8am: Farhad Basharyar, a counternarcotics expert, says drug trafficking is one of the Taliban’s sources of funding. According to him, the Taliban have set up drug processing laboratories inside Afghanistan. He claims that these laboratories previously operated in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The expert believes that the dependence of part of the Taliban’s revenue on the
Afghanistan International: New figures in Pakistan show bilateral trade with Afghanistan fell by more than 74 percent in the latest financial year, dropping from $1.3 billion to around $358 million. According to data from the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, the diplomatic deadlock and the continued closure of major border crossings, including Torkham, Chaman, Kharlachi,
8am: Most residents of the township are Shia Hazaras, and these pressures threaten the livelihoods, health, and security of thousands of them. According to the signatories, approximately 11,500 families, comprising nearly 80,000 people, are at risk of displacement. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: Iranian MP Mohammad Mehdi Shahriari says Tehran may make 100 hectares of land at Chabahar port available to Afghanistan for two to five years for imports and transit activities. Shahriari is a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission. He said Afghanistan has no access to international waters and
By Amos Chapple Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 13, 2026 At the October 4 inauguration of a road built to Afghanistan’s border with China, Taliban officials faced a frosty reception from their eastern neighbor. Beijing did not send representatives or officially acknowledge the event and China’s militarized boundary remained firmly shut. Images from the inauguration
8am: Sources in the Baraki Barak district of Logar province accuse the Taliban district governor of taking bribes, bullying, and threatening residents. According to the sources, Noorullah Ghalib, the Taliban district governor, has taken more than 1.5 million Afghanis in bribes from shopkeepers in the Baraki Rajan bazaar and promised them that he would reduce
8am: Since the Taliban returned to power, women in Afghanistan have faced widespread restrictions on their economic and social activities. Alongside being barred from education and many employment opportunities, these restrictions have left a large number of working women unemployed and struggling financially. The closure of women’s beauty salons was one such decision, depriving thousands
Kabul Now: Iranian border guards have reported a fourfold increase in seizures of synthetic drugs along the border with Afghanistan during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, amid growing concerns over the production and trafficking of methamphetamine in the region. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: Local sources in Kandahar say the Taliban’s ban on men sewing women’s clothing has left some tailors unemployed and worsened their economic difficulties. Sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Monday, October 12, that tailors had previously covered their living expenses by sewing women’s clothing, but they have lost their source of income since
8am: A number of residents in western Kabul have expressed serious concern about rising thefts. They say neither their property nor their lives are safe, and that thieves are even stealing the donation boxes of mosques. Some residents of Dasht-e-Barchi say thieves are even taking expensive women’s clothing. In one case, thieves went through the