Afghanistan International: After returning from Moscow, Taliban Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob said Pakistan would soon no longer dare attack Afghan territory, adding that implementation of a military cooperation agreement between the Taliban and Russia would begin shortly. At the same time, he stressed that the agreement was not a defence-security pact and should not cause concern for other countries. Click here to read more (external link).
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Ariana: A judge-led inquiry into alleged war crimes committed by British special forces in Afghanistan has heard that an initial internal review of the allegations was dismissed within a single day, according to newly declassified documents. The documents, released on Friday as part of the ongoing public inquiry, suggest senior British special forces officers failed to properly investigate repeated reports that members of the Special Air Service (SAS) had unlawfully killed unarmed Afghans during operations in the country. Click here to read more (external link).
Hamid Karzai
The Guardian (UK): Concerns about the number of Afghan civilians being killed by British special forces in the early part of the last decade prompted the country’s then president to make a “muscular” complaint to Nato commanders fighting the Taliban. Newly released evidence from a public inquiry into the deaths of up to 80 people during an SAS deployment also showed that Afghan partner military forces were no longer willing to work alongside the British by the spring of 2011. “President Hamid Karzai was very ‘muscular’ in addressing the issue” of British detention operations “with Nato’s chain of command”, according to the summary of N1788’s two days of evidence, first given in the autumn of 2024. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: United Nations Security Council says Taliban officials and fighters committed sexual violence against women, with United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan documenting 21 cases involving 15 women and six girls in 2025. According to the report, Taliban officials and fighters subjected Afghan women to rape and gang rape. Some victims were also stripped naked or forced into marriage. The report stressed that despite the Taliban’s declared ban on forced marriage, Taliban officials themselves have been involved in carrying out such marriages. Click here to read more (external link).
Khaama: Emomali Rahmon has ordered education authorities to improve the teaching of the Persian script, known in Tajikistan as the “ancestral alphabet,” as part of broader efforts to strengthen national identity and cultural heritage. According to state media reports, Rahmon instructed schools and universities to improve the quality of Persian-script education within programmes promoting “Aryan history and culture.” Tajikistan’s official language is Tajik Persian, but it is currently written using the Cyrillic alphabet introduced during the Soviet period. The Persian script was widely used in Tajikistan before Soviet authorities replaced it with Cyrillic in 1940 under a language policy aimed at integrating Tajiks more closely into the Soviet administrative and cultural system. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: The Afghanistan U-20 national football team has been drawn alongside Jordan, Tajikistan and hosts Bahrain in Group D of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup China 2027 qualifiers. The official draw was held Thursday at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with qualification matches scheduled to take place from August 25 to September 6, 2026 in a centralized league format hosted by Bahrain. The AFC U-20 Asian Cup China 2027 finals are scheduled to be held from March 24 to April 10, 2027. Click here to read more (external link).
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Khaama: Russia has offered to help ease growing tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, saying it is ready to support political and diplomatic dialogue between Pakistan and the Taliban administration in Afghanistan. Alexander Venediktov, deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, made the remarks during a meeting with Azad Sajad Khan, deputy national security adviser to Pakistan’s prime minister, on the sidelines of an international security forum in Moscow on Wednesday. Click here to read more (external link).
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Khaama: Seyed Qasim Hashemi, an Afghan journalist, has been detained by Pakistani police, according to sources familiar with the incident. Sources said Hashemi was arrested around 12:19 p.m. on Thursday on the Abbottabad-Islamabad highway by Pakistani authorities. No official statement has yet been issued regarding the reason for his detention or his current condition. Click here to read more (external link).