Taliban member tried to force Abida into marriage before she set herself on fire, relative says

·

Amu: A young woman named Abida died after setting herself on fire in Ghor province, following what her family says was a prolonged campaign of coercion by a local Taliban commander who sought to force her into marriage. Speaking to Amu on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns, a close relative said the commander—identified as Mohammad Rahmani—had repeatedly pressured Abida and her family over the years. When they resisted, Taliban fighters stormed the family’s home, detained her father and brother, and attempted to take Abida by force, the relatives said. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Abolishes Political Deputy PM Post, Dismisses Over 250 Staff Members

·

Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada

Afghanistan International: Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has issued a verbal decree abolishing the office of Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, leading to the dismissal of 255 employees, including senior officials, according to multiple sources in Kabul. Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the directive was implemented on Tuesday, 29 April, resulting in the complete closure of the office of the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs. Among those removed were Maulawi Zakir, the chief of staff of the deputy prime minister, and Mohammad Hassan Haqyar, a senior adviser. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Ban Women’s Salons—Then Demand Bribes to Let Them Survive

·

8am: Beauty parlours that are forced to operate covertly say they are worn down by the Taliban’s systematic extortion and blackmail. They explain that they work out of sheer necessity—to earn a piece of bread for themselves and their children—yet Taliban security sectors continually threaten them and demand pay-offs. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Opposition Delegation Holds Talks In Iran On Afghan Refugee Crisis

·

Mohammad Mohaqiq

Afghanistan International: A high-ranking delegation from the National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan, led by Mohammad Mohaqiq, has travelled to Iran for discussions centred on the plight of Afghan refugees. In a statement released on Tuesday, the council confirmed that the visit aims to strengthen dialogue on the challenges faced by Afghan migrants in Iran and across the wider region. Mohaqiq, leader of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, is heading the delegation. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban shut down Rah-e-Farda TV over ‘staff complaints’

·

Amu: Taliban on Tuesday suspended the operations of Rah-e-Farda Television, a private broadcaster based in Kabul over “staff complaints” and “unpaid salaries.” In a statement, the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture cited “repeated complaints” from journalists and employees about years of unpaid salaries and benefits as the reason for the suspension. Founded in 2006 by Mohammad Mohaqiq, a prominent political figure, Rah-e-Farda became known for its Persian-language programming covering political, social, and cultural issues. Its headquarters are located in Kabul. Click here to read more (external link).

Other Media News

Afghans Deported From Pakistan Struggle To Find Schools, Jobs, And Shelter

·

By Firuza Azizi and Ray Furlong
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 29, 2025

Dildar Khan says he’s spent his entire life in Pakistan but has now been sent “home” to Afghanistan under a scheme that has seen some 100,000 people deported in recent weeks.

Khan has five children between the ages of 2 and 13. “There are two girls and three boys. They were going to school,” he told RFE/RL in a phone interview.

But Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have canceled secondary education for girls since they retook power in 2021.

“It is difficult, very difficult. Because it is important that they are educated,” added Khan.

The Pakistani authorities announced a mass deportation campaign in March, accusing Afghans of links to drug smuggling and terrorism.

Other deported Afghans who spoke to RFE/RL also voiced concern about the impact it would have on their children.

“Our children are sad they cannot go to school,” said Khan Zaman after being forcibly returned to Kabul from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan.

The Save the Children organization said some 50,000 minors were among those deported in the first two weeks of April alone. The charity’s country director, Arshad Malik, said “many of these children were born in Pakistan — Afghanistan is not the country they call home.”

Scarce Jobs In Afghanistan

In a report on April 18, the group noted that many deported families also faced problems finding food, shelter, and work.

Dildar Khan worked as a taxi driver in Pakistan but is now unemployed. He and his family are sheltering in a single room in his brother’s house in a mountainous area of the Achin district of Nangarhar Province.

“There is no space. We are living like this. There are no jobs,” said Khan.

The family was deported on April 20. At the border, they received some $140 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) but Khan said they had now run out of money.

Their possessions are stacked outside his brother’s house, exposed to the sun and rain. “Our request is that [someone] can find us work so we can make a life,” he said.

Imran, a resident of Nangarhar who has six children, told RFE/RL a similar story of a life destroyed by deportation from Pakistan.

“We used to work there, our lives were going well, our children went to schools, madrasahs. Our expenses were covered,” he said.

“But when we came here, there are no jobs, we cannot meet our expenses, we are facing a difficult life.”

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated on April 28 that it was “working around the clock to provide emergency assistance.”

