Amu: Band-e-Amir won the toss and elected to bowl first against Speenghar in the third match of the 8th edition of the X-Bull List A Tournament 2025 in the eastern province of Khost. The tournament, now in its 8th edition, continues to showcase Afghanistan’s domestic cricket talent, with high-scoring matches and strong regional rivalries. Click here to read more (external link).
Residents say Taliban seized homes in Bamiyan’s Punjab district
Amu: Residents of the Rashk area in Punjab district of Bamiyan province say the Taliban have seized their homes and handed them over to nomadic Kochis, leaving many families displaced and living in temporary tents. Locals told Amu that the Taliban pressured residents to sign forced land transfer documents. Those who refused have faced arrest warrants and accusations of “causing division,” prompting some families to flee. “They are under pursuit. The Taliban want to arrest those who refused to sign the order giving their land to the Kochis,” said a woman from Punjab district. Click here to read more (external link).
Systematic Corruption Under Taliban Rule: From Bribery on Credit to Selling Substandard Construction Permits
8am: Many citizens of the country complain about various methods of extortion, bribery, and blackmail by the Taliban. They say that the Taliban, by employing new methods of bribery and extortion, have not only challenged administrative and social security, but have also created the groundwork for a natural crisis in Kabul. Sources say that Taliban members, if cash payment or providing facilities is not possible, obtain signatures and documents from applicants by setting deadlines. These sources also add that the Taliban issue construction permits in residential area development projects in exchange for receiving bribes; an action that has led to increased substandard construction and population density in the capital, which experts consider a serious threat to citizens’ health and the environment. Click here to read more (external link).
Pakistan tells UNSC that terrorism from Afghanistan poses ‘grave and immediate’ threat
Amu: Pakistan’s envoy to the United Nations warned the Security Council that terrorism originating from Afghanistan poses the most serious threat to regional and global security, pointing to the presence of thousands of fighters from multiple groups operating there. “The situation in Afghanistan remains precarious, with some 2,000 fighters. ISIL-K poses the most serious threat,” Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said. He said while the Taliban administration has fought the Islamic State group’s local affiliate, ISIL-Khorasan, the presence of other groups such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baloch militant factions, and what he called Fitna al-Khawarij remains unaddressed. Click here to read more (external link).
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‘I’m Afraid:’ What U.S. Aid Cuts Mean for the Women of Afghanistan
TIME: Over the past 12 years, the small family-health clinic in Melmastok, a remote mountainous community in Afghanistan’s central Daikundi province, has withstood multiple upheavals—from a Taliban insurgency to the withdrawal of international troops and the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul in 2021. Ever since, as the Taliban returned to power, once again issuing edicts to suppress women and girls, the clinic and its 34-year-old midwife Atifa have continued to provide a lifeline for mothers and young children. Until this summer, that is. Come July, the clinic finally closed its doors. For Atifa, who identifies herself like many local women with only her first name, that means one thing: “Mothers and children will die.” Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – August 21, 2025
In Search Of A Unified Roadmap. Will The Taliban’s Opponents Reach Consensus?
Afghanistan International: It has been four years since the fall of the republic in Afghanistan. During this period, a diverse array of political movements, military fronts, and civil resistance groups have emerged—both within the country and beyond its borders. What unites these forces is their opposition to the Taliban. Several of these groups have proposed plans and programmes under the banner of “roadmaps,” aimed at breaking the current deadlock and envisioning a new future for Afghanistan. In parallel, efforts have begun to foster coordination and solidarity among anti-Taliban forces. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban begin rebuilding monument to poet Alisher Nawa’i after backlash
Amu: Taliban have begun rebuilding the monument of Ali-Shir Nawa’i, a famed 15th-century poet and scholar, in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, after its demolition drew strong criticism from cultural figures and Uzbekistan’s government. The monument, located in Mazar-e-Sharif, was torn down this week, prompting outrage from local communities, Afghan civil society groups, and officials in Uzbekistan. Nawa’i, a statesman, linguist and poet in the Timurid era, is regarded as one of the most influential figures in Turkic literature and a cultural icon for Uzbeks. Click here to read more (external link).
