UN report: At least 81 civilians killed in Afghanistan in three months
Amu: KABUL— At least 81 civilians were killed and 111 others wounded in violent attacks across Afghanistan from November 2024 to January 2025, according to a United Nations report highlighting persistent security threats and human rights concerns. The report attributes the majority of civilian deaths to attacks by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), including the November 21 killing of 11 Sufi worshippers in Baghlan Province. Click here to read more (external link).
Pakistan Army claims ‘Bannu’ attack was planned in Afghanistan
Khaama: The Pakistani military has reported that civilian casualties from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attack have reached 18, with the attack having been planned in Afghanistan. According to a report by Dawn newspaper on Thursday, March 6, the attack in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has claimed the lives of 18 civilians. The military further confirmed the physical presence of Afghans in the attack, claiming that the planning of the attack took place in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Army’s statement emphasized that the Afghan Taliban is expected to fully uphold its responsibilities in such matters. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Pakistan-Afghanistan News
Trump’s New Travel Ban May Soon Bar Afghans and Pakistanis: Reuters
Donald Trump
Khaama: Reuters, citing its sources, reported that a new directive from U.S. President Donald Trump may prevent Afghan and Pakistani nationals from entering the United States. The news agency stated on Thursday, March 6, that the restriction could come into effect as early as next week, barring Afghan citizens from traveling to the U.S. The restriction is expected to target countries with majority Muslim populations, and other nations may also be added to the list. During Trump’s first term as president, he implemented a similar travel ban targeting citizens from Muslim-majority countries, which was later overturned by President Joe Biden. Click here to read more (external link).
Anti-Taliban Forces Carried Out 91 Attacks In Three Months, Reports UN
Afghanistan International: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has confirmed in his latest report that anti-Taliban armed groups conducted 91 attacks against the Taliban over the past three months. According to the report, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) was responsible for 53 of these attacks, while the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) carried out 21. The People’s Sovereignty Front of Afghanistan, a group reportedly led by former parliament members and politicians, claimed responsibility for one attack. The perpetrators of 16 additional attacks remain unidentified. Click here to read more (external link).
Anti-Taliban groups conclude fifth Vienna Conference
Afghan Resistance Leaders: Zia (left) and Massoud (right)
Long War Journal: “The fifth round of the Vienna Process brought together over 90 participants, making it the largest gathering on Afghanistan since 2021,” Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front, an alliance of former Northern Alliance members and additional anti-Taliban fighters, told FDD’s Long War Journal. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – March 5, 2025
Afghanistan’s Omarzai rises to top ICC Men’s ODI All-Rounders Rankings
Omarzai
Ariana: Sensational Afghan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai has risen to the top of the ICC Men’s ODI All-Rounders Rankings after delivering phenomenal all-round performances in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He overtakes Mohammad Nabi who now sits at No. 2. Click here to read more (external link).
US-Pakistan operation to capture ‘top terrorist’ signals deep counterterrorism cooperation despite cold ties, experts say
Sarah Zaman
VOA News
March 5, 2025
ISLAMABAD — The U.S. Justice Department plans Wednesday to present in a federal court in Virginia the alleged mastermind of the August 2021 bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
The justice department said Islamic State Khorasan operative Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as “Jafar,” was charged on March 2 with “providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death.”
Sharifullah is expected to appear in the justice system’s Eastern District of Virginia, the department said in a statement on its website.
President Donald Trump broke the news of Sharifullah’s capture Tuesday night in a speech to Congress on Capitol Hill.
“Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity,” Trump said. “And he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.”
The Abbey Gate bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021 also killed roughly 170 Afghans.
Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization linked with the Islamic State terror group, claimed responsibility.
The suicide attack came amid the chaotic troop withdrawal at the end of the 20-year U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
In this speech, Trump hailed Pakistan for helping with the mission to arrest Sharifullah.
“And I want to thank, especially, the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster,” the U.S. president said.
Sharifullah’s capture
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif identified Sharifullah as a “top tier commander” and an Afghan national in a post on X.
