban regime. Analysts say the fighting, sparked by retaliatory Pakistani air strikes against insurgents in Kabul and the eastern Afghan province of Paktika on Thursday, is unlikely to break into an all-out war, but a diplomatic solution... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328926/pakistan-vows-no-compromise-against-taliban-patience-wears-thin-after-deadly-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328926/pakistan-vows-no-compromise-against-taliban-patience-wears-thin-after-deadly-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 08:30:17 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Afghanistan said on Sunday it had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in overnight border operations, in response to what it called repeated violations of its territory and airspace. Pakistan’s army gave far lower casualty figures, saying 23 troops were killed. Earlier in the week, Afghan authorities accused Pakistan of bombing the capital, Kabul, and a market in the country’s east. Pakistan did not claim responsibility for the assault. The two countries share a 2,611-km (1,622-mile) border known as... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3328669/firefights-erupt-between-pakistani-and-afghan-forces-along-border?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3328669/firefights-erupt-between-pakistani-and-afghan-forces-along-border?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Oct 2025 21:36:19 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press At least seven police officers and six militants were killed after gunmen attacked a police training centre in northwestern Pakistan, triggering a fierce firefight that lasted for hours, officials said on Saturday. It is the latest violence to rock the area, which is the base for several armed groups, and comes as Pakistan struggles with a worsening security situation. Friday night’s assault targeted a police training facility in Ratta Kulachi, on the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan city. Police... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3328635/7-pakistani-officers-killed-6-hour-gun-battle-militants-attack-police-station?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3328635/7-pakistani-officers-killed-6-hour-gun-battle-militants-attack-police-station?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Oct 2025 06:30:40 +0000 Reuters Reuters Mobile phone and internet services were restored in Afghanistan on Wednesday, local residents said, some 48 hours after diplomatic and industry sources said connectivity was abruptly cut on the orders of the Taliban administration. The mobile phone services of Roshan and Etisalat companies, the foreign-owned biggest providers, came back to life in the late afternoon, residents in Kabul and other cities said. Internet access was restored, according to companies providing the service. A Taliban... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3327514/taliban-deny-afghanistan-internet-ban-amid-outage-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3327514/taliban-deny-afghanistan-internet-ban-amid-outage-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:20:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Afghanistan faced a second day without internet and mobile phone service on Tuesday, after Taliban authorities cut the fibre optic network. Taliban authorities began shutting down high-speed internet connections to some provinces earlier in the month to prevent “vice”. On Monday night, mobile phone signal and internet service gradually weakened until connectivity was less than 1 per cent of ordinary levels, according to internet watchdog NetBlocks. It is the first time since the Taliban... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3327366/afghanistan-faces-digital-blackout-taliban-cuts-internet-access-prevent-vice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3327366/afghanistan-faces-digital-blackout-taliban-cuts-internet-access-prevent-vice?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Sep 2025 07:33:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Afghanistan’s Taliban government released an American citizen from detention on Sunday, a week after freeing an elderly British couple. In a statement the country’s foreign ministry identified the detainee as Amir Amiri and said he had been handed over to Adam Boehler, Washington’s special envoy on hostages. Boehler made a rare visit to Kabul earlier this month to discuss the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the Taliban government. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan released an American... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3327169/us-citizen-released-afghanistans-taliban-after-visit-envoy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3327169/us-citizen-released-afghanistans-taliban-after-visit-envoy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 18:56:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Pakistan police and security sources said an aerial bombing in a remote border region killed at least 23 civilians on Monday in an area where militancy has been rising. Opposition MPs accused the military of carrying out the night raid as part of a counter-terrorism operation, but no official statement has been released by the government or armed forces. Pakistani Taliban (TTP) militants have in recent months stepped up a campaign of violence against security forces in the mountainous areas of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3326419/pakistan-air-raid-kills-23-civilians-near-afghan-border-police-security-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3326419/pakistan-air-raid-kills-23-civilians-near-afghan-border-police-security-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2025 12:02:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse An Afghan government defence official said Sunday that a deal over Bagram airbase was “not possible”, after US President Donald Trump said he wanted the former US base back. Bagram, the largest airbase in Afghanistan, located north of the capital Kabul, was the centre of US operations in their 20-year year-war against the Taliban. Trump threatened unspecified punishment against Afghanistan if it was not returned – four years after it was abandoned by US troops. “If Afghanistan doesn’t give... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3326305/trump-demands-bagram-airbase-not-possible-taliban-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3326305/trump-demands-bagram-airbase-not-possible-taliban-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2025 11:37:18 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened Afghanistan with unspecified punishment if the Taleban-controlled country did not “give Bagram Airbase back”. “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. The vague threat comes just days after he raised the idea of the United States retaking control of the base while on a state visit to the United... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3326276/trump-says-bad-things-will-happen-if-afghanistan-does-not-return-bagram-airbase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3326276/trump-says-bad-things-will-happen-if-afghanistan-does-not-return-bagram-airbase?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Sep 2025 22:46:34 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Taliban released on Friday a British couple held in Afghanistan for more than seven months on undisclosed charges, an official said, as part of a wider effort to get their government recognised internationally years after taking power. The case of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, aged 80 and 75, underlined the concerns of the West over the actions of the Taliban since they overthrew the country’s US-backed government in a 2021 lightning offensive. The Reynolds had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326185/taliban-free-uk-couple-held-months-afghanistan-undisclosed-charges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326185/taliban-free-uk-couple-held-months-afghanistan-undisclosed-charges?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Sep 2025 10:47:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters The World Health Organization has asked Taliban authorities to lift restrictions on Afghan female aid workers, allowing them to travel without male guardians and help women struggling to access care after a powerful earthquake killed 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan. “A very big issue now is the increasing paucity of female staff in these places,” Dr Mukta Sharma, the deputy representative of WHO’s Afghanistan office, told Reuters. She estimated around 90 per cent of medical staff in the area... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3324713/who-urges-taliban-lift-restrictions-women-aid-workers-after-afghanistan-earthquakes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3324713/who-urges-taliban-lift-restrictions-women-aid-workers-after-afghanistan-earthquakes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Sep 2025 05:56:45 +0000 Reuters Reuters Rescuers on Thursday pulled bodies from the rubble of homes razed in Afghanistan’s earthquakes as the confirmed death toll topped 2,200, while homeless survivors faced a bleak future with global aid agencies warning of dwindling resources. Search operations continued in the quake-hit mountainous eastern areas, the Taliban administration said, announcing a new death toll of 2,205 with at least 3,640 people injured. “Everything we had has been destroyed,” said Aalem Jan, whose house in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3324380/afghan-earthquake-deaths-top-2200-survivors-face-aid-crunch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3324380/afghan-earthquake-deaths-top-2200-survivors-face-aid-crunch?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 12:25:06 +0000