8am: Several journalists working under Taliban rule have expressed concern over the intensifying crackdown on the media and the complete restriction of access to information. According to them, no media outlet under Taliban control can publish the existing realities and can only disseminate content that the Taliban permit. They emphasize that journalists in Afghanistan cannot publish even the smallest comment or opinion on incidents that in any way criticize the Taliban or expose the group’s shortcomings, and if they do, they face humiliation, insults, and arrest. These journalists stress that freedom of expression has effectively been eliminated and that working with exile-based media, under the shadow of fear, censorship, and threats, has become a costly and high-risk activity. They add that they are either forced to work under fear and accept the risk of retaliation and imprisonment, or turn journalism into a tool for reflecting Taliban narratives. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – April 28, 2026
Can Afghanistan Anchor a New Energy Route Around Hormuz?
Eurasia.net: The ongoing standoff in the Strait of Hormuz between the United States and Iran is forcing a rethink about regional energy and trade routes. Afghanistan is a potential lynchpin of a new route that circumvents the Hormuz choke point, but Taliban control of the country calls into question Kabul’s viability as a connector to global markets. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Forces Strike Chaman In Balochistan, Bajaur In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Afghanistan International: Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban fired mortars from Afghan territory at areas in Chaman and Bajaur in Pakistan overnight, killing at least one person and injuring another. According to the sources, a mortar struck a house in a village in Chaman, leaving two brothers dead and injured. Click here to read more (external link).
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Afghanistan may lose 25,000 female teachers, health workers, UNICEF warns
Amu: Afghanistan could face a shortfall of more than 25,000 female teachers and health workers by 2030 if current restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment persist, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in a report released Tuesday. The projected losses — including up to 20,000 teachers and 5,400 health workers — threaten to undermine two sectors that rely heavily on women and are already under strain, according to the analysis. The report, The Cost of Inaction on Girls’ Education and Women’s Labour Force Participation in Afghanistan, describes a compounding crisis in which the country is simultaneously losing trained female professionals while preventing a new generation from entering the workforce. Click here to read more (external link).
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Rising Insecurity Despite Taliban’s Claims of Providing Security; Four Members of a Family Killed in Logar
8am: Taliban security officials in Logar confirmed on Monday, April 27, that the incident took place in the “Hisarak” area of Pul-e-Alam, the provincial capital. In this incident, a woman, a 60-year-old man, a man aged around 33, and a teenager of about 13 years old were killed. The motive behind the killings and the perpetrators have not yet been identified. Earlier, another tribal elder had also been killed by unknown individuals in the city of Sheberghan in Jawzjan province. The rise in criminal activity has strongly put the Taliban’s claims of ensuring security into question. Click here to read more (external link).
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Tolo News in Dari – April 27, 2026
48th anniversary of Saur Revolution that reshaped Afghanistan’s modern history
Daoud Khan
Amu: Monday, April 27, marks the 48th anniversary of the Saur coup, the 1978 military takeover that overthrew President Mohammad Daoud Khan and helped set the country on a path of prolonged conflict and instability. The uprising, carried out on April 27 and 28, 1978 — known as 7 and 8 Saur in the solar calendar — was led by the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, or PDPA, with support from factions within the military and close alignment with the Soviet Union. The event is widely known as the Saur Revolution. Fighting quickly engulfed Kabul as military units aligned with the PDPA used tanks and aircraft to strike the presidential palace and other centers of power. Daoud Khan, who had seized power in a 1973 coup and established a one-party system, was killed along with most of his family inside the Arg palace. The coup marked a decisive break in Afghanistan’s political order. Click here to read more (external link).
Clash reported between Taliban, Pakistani forces at border crossing
Amu: Fighting broke out overnight between Taliban and Pakistani troops along the border in southern Afghanistan, local sources said on Monday, in the latest sign of persistent tensions despite recent diplomatic efforts to ease the conflict. The clash occurred in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province, a key crossing point between the two countries. A source among Taliban ranks in Kandahar said six Pakistani soldiers were killed in the exchange, and one was captured. The body of another soldier was also recovered by Taliban forces, the source said. Click here to read more (external link).
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Taliban declare Kabul’s Omid Sabz housing complex state-owned
Amu: Taliban have declared a large residential development in western Kabul to be state property, a move that residents say has heightened uncertainty over their future. “This decision has made people very worried,” the resident said, adding that families are uncertain about whether they will be allowed to remain in their homes. The move follows a similar decision by Taliban to declare another Kabul development, the Omar Gulistan residential complex, state-owned. Residents there have also reported confusion and concern after being given eviction notices and facing unclear legal processes. Click here to read more (external link).