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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continues robust security operations along its western border as regional dynamics shift, following India&rsquo;s engagement with Afghanistan&rsquo;s Taliban government, according to a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG).&nbsp;The annual conflict assessment, titled &ldquo;Ten Conflicts to Watch in 2026&rdquo;, highlights Pakistan&rsquo;s strategic position in South Asia after two separate military confrontations in 2025, first with India in April, then with Afghanistan in October.&nbsp;The report underscores ongoing cross-border militancy, noting that over 600 Pakistani security personnel were killed last year, primarily in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan.&nbsp;Islamabad attributes these attacks to militants operating from Afghan territory, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) elements.&nbsp;While the Taliban publicly deny the presence of Pakistani militants in Afghanistan, officials acknowledge that controlling all movement across the 2,570-kilometer border remains challenging, the ICG notes.&nbsp;In October, cross-border incidents prompted Pakistan to conduct limited operations against militant targets, and coordinated regional diplomacy through T&uuml;rkiye and Qatar helped establish a temporary ceasefire.&nbsp;The ICG report also observes that Taliban-India engagement has heightened Pakistan&rsquo;s strategic focus on the region. Pakistan&rsquo;s intelligence and military authorities continue to monitor developments closely, ensuring cross-border threats are contained while maintaining readiness for counterterrorism operations.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s history of supporting Afghan stability, including sheltering Taliban leaders during their insurgency against the US-backed government, underscores Islamabad&rsquo;s ongoing commitment to regional security.&nbsp;The ICG report stresses that Pakistan&rsquo;s proactive measures aim to prevent militant groups from exploiting porous borders and to maintain calm along its western frontier.&nbsp;In addition to western border challenges, Pakistan faced tensions with India following the April 2025 Pahalgam incident in Indian-occupied Kashmir, which led to retaliatory strikes by both sides.&nbsp;The report calls these confrontations the most serious escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in years. Pakistani authorities have since worked closely with international partners to stabilize the situation, while continuing to strengthen defense preparedness.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan remains vigilant in safeguarding its borders and countering cross-border threats,&rdquo; the assessment notes, citing Islamabad&rsquo;s measured and strategic response. Officials emphasize that regional stability depends on continuous cooperation, intelligence coordination, and robust security measures along sensitive border areas.&nbsp;The ICG&rsquo;s annual watchlist identifies South Asia as a critical flashpoint in 2026, highlighting the importance of Pakistan&rsquo;s proactive counterterrorism and border security operations in maintaining regional peace.

Afghanistan

India

The ICG report highlights South Asia’s 2025 conflicts, cross-border militancy, Afghanistan-India engagement, and regional flashpoints, warning that instability could escalate if underlying tensions remain unaddressed in 2026.

Pakistan strengthens border security amid Taliban-India regional developments

ISLAMABAD: Interim&nbsp;Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani declared that the country had fulfilled its Doha commitments, posed no threat internationally, and remained open to dialogue for &ldquo;resolving any existing challenges&rdquo;, Afghan media reported. Haqqani claimed during a police graduation ceremony at the Police Academy that Afghanistan was now a secure country and posed no threat to other nations.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 440px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2004080608247795944&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=5157be1bb5ef009d41645d0ce50a08cf30f5b118&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2004080608247795944">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&lsquo;Any existing challenges&rsquo;<h2 style="line-height: 2;">Haqqani further claimed that the commitments made during the Doha consultations, particularly that Afghan soil would not be used to threaten others, have been implemented.</h2> He added that Afghanistan remains open to dialogue for resolving &ldquo;any existing challenges&rdquo;. Haqqani said: &ldquo;We have worked to fulfill our commitment that Afghanistan will not be a threat to other countries, and we continue to believe that any issues should be resolved through dialogue. The doors of Afghanistan are not closed.&rdquo; Return of refugees &nbsp;The interim interior minister further claimed that the government continues to work on practical measures for the safe return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, as well as addressing broader regional security and development challenges. Meanwhile, the Administrative Deputy Minister of the Interior, Rahmatullah Najib, announced the graduation of nearly 900 new police academy cadets, stating that this will contribute to improved public safety and stability, Afghan media reported. UNSC reportA <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/unsc-report-questions-taliban-claims-of-denying-militant-safe-havens" style="color:#0073e6;">United Nations Security Council (UNSC) report</a> released this month has dismissed the Afghan Taliban&rsquo;s claim that militant groups are not using Afghan territory for cross-border violence, calling the assertion &ldquo;not credible&rdquo; and warning that neighboring countries increasingly see Afghanistan as a source of regional insecurity due to ongoing operations by several armed groups based there. The findings are included in the 16th report of the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, submitted to the United Nations Security Council under resolution 2763.