But, it added, “the needs are rapidly increasing and more resources are urgently needed.”

The exodus from Pakistan has mostly passed through the Torkham border crossing, which has seen long lines of trucks heading northwest along the highway to Jalalabad.

“We have no place to stay in Afghanistan,” truck driver Ahmad Nabi told RFE/RL. “I wonder how this situation could impact me…. I don’t know.”

The Pakistani authorities have set varying deadlines for people to leave, depending on their residency status. More than 800,000 Afghans were estimated to be living in Pakistan without papers after fleeing the Taliban takeover in 2021.

But another 1.4 million have papers issued by the UNHCR, and many have been living in Pakistan for decades.

According to UN figures, some 800,000 Afghans were forcibly expelled prior to this new deportation drive, starting in 2023.

The Taliban authorities have criticized the deportations while also saying they are preparing sites to house deportees. But one site near Torkham visited by AFP recently “consisted of nothing more than cleared roads on a rocky plain.”

RFE/RL has been unable to operate freely in Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power in the country.

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.

As India-Pakistan Tensions Soar, Dozens Of Afghan Insurgents Killed Crossing Border

·

By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal
April 28, 2025

Pakistani security forces said they killed dozens of militants attempting to cross into the country from Afghanistan, even as its troops separately continued to exchange gunfire with the India military near Kashmir amid skyrocketing tensions in the region.

Islamabad did not directly blame India for the incursion of militants from Afghanistan, but it said the fighters had been sent to carry out terrorist attacks by their “foreign masters.”

Some Pakistani officials suggested, without providing evidence, that nuclear-rival India encouraged the insurgents’ actions to divert the attention of Pakistan’s military from the brewing crisis in Kashmir.

“Such actions by [the insurgents], at a time when India is leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan, clearly implies on whose cues [the fighters are] operating,” the Pakistani Army said in a statement.

The military said it killed 71insurgents entering from Afghanistan on April 27 and claimed that intelligence reports indicated the militants were “Khwarij” — a phrase the government uses for Tehrik-e Taliban, otherwise known as the Pakistani Taliban.

“On the nights of April 25-26 and 26-27, movement of a large group of Khwarij, who were trying to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was detected by the security forces in general area Hassan Khel, North Waziristan district,” the military said.

“Own troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate…; A large cache of weapons, ammunition, and explosives was also recovered.”

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters the incident represented the largest number of “terrorists” killed in a single day.

“We had information that the foreign masters of these terrorists are asking them to enter Pakistan as soon as possible” to undertake attacks.

Reuters quoted local police officials on April 28 as saying security forces had detained around 500 people for questioning after a search of some 1,000 houses and forests in a hunt for militants in Indian Kashmir.

What’s Behind The New India-Pakistan Escalation?

Tensions have soared in the region between Pakistan and its bitter rival and neighbor India, both nuclear-armed nations.

The latest flareup occurred on April 22 when an attack killed mostly Indian nationals in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India has accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism, but the Pakistani government denies it was behind the attack that killed 26 civilians.

New Delhi and Islamabad have since carried out tit-for-tat punishments following the incident, including downgrading diplomatic and trade ties, closing the main border crossing, and revoking visas for each other’s nationals.

On April 27, Pakistani and Indian troops exchanged fire near Kashmir’s Line of Control for a third night in a row.

The Pakistani government has said it would consider it “an act of war” if India followed through on a threat to block the flow of crucial rivers as punishment for the deadly incident.

The United States on April 27 said it was in touch with India and Pakistan and urged them to seek a “responsible solution” to the crisis.

“This is an evolving situation and we are monitoring developments closely. We have been in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at multiple levels,” a State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

In comments to foreign media, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tatar claimed that India blamed Islamabad for the tourist attack to distract Pakistan’s security forces from their focus on the tensions on its western borders.

He added that Pakistan had “undeniable evidence” of India’s support for the Pakistani Taliban and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which is behind multiple attacks in Balochistan. India has denied the charges.

Balochistan has been the site of an insurgency, with separatists seeking independence from Pakistan.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP

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.

Related

Pakistani Defense Minister: Terrorism is a result of US policies in the region

·

Khawaja Muhammad Asif

Khaama: Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif recently reiterated his country’s stance on terrorism, acknowledging past support for terror groups. In a statement, Asif stressed that the roots of terrorism in the region can be traced back decades to Western policies, particularly those of the United States. He claimed that Pakistan had long been involved in a “dirty game” on behalf of the West, citing decades of collaboration with the U.S. and the U.K. in supporting terrorism. Click here to read more (external link).