Khawaja Muhammad Asif
Amu: Pakistan’s defense minister Khwaja Asif has said that militants behind deadly attacks in the country’s Balochistan province were acting as proxies for the Taliban, warning that Islamabad would hold those backing them to account. Asif said fighters from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were being used by both India and the Taliban to destabilise Pakistan. “With the support of our people, parliament and a national resolution, we will confront India through Afghanistan,” Asif said in remarks broadcast by local media. He warned that Pakistan would also take action against Afghanistan under Taliban control. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Afghan migrants were not involved in operating drones during the recent 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, rejecting rumours that Afghans had been arrested over flying the devices. Hossein Nejat, a senior commander in the Revolutionary Guard, said most of those involved in activities during the conflict were Iranian nationals, though in some cases foreign nationals, including a small number of Afghan migrants, were present. He said Afghans played no role in flying drones and that claims about the discovery of tunnels or large-scale organised actions by migrants had not been confirmed. 
Afghanistan International: After the departure of Cenk Unal, Ankara appointed Sadin Ayyildiz as chargé d’affaires in Kabul in December, rather than sending a new ambassador. Ayyildiz met Tuesday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s acting foreign minister. Since the Taliban returned to power, Türkiye has changed its top envoy to Kabul at least twice. The decision to send a chargé d’affaires instead of an ambassador is seen as indicating a lower level of diplomatic engagement with the Taliban administration. 
Amu: Afghanistan beat West Indies by 23 runs in a men’s T20 World Cup warm-up match on Wednesday, posting 182 for six before restricting the Caribbean side to 159 for seven. The match was part of preparations ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, with teams using the warm-up fixtures to finalize combinations before the tournament begins. 
Amu: Afghanistan’s national futsal team were knocked out of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2026 on Tuesday after a 6–0 defeat by Japan in the quarter-finals. The result ended Afghanistan’s campaign in the continental tournament. The team finished with two wins and two losses overall, having progressed from the group stage before falling at the last-eight stage. 