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China Dangles Belt And Road Investment To Mend Taliban-Pakistan Ties
By Reid Standish
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
August 20, 2025
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities are hosting a trilateral meeting with China and Pakistan on August 20, as Beijing looks to de-escalate tensions between the two countries by incentivizing cooperation through new trade and investment opportunities amid a flurry of diplomatic outreach.
The daylong meeting is expected to cover joint efforts to combat terrorism and the expansion of China’s trillion-dollar global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), into Afghanistan through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
This is a $60 billion series of projects launched by Islamabad and Beijing under the umbrella of the BRI.
“Comprehensive discussions will be held on a number of important issues, including political, economic, and regional cooperation among the three countries,” Hafiz Zia Ahmad, a deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry, said in a post on X ahead of the meeting.
Obtaining a formal deal to extend CPEC to Afghanistan would not only be a boost for a cash-strapped Taliban searching for international legitimacy, it would also mark a diplomatic win for Beijing as it steps up its engagement and adapts to new shifts across the region.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is hosting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar.
Wang’s trip to Kabul follows high-profile meetings in New Delhi where Beijing looked to capitalize on tensions caused by US tariffs on Indian goods. A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said an agreement was reached to tackle Beijing’s simmering border dispute with New Delhi.
Following the trip to Afghanistan, Wang will travel to Islamabad for a three-day visit ahead of the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit at the end of August, where China will host leaders and top officials from Pakistan and India as well as leaders from Russia, Central Asia, Belarus, and Iran.
China’s Diplomatic Push
Although neither China nor Pakistan has formally recognized the Taliban government, Beijing has acted as a facilitator behind the scenes.
The discussions in Kabul mark the first time that officials have met since May.
That meeting saw a verbal agreement from Beijing to extend the trade and infrastructure links that it has already built up through CPEC over the past decade to Afghanistan. Pakistan also upgraded its diplomatic relations with the Taliban in its aftermath by sending its first ambassador to Kabul since the militant group seized power in 2021.
Back then, many saw the Taliban’s return as a strategic win for Pakistan, given its historical ties to the group, but relations between them have deteriorated.
Islamabad has accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing groups like Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to launch attacks across the border. The TTP, formed in 2007, shares ideological roots with the Afghan Taliban but operates independently.
The TTP has also threatened Chinese interests, particularly CPEC, where Chinese nationals working on projects in Pakistan have become a regular target for attacks. Since 2021, 14 terrorist attacks have taken place in the country targeting Chinese citizens.
China has pushed for joint law enforcement cooperation between the Taliban and Pakistan, and that appears to have accelerated since officials last met in May.
The Taliban has reportedly pledged it would not allow Afghan territory to be used for TTP operations, and China’s special envoy on Afghan affairs, Yue Xiaoyong, visited both Afghanistan and Pakistan in July.
Is China Ready To Extend CPEC To Afghanistan?
CPEC was framed as a flagship part of the BRI when it was launched in 2015, but it has since become something of a cautionary tale for China as it has grappled with delayed projects, cost overruns, security concerns, and escalating debt stress in Pakistan.
Since then, Beijing has been reluctant to greenlight large-scale projects for CPEC and has since sought to see through its most viable pre-existing ones.
That caution will also follow any movement on integrating Afghanistan into the infrastructure project.
Beijing’s interest in linking Afghanistan to BRI through CPEC predates the Taliban’s return to power, but limited practical progress has been made despite a renewed interest from China in Afghanistan’s substantial mineral and resource wealth.
It still remains uncertain at what pace China will look to formally incorporate Afghanistan.
Improving relations between the Taliban and Islamabad and improving security cooperation are precursors that Beijing will look to build on that progress through its meetings this month.
But implementing projects on the ground in Afghanistan has always proved difficult and any new projects on an extended CPEC will have to contend with a still volatile security situation on the ground.
Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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Tolo News in Dari – August 20, 2025