Khawaja Muhammad Asif
Afghanistan International: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has issued a sharp warning to the Taliban, threatening their complete destruction and saying Pakistan could force them to “flee back to the Tora Bora caves.” Asif claimed that Pakistan would not need to use even a fraction of its military power to “completely obliterate the Taliban regime” and said a repeat of the Taliban’s retreat into Tora Bora would be “a spectacle to watch.” The Tora Bora mountain complex in eastern Afghanistan gained notoriety for its strategic role after the Taliban’s fall in 2001. The minister accused the Taliban of dragging Afghanistan toward another war to preserve their rule and sustain what he called a “war economy.” Click here to read more (external link).
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Afghanistan International: Local sources reported renewed clashes early Wednesday in the Shahr-e-Buzurg district between Taliban units and fighters loyal to Abdul Rahman Ammar, the group’s former provincial head of mining. The clashes, which have continued for several days, pit Ammar’s forces against those of Shafiqullah Hafizi, the Taliban’s current head of mining in Badakhshan, in what sources describe as a dispute over control of lucrative gold mines. Ammar is believed to have backing from senior Taliban figures, including Fitrat. Since taking power, the Taliban have prioritised mining operations across Afghanistan. In Badakhshan, in particular, competition among commanders for control and profit from the province’s natural resources has repeatedly led to internal clashes. 
Amu: Afghanistan opened their three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe with a commanding 53-run win at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday. A strong all-round performance, led by Azmatullah Omarzai, helped the visitors take a 1–0 lead in the series. The second T20I will be played later this week, with Afghanistan eyeing a series win and Zimbabwe hoping to bounce back. 
The Times of Centra Asia: Peaceful coexistence is turning out to be complicated for Tajikistan and the Taliban government in Afghanistan. The Tajik government has viewed the Taliban as a threat since the militant group appeared in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s. But now that modest efforts are underway to establish some sort of amicable ties, there has been an uptick of violence directly involving the two sides along the Tajik-Afghan border. 
8am: The three-day talks between delegations from Pakistan and the Taliban in Istanbul have ended without any tangible outcome. Geo News reported Monday night, October 27, that the third and final day of the latest round of negotiations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban concluded in Istanbul, Türkiye, without any progress. According to the report, Turkish and Qatari mediators described Pakistan’s demands as “reasonable and acceptable,” but the Taliban refused to cooperate, offering what were characterized as “unrealistic” and “illogical” responses. 
Khaama: Turkey detained nine Afghan migrants and three suspected smugglers in Sakarya, part of a wider crackdown that has seen over 30,000 Afghans arrested this year. Turkish police detained nine Afghan migrants in the city of Sakarya on Tuesday, saying they had entered the country illegally, according to local reports. Reports of Afghan migrants being detained and sent to deportation facilities in various Turkish cities have become a near-daily occurrence. 
Amu: Pakistani authorities deported 7,324 Afghan migrants on Monday, Oct. 27, according to the Taliban-run Commission for Refugees, in what marks one of the highest single-day mass expulsions of Afghans in recent weeks. The deportees were returned through the Spin Boldak and Bahramcha border crossings, with both forced and voluntary returns reported. The expulsions come amid an escalating crackdown on undocumented Afghan nationals living in Pakistan, particularly following eight days of border clashes between the Taliban and Pakistani forces earlier this month. 
Amu: The mass deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran has led to a sharp increase in labor costs, with wages for construction workers doubling or even tripling in some areas, according to a senior housing industry official. Saeed Lotfi, the head of Tehran’s Real Estate Consultants Union, said in a press conference that the recent expulsions have left a major gap in Iran’s construction workforce. “Since the deportation of Afghan nationals, it has become extremely difficult to find workers for housing projects,” he said. “In parts of southern Tehran, residential homes have been emptied due to the deportations,” Lotfi added. “Labor costs have since risen two to two-and-a-half times.”