Taliban leader shifts financial authority to Kandahar, bypassing Kabul, sources say

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Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada

Amu: According to sources, the move, which has not been publicly announced by the Taliban administration, sidelines the Taliban-run Ministry of Finance and centralizes decision-making in the leader’s stronghold in southern Afghanistan. Sources familiar with internal operations said Akhundzada has established a financial office in Kandahar through which he oversees national budgetary and revenue matters. The growing concentration of authority in Kandahar, especially in the absence of institutional checks, is viewed by some observers as a source of deepening factional divisions within the Taliban leadership. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Pledges To Prevent Water Waste, Ensure Proper Delivery to Iran, Says Muttaqi

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Muttaqi

Afghanistan International: Speaking at the Tehran Dialogue Forum on Sunday, 18 May, Muttaqi stated, “Our effort is to prevent water from being wasted and to ensure it reaches the Iranian side properly.” His remarks came amid ongoing discussions between Afghanistan and Iran regarding water rights and the management of shared resources. Click here to read more (external link).

Other Water News

Pakistan’s Defence Minister: Taliban and Israel only backers of India’s Sindoor Operation

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Khawaja Muhammad Asif

Khaama: Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, has claimed that the Taliban and Israel were the only two regimes that supported India’s recent military strikes against Pakistan. His remarks came amid rising tensions following India’s cross-border operation codenamed “Sindoor.” So far, the Taliban have not officially responded to these claims. However, reports indicate that ties between the Taliban government and India have recently grown stronger, especially in the realm of informal diplomacy and strategic dialogue. Click here to read more (external link).

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NRF Confirms Its Forces Are Active Across Afghanistan

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Afghanistan International: General Qadam Shah Shahim, Chief of Staff of the National Resistance Front (NRF), has confirmed that the group’s military forces are present in various regions across Afghanistan. Speaking to Afghanistan International, Shahim referred to recently circulated images of Khalid Amiri and Hasib Panjshiri, two prominent NRF commanders, in a mountainous area dressed in military uniforms and carrying combat gear. Click here to read more (external link).

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Rise in Domestic Violence Against Women in Afghanistan: No Institution for Justice

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8am: Women and girls in Afghanistan report a dramatic and unprecedented rise in domestic violence since the Taliban imposed sweeping restrictions and dismantled legal protections and support institutions. Many now say they have no access to the judicial or legal systems and believe this legal vacuum has emboldened perpetrators of violence within families. They argue that the absence of legal safeguards has created an atmosphere of fear and repression, enabling many men to act with impunity in the home. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Commander killed in Border Clash with Pakistani soldiers in Paktika

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Khaama: The incident occurred on Friday, May 16, 2025, in the Angur Ada area of Barmal district, near the Durand Line..Local sources identified the slain commander as Sibghatullah Matin, who served as the logistics chief of the Taliban’s 4th Brigade of the Mansouri Corps. The clash resulted in the deaths of two Taliban fighters and five Pakistani soldiers, with four additional Taliban members sustaining injuries. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban leader sidelines Haqqani in key reshuffles

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Amu: Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has continued reshuffling Taliban’s senior police commanders in a move that further sidelines Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s acting interior minister..In the latest changes, Akhundzada reassigned the Taliban’s police chiefs of Bamiyan and Samangan provinces, transferring each to the other’s post. These appointments, although officially under Haqqani’s purview, were made directly by the reclusive supreme leader in Kandahar, bypassing Haqqani’s authority. Click here to read more (external link).

Australia’s Ben Roberts loses defamation appeal over Afghanistan killings

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Ben Roberts-Smith

Amu: Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living war veteran, on Friday lost his appeal in a high-profile defamation case stemming from allegations that he unlawfully killed four unarmed Afghans during his military service. A full bench of the Federal Court upheld a 2023 ruling that found the former Special Air Service Regiment corporal was not defamed by a series of 2018 newspaper articles detailing the alleged killings and other war crimes. The articles, published by Nine Entertainment, had accused Roberts-Smith of being involved in six unlawful deaths during his deployments in Afghanistan. Justice Anthony Besanko, who presided over the original case, concluded that the majority of the allegations were “substantially true” to the civil standard of proof, finding Roberts-Smith responsible for four of the deaths. Click here to read more (external link).