“The wanted terrorist was apprehended in a successful operation conducted in Pakistan-Afghan border region,” Sharif said, without sharing details.
The justice department said the mission was a multi-agency effort that also involved the CIA and the FBI.
“Sharifullah admitted to helping prepare for the Abbey Gate attack, including scouting a route near the airport for an attacker,” the department said.
Sharifullah admitted to recognizing Abdul Rahman al-Logari who detonated the suicide bomb and admitted to playing a role in other attacks in Afghanistan and Russia, the statement added.
Islamabad-based security affairs analyst Iftekhar Firdaus told VOA that Sharifullah, a resident of Kabul, joined ISIS-K in 2016.
“He was arrested in 2019 and then released during the jailbreak of the Afghan Taliban during their takeover of August 15, 2021,” said Firdaus, founder of The Khorasan Diary, an online platform that monitors militancy.
If convicted, Sharifullah could get a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, the justice department said.
Cooperation with Pakistan
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for acknowledging his country’s contribution in a post on the X social media platform.
“We thank U.S. President Donald Trump for acknowledging and appreciating Pakistan’s role and support in counter terrorism efforts across the region,” Sharif posted.
“We will continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability,” the prime minister added.
The arrest signals Islamabad and Washington are working closely on some security issues despite relations reaching a low since the end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban to power.
“The arrest shows that counter-terrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the US remains robust even though relations are largely confined to a narrow bandwidth focused on counterterrorism,” former Pakistani ambassador to Washington, Maleeha Lodhi, told VOA.
“This is the first major development between both countries since the Trump administration took office,” Firdaus said. “It also exemplifies the dependence of both countries on each other when it comes to counterterrorism cooperation.”
Thaw in ties?
Still, experts warned the joint effort and the public expression of gratitude from the highest offices should not be seen as a thaw in relations.
“One has to be careful not to over read the significance of a single event for Pakistan-US relations, that have been at a crossroads since the US exit from Afghanistan in 2021 and need high-level engagement for a reset,” Lodhi said.
Most military aid to Pakistan remains blocked since Trump put a freeze on it during his first term in office.
Many in Washington also blame Pakistan for the losses the United States incurred in the Afghan war.
In congressional hearings soon after the troop withdrawal, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said Pakistan’s role in providing sanctuary to the Afghan Taliban needed to be “fully examined.”
Antony Blinken, then-Secretary of State, told Congress in a September 2021 hearing that the Biden administration would look into the role Pakistan played during the war.
Nearly two dozen Republican senators also proposed a bill that called for “an assessment of support by state and non-state actors, including the government of Pakistan, for the Taliban between 2001 and 2020.”
Pakistan, a major non-NATO ally has consistently denied allegations of covertly providing support to Taliban while supporting the U.S. in the Afghan war.
“We remain steadfast in our resolve and unwavering commitment to combating terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations,” Sharif said in his X post Wednesday.
In a post on X, Washington-based South Asia expert Micheal Kugelman said Pakistan is interested in a new security partnership with the U.S.
“Pakistan wants to leverage U.S. concerns about terrorism in Afghanistan and pitch a renewed security partnership with the U.S.,” said Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, adding “it will be a hard sell to the administration.”
The joint counter-terrorism operation comes just days after the Trump administration released $397 million for a program that supports Pakistan’s use of F-16 fighter jets acquired from Washington. Islamabad is stipulated to use the fighter jets for only for counterterrorism purposes, and not against archrival India.
Related
REVEALED: U.S. Financial Aid Strengthens Taliban’s ‘Stranglehold on Power’
8am: U.S. and international financial aid to Afghanistan is helping strengthen the Taliban’s power, former Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John F. Sopko revealed. “The Taliban have cynically benefited from our desire to help,” Sopko said at the Herat Security Dialogue XII in Madrid, Spain, last week. “Our assistance has allowed the regime to prioritize funding their security and intelligence services to strengthen their stranglehold on power.” In SIGAR investigations, Sopko and his team have gathered information on the Taliban infiltrating UN groups in Afghanistan. There have been several reports published on corruption between UN agencies and the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).