https://www.scmp.com/rss/522652/feed The latest news and top stories on Amir Khan Muttaqi, a prominent figure within the Taliban administration. Known for his extensive political and diplomatic career, he currently oversees Afghanistan's foreign relations. Muttaqi has held various significant roles since the Taliban's emergence in 1994, including Minister of Information and Culture and chief negotiator. His responsibilities involve high-level diplomatic engagements with international officials, focusing on regional stability,... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com 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’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 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 Fan Chen Fan Chen China has called for greater counterterrorism cooperation with Afghanistan, including joint patrols along the narrow strip of land that forms their only shared border. “China supports the prompt resumption of bilateral patrols in the Wakhan Corridor to maintain peace and stability in the border region,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a meeting with the Afghan acting minister of interior affairs, Sirajuddin Haqqani. The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of mountainous Afghan territory that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322667/china-calls-joint-patrols-afghan-border-and-urges-taliban-help-fight-terrorism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322667/china-calls-joint-patrols-afghan-border-and-urges-taliban-help-fight-terrorism?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:00:08 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen A China-backed copper mine in Afghanistan is poised to start construction after nearly two decades of delay, but political instability and security issues remain a major concern, an Afghan studies expert has cautioned. State-owned China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) recently announced that it was making significant progress toward starting copper extraction this year in the Mes Aynak Mine in central Afghanistan’s Logar province, home to one of the world’s largest untouched copper... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3320858/work-china-backed-afghan-copper-mine-gains-pace-after-17-years-old-fears-linger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3320858/work-china-backed-afghan-copper-mine-gains-pace-after-17-years-old-fears-linger?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2025 01:00:10 +0000