Sirajuddin Haqqani declares the country has fulfilled its Doha commitments, poses no international threat, remains open to dialogue on challenges, and is working on refugee returns, regional security, and stability.

Doors open for talks to resolve ‘any existing challenges’: Interim Afghan minister 

ANAHEIM: Afghans who worked alongside US troops during almost two decades of war were once promised a home in the United States to shelter them from the extremist intolerance of the Taliban.&nbsp; But after two National Guard soldiers were shot -- one of them fatally -- in Washington last month, allegedly by an Afghan national, their fates have been put on hold, and many are now terrified about what the future might bring. &lsquo;Everybody is scared&rsquo;&ldquo;Everybody is scared,&rdquo; a 31-year-old Afghan green card holder told AFP. &ldquo;We are scared that we will be judged by people for the crimes committed by one individual from Afghanistan.&rdquo; West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her wounds after what officials described as an &ldquo;ambush-style&rdquo; attack that also left fellow Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, fighting for his life. The following day President Donald Trump announced he was halting all migration from what he called &ldquo;third world countries,&rdquo; including Afghanistan, as his administration announced a review of all residency grants for people from 19 countries -- around 1.6 million people, according to an AFP tally. Afghans fear being sent back&nbsp;Now Afghans fear they might be sent back to a nation run by extremists who they once worked to defeat. &ldquo;I made my home in America, now this is my home. If I leave here where I have to go then?&rdquo; sobbed Maryam. Like all Afghan nationals AFP spoke to for this story, Maryam did not want to be identified for fear of angering US immigration authorities. &ldquo;When I sleep my chest feels very painful, empty,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I feel like I belong to nowhere.&rdquo; The 27-year-old worked on projects for the US embassy in Kabul, where she helped produce education materials that she says cast the Taliban in a bad light. &lsquo;Big dreams&rsquo;&nbsp;When the American-led international force was there, her country began to modernize, giving rights to women that their mothers did not have. &ldquo;I did education, I had a big dreams for my country, for myself,&rdquo; she said from her home outside Los Angeles. But in August 2021, the last US troops hurriedly withdrew from Afghanistan as the Taliban ran riot, taking over the institutions that American taxpayers had spent billions of dollars to prop up. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans scrambled to leave the country, terrified that the Taliban would exact revenge on anyone who had helped the West. &lsquo;No water, food, nothing&rsquo;&ldquo;It was so difficult to get into the airport,&rdquo; said Khan, who describes printing out dozens of documents, including proof that his wife was a US citizen living in California. &ldquo;There was no water, no food, nothing. And we spent four days in there,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was too cold during the night.&rdquo; Khan, who worked in a university and at a government bank, finally got a plane to Qatar, then on to Germany before being flown to New Jersey, where he underwent two months of background checks and processing. &ldquo;We truly thank United States. They helped us a lot to come... and rebuild our life here.&rdquo; <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;Everything is paused&rsquo;</h2>Khan says he worked day and night in Anaheim, California to save money, often doing two jobs, and now has his own used car dealership. He has also bought a triplex, part of which he rents out to provide a source of income, and secured his green card for permanent US residency. &ldquo;I was about to apply to my citizenship by the end of December, but unfortunately, after the incident in Washington DC, everything is paused,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Everybody is scared, whoever is having like a green card, a parole status, or they have applied for asylum or whatever status they have, all of them are scared. &lsquo;Committed to America&rsquo;&quot;We had a lot of dreams, and now every day everything becomes more difficult, and our dreams are, like, going the other way.&rdquo; For Maryam, who works for an NGO in California&#39;s Orange County, all she wants is to be able to get her green card application back on track, and for her community to be treated fairly. &ldquo;What the person did does not represent us,&rdquo; she said of the shooter in Washington. &ldquo;We are all committed to America; we are not the traitor, we are the survivor.&rdquo;

Americas

In August 2021, the last US troops hurriedly withdrew from Afghanistan as the Taliban ran riot, taking over the institutions that American taxpayers had spent billions of dollars to prop up.

US Afghans in limbo after Washington soldier attack

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has urged the interim Afghanistan government to take concrete action against all terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil, stressing that lasting stability can only be achieved through region-led solutions.&nbsp;The call was made during the Meeting of Special Representatives for Afghanistan of the Neighbouring Countries, plus Russia, hosted by Iran in Tehran on Sunday, to review the evolving situation in Afghanistan and broader regional security dynamics.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq, told the meeting that there was a shared assessment among participating countries that terrorism emanating from Afghan territory continues to pose a serious challenge to regional peace and stability.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2000187327453569118&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=d269215c020ab518952f2e1d79057a46f8a614c0&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div>He said the Afghan people had suffered immensely and deserved peace and economic recovery, stressing that the current authorities in Kabul needed to eliminate, without discrimination, all types of terrorist groups, Sadiq said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Ambassador Sadiq noted that only a terror-free Afghanistan would inspire confidence among neighboring and regional states to engage meaningfully with the country, helping unlock its economic potential and strengthen regional connectivity. At the outset of the session, Iran&rsquo;s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated that imported solutions and external decision-making had failed to bring peace to Afghanistan, underscoring that neighbouring countries must play a central role in ensuring sustainable security, development, and regional integration, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). He said Afghanistan&rsquo;s stability was vital not only for its own future but for the entire region, noting that the country&rsquo;s geo-economic position connects Central, West, and South Asia. Araghchi added that decades of foreign military intervention, including the NATO presence, did not deliver lasting peace due to excessive reliance on security-centric approaches and disregard for Afghanistan&rsquo;s social and cultural realities. &ldquo;The lesson is clear: external prescriptions cannot resolve regional crises,&rdquo; he said, calling for coordinated, neighbor-driven cooperation based on shared interests, collective security, and long-term development. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the gathering reflected ongoing consultations among neighboring countries to promote peace, reduce tensions, and enhance regional cohesion, adding that Iran places high importance on stability across its neighborhood.</div>

Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq terrorism emanating from Afghan territory continues to pose a serious challenge to regional peace and stability.

Regional forum urges Afghanistan to act against terrorist groups

Foreign Affairs

Sharif says Pakistan has been and shall continue to support all efforts aimed at upholding the inalienable right to self-determination of Palestinian people as well as the brave and resilient Kashmiri people.

Pakistan PM calls on world to press Kabul to curb terrorism from Afghan soil 

KABUL: When Bahara was four months pregnant, she went to a Kabul hospital to beg for an abortion. &quot;We&#39;re not allowed,&quot; a doctor told her. &quot;If someone finds out, we will all end up in prison.&quot;&nbsp;Abortion in Afghanistan is illegal and you can be locked up for having or assisting one.&nbsp;But Bahara was desperate.&nbsp;Her jobless husband had ordered her to &quot;find a solution,&quot; he did not want a fifth daughter.&nbsp;&quot;We can barely afford to feed&quot; the girls as it is, Bahara, 35, told AFP. &quot;If it was a boy, he could go to school and work.&quot;&nbsp;But there are no such prospects for a girl, with women banned from secondary schools, universities and most jobs since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.&nbsp;So Bahara took a neighbor&#39;s advice and bought, for the equivalent of two dollars, a herbal tea at the market made from a type of mallow that induces contractions.&nbsp;The bleeding was so bad she had to go back to the hospital. &quot;I told them that I had fallen, but they knew I was lying because I had no marks on my body. They were angry but did not report me,&quot; said the mother-of-four.&nbsp;&quot;They operated and removed the remains of the fetus. Since then I have felt very weak.&quot;&nbsp;The plant she used can be &quot;very risky,&quot; said ethno botanist Guadalupe Maldonado Andrade from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. A wrong dose can cause organ damage and severe hemorrhaging.&nbsp;Bahara&#39;s is not an isolated case.&nbsp;Two other women AFP talked to during our months-long investigation also risked their lives to abort. Nesa took tablets toxic to the embryo and Mariam crushed her stomach with a heavy stone.&nbsp;Of the dozen women AFP talked to about their clandestine abortions, only five agreed to be interviewed on condition we protected their anonymity and changed their names.&nbsp;Even outside Taliban circles, the fear of being stigmatized, and arrested, is strong in Afghanistan&#39;s deeply conservative society.&nbsp;More &#39;miscarriages&#39;With such a taboo, and no real statistics, Sharafat Zaman of the Afghan health ministry insisted &quot;few&quot; women are affected.&nbsp;The Taliban, who follow a strict interpretation of Islam, did not change the abortion laws when they returned to power in 2021.&nbsp;But officials check more often that terminations are not being carried out in hospitals, panicking doctors and pushing women to have abortions in secret, according to many health sector workers AFP interviewed.&nbsp;Several doctors said the number of miscarriages has increased since 2021, which they suspect may conceal clandestine abortions given the injuries patients present and their psychological state.&nbsp;Two international medical organizations also said they noticed the same trend, while access to contraception has become more difficult.&nbsp;&quot;Budget constraints and the forced closure of family planning services endanger access to modern contraception,&quot; a UN source told AFP, saying less than half of Afghan women have access to methods such as condoms, implants or pills.&nbsp;Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world, with young women banned from training as midwives or nurses in medical schools since last year.&nbsp;While health ministry spokesman Zaman acknowledged the dangers of clandestine abortions, and that some women face &quot;problems&quot;, he said it was not the government&#39;s fault.&nbsp;Abortion is permitted when the life of a pregnant woman is in grave danger. However, in practice it is rarely granted. For the Taliban abortion is &quot;taking a life&quot;, Zaman said.&nbsp;He didn&#39;t want another girl&quot;Before (the Taliban&#39;s return) we were able to perform more abortions, there were NGOs helping us and no government checks,&quot; said a 58-year-old gynecologist in Kabul.&nbsp;&quot;Now doctors are afraid because if they check prescriptions at a pharmacy, it&#39;s very dangerous&quot; for them.&nbsp;Women are afraid to ask for a termination in hospital, she said, &quot;so more are trying it at home, and then they go to hospital saying they have had a miscarriage.&quot;&nbsp;Some pharmacies sell them the abortion drug misoprostol without a prescription, the doctor said.&nbsp;While some healthcare workers are compassionate, others can demand exorbitant sums in what is one of the world&#39;s poorest countries.&nbsp;Nesa, a mother of eight daughters and one son, found out she was pregnant with another girl at four months.&nbsp;&quot;I knew if my husband found out, he would throw me out. He thinks we do better with boys,&quot; the 35-year-old farmer said.&nbsp;&quot;I begged a clinic to help me. They asked for 10,000 Afghanis (130 euros), which I didn&#39;t have. I went to the pharmacy without a prescription and they gave me a malaria drug, saying it would help.&quot;&nbsp;The only antimalarial drugs available in Kabul pharmacies are chloroquine and primaquine, drugs that should not be used during pregnancy, according to the French agency for medicine safety (ANSM), because they are potentially toxic to the fetus.&nbsp;&quot;I started bleeding and lost consciousness,&quot; Nesa said. &quot;I was taken to the hospital and I begged the doctors not to report me and they removed the remains of the fetus.&quot;&nbsp;Constant painMariam, 22, had an affair. While abortion is a source of shame in Afghanistan and weighs on the entire family, sex outside marriage is often dangerous, sometimes leading to femicides known as &quot;honor killings.&quot;&nbsp;One month into her pregnancy, &quot;my mother contacted a midwife, but she asked for too much money. So my mother brought me home, placed a very heavy stone on my belly and crushed my stomach.&nbsp;&quot;I screamed and started bleeding,&quot; Mariam said. &quot;I went to the hospital and they told me the embryo was gone. Now I am depressed and constantly have stomach pain.&quot;&nbsp;Only one third of women globally live in countries where abortion is allowed on demand, according to the US NGO Center for Reproductive Rights. Illegal abortions result in 39,000 deaths a year worldwide, it estimates.&nbsp;A Kabul midwife told AFP she feels &quot;helpless and weak for not being able to help (women) more.&quot; A gynecologist in the Nangarhar region in the east of the country was equally despairing.&nbsp;&quot;I feel for these women, I vowed to help them by becoming a doctor. But we can&#39;t,&quot; she said.

Abortion in Afghanistan is illegal and you can be locked up for having or assisting one.

Abortion in Afghanistan: 'My mother crushed my stomach with a stone'

ISLAMABAD: Australia has unveiled a new autonomous sanctions regime targeting senior Taliban figures over widespread restrictions on women and girls, as a United Nations expert warns that gender-based repression and public executions in Afghanistan are intensifying.&nbsp; Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the mechanism as a &ldquo;world-first&rdquo; framework that will allow Australia to impose its own financial sanctions and travel bans to &ldquo;increase pressure on the Taliban,&rdquo; whose sweeping restrictions on women and girls have intensified since the group returned to power in August 2021. Since then, the Taliban have barred women from secondary and higher education, restricted their movement and employment, and dismantled institutions designed to safeguard their rights. Wong said listed individuals under the new regime will face asset freezes, financial penalties and travel bans. She stressed that humanitarian assistance would continue, noting that Australia has provided more than $260 million in aid since the fall of Kabul. The move comes against the backdrop of escalating international concern. In July, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani and Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, for &ldquo;crimes against humanity for the persecution of women and girls.&rdquo; The court said the Taliban had deprived women of basic rights, including education, family life, privacy and freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion. Since the withdrawal of US and NATO forces in 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping curbs on women, banning them from most jobs and further restricting education. In December 2022, female students were suspended from universities indefinitely. According to UN estimates, about 1.4 million girls, nearly 80% of school-age girls, are now out of school. Wong said Australia remained &ldquo;deeply concerned&rdquo; about the deteriorating situation and emphasized that the sanctions framework contains a humanitarian exemption to ensure aid delivery. Additional alarm was raised this week by Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, who concluded a five-day mission to Qatar on Dec 4. He said his visit coincided with the global &ldquo;16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,&rdquo; adding: &ldquo;Nowhere is this campaign more relevant than in Afghanistan, where, under Taliban rule, women and girls are being deprived of their fundamental rights, largely excluded from education and employment, restricted in their ability to access healthcare, and denied access to justice and protection.&rdquo; Bennett said he was &ldquo;particularly alarmed&rdquo; by reports of &ldquo;gross violence against women and girls,&rdquo; including the unexplained death of a recently married girl in Kabul. &ldquo;Such cases must be promptly and independently investigated,&rdquo; he said, calling for &ldquo;global solidarity and sustained pressure&rdquo; to support Afghan women&rsquo;s demands for &ldquo;equality, safety and dignity.&rdquo; During his mission, Bennett said he also learned that the de facto Supreme Court had announced, and the Taliban leader confirmed, the public execution of a man convicted of murder in the city of Khost. &ldquo;On Dec 2, tens of thousands of local community members, reportedly including young boys, attended the public execution,&rdquo; he said. A young male relative of the victim, &ldquo;reported to have been a child,&rdquo; carried out the killing. &ldquo;The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, and is especially concerning in circumstances where it is highly unlikely that the convicted person received a fair trial,&rdquo; Bennett said. &ldquo;Children must never be used to carry out an execution.&rdquo;

Afghanistan’s Taliban administration has intensified human rights abuses, restricting women’s education and employment, while Australia imposes sanctions and the UN reports escalating violence, including public executions involving children.

Australia sanctions Taliban officials as UN warns of escalating abuses

WASHINGTON: An Afghan man has been charged in Texas with threatening to build a bomb and carry out a suicide attack, US officials said Tuesday as the Trump administration vows a crackdown on Afghan migrants after a deadly shooting. Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, 30, of Fort Worth, allegedly made the threats in a November 23 video that he shared on TikTok, X and Facebook, the Justice Department said in a statement. In the video, Alokozay allegedly praises the Taliban and threatens to carry out a suicide attack on Americans. &quot;Thanks to public reports of a threatening online video, the FBI&#39;s Joint Terrorism Task Force apprehended this individual before he could commit an act of violence,&quot; FBI Dallas special agent in charge Joseph Rothrock said. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said Alokozay &quot;came into America during the Biden administration and as alleged, explicitly stated that he came here in order to kill American citizens.&quot; He faces up to five years in prison if convicted of making a threatening interstate communication. Alokozay&#39;s arrest comes a week after the shooting near the White House in Washington of two National Guard members. A 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has been charged with first degree murder in connection with the attack which left one of the soldiers dead. Lakanwal had been part of a CIA-backed &quot;partner force&quot; fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and entered the United States as part of a resettlement program following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. President Donald Trump said Sunday his administration intends to pause asylum decisions for &quot;a long time&quot; after the shooting. &quot;We don&#39;t want those people,&quot; he said on social media.

📰 News Summary
An Afghan man was charged in Texas for threatening a suicide attack and praising the Taliban in an online video. The arrest follows a deadly shooting near the White House by another Afghan national, prompting the Trump administration to vow a crackdown on Afghan migrants.

Afghan man arrested in Texas threatened suicide attack

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani law-enforcement agencies have uncovered what officials describe as a structured terrorist network operating from Afghanistan, with recent arrests exposing recruitment pipelines, cross-border training sites, and planned strikes on military and civilian targets, security sources said.&nbsp;One of the key arrests occurred in Talagang, where authorities detained a man identifying himself as Qasim, alias Hassan, a member of the Daloozi tribe from Afghanistan&rsquo;s Gardez province. According to security sources, the suspect admitted he had been recruited in 2025 by a Taliban commander named Armani at Sarha Darga.&nbsp;&ldquo;He told investigators that Commander Armani, along with a companion named Farooq, made him conduct reconnaissance of the army fort in Tajori for a suicide attack,&rdquo; security sources said. The suspect also allegedly confessed to 20 days of training in Afghanistan before being tasked with carrying out a suicide bombing.&nbsp;Security officials said the suspect claimed to have recruited five people for the network, receiving Rs10,000 ($34) per recruit, and later traveled to Punjab in September to enlist additional members before being arrested.&nbsp;The detentions come amid Pakistan&rsquo;s deadliest surge in terrorism in a decade, with violence heavily concentrated in&nbsp;Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)&nbsp;and Balochistan. &ldquo;Attack levels recorded in 2024 mirrored those of 2014,&rdquo; security sources said, citing internal assessments.&nbsp;More than 300 attacks have already struck KP in 2025, according to provincial counterterrorism data shared with investigators.&nbsp;Pakistani authorities maintain that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and affiliated outfits continue to use Afghan territory to stage operations. Security officials noted that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had previously stated that suicide bombers who targeted an Islamabad courthouse and a military cadet college in 2025 were Afghan nationals.&nbsp;Security sources added that a December 2024 attack in Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan) by Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a TTP-linked faction, killed 23 security personnel, prompting Islamabad to demand action from Afghanistan&rsquo;s interim authorities.&nbsp;According to the sources, internal threat assessments show a sharp rise in regional militancy since the Afghan Taliban&rsquo;s return to power in 2021. Pakistan-based research cited by investigators documented a 51% increase in attacks in the year following August 15, 2021, while the interior ministry logged a 60% nationwide rise in 2023.&nbsp;Terrorism-related fatalities in Pakistan have quadrupled since 2019, internal government data shows, rising from 365 deaths that year to at least 1,438 in 2023. Academic studies reviewed by security officials also indicate that average monthly TTP attacks tripled between 2020 and 2022.&nbsp;A 2025 assessment circulated among Pakistani security planners concluded that the TTP continues to receive &ldquo;substantial logistical and operational support&rdquo; from authorities inside Afghanistan, with analysts noting that the group has adopted a more centralized command structure and operates from cross-border sanctuaries.&nbsp;Security sources said the latest arrests offer the &ldquo;clearest evidence yet&rdquo; of an organized recruitment chain linking operatives inside Pakistan to handlers and trainers based in Afghanistan.

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Pakistani security sources say recent arrests expose a structured Afghanistan-based network recruiting, training and deploying militants as nationwide attacks surge, with TTP-linked groups expanding operations from cross-border sanctuaries.

Pakistan traces expanding Afghan-based network behind rising attacks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&#39;s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that the United Nations&#39; request to allow humanitarian aid to Afghanistan would be considered, and the process would likely begin on Sunday. He was speaking to the media at the Foreign Office on Saturday. The foreign minister highlighted key official tours and developments that occurred during his recent overseas visits. Speaking on Afghanistan, Dar said that, following a UN request, Pakistan would resume humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. &ldquo;I received a request from the UN via the Foreign Office yesterday to reconsider the suspension of humanitarian aid [food, etc.] for Afghanistan,&rdquo; Dar added. &ldquo;I believe we should take positive action for the common Afghan people,&rdquo; he said. The foreign minister said that he had consulted Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and would soon consult the prime minister. He said that he was hopeful that permission for humanitarian relief would be granted by tomorrow. &ldquo;We will hopefully grant permission for essential food relief on humanitarian grounds by tomorrow,&rdquo; Dar stated. &#39;Dialogue, diplomacy&#39; preferredDiscussing terrorism-related activities across the country, the foreign minister said that since the Afghan interim regime came into power in 2021, 2,000 people had been martyred while another 20,000 had been injured, stressing that the &ldquo;situation is not sustainable.&rdquo; &ldquo;I stressed that Pakistan has the power to take kinetic action, but that it is undesirable against a brother nation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If they don&#39;t resolve the TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan] issue, we have other options. Dialogue and diplomacy are the answers, but they must look inward and address their weaknesses,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;It takes two to tango,&rdquo; he remarked. Qatar, T&uuml;rkiye as mediatorsDar recalled that Qatar and T&uuml;rkiye hosted mediation between Pakistan and Afghanistan; however, power centers in Afghanistan prevented a unanimous decision. &ldquo;Qatar and T&uuml;rkiye attempted mediation, but two power centers in Afghanistan prevented decisions from taking effect,&rdquo; he added. Dar stated that Pakistan was prepared to launch a cleanup operation in Afghanistan when Qatar, alongside T&uuml;rkiye, offered to mediate between the two countries.&nbsp; &ldquo;They were likely aware of our planned kinetic operation, and their government was in contact with me on an hourly basis to facilitate mediation,&rdquo; he said. &nbsp;He added that the mediators had to withdraw in embarrassment after the Taliban refused to soften their position. Border issues with AfghanistanRegarding border issues, the foreign minister said that Pakistan had hosted over &ldquo;4 million Afghan brothers for decades.&rdquo; Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that during his visit to Kabul, the Afghan interim foreign minister informed him that the Taliban had detained around a hundred TTP terrorists along with several of their facilitators. Dar acknowledged the arrests but stressed that &ldquo;this is not enough.&rdquo;&nbsp; He said Kabul had invited Pakistan to send a delegation to verify the detentions, yet Islamabad maintains that far more decisive and sustained action is needed against TTP elements operating from Afghan soil. Recalling the Economic Cooperation Council&#39;s virtual meeting, Dar said that Afghanistan&rsquo;s interim foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, &ldquo;provoked me&rdquo; by accusing Pakistan. The foreign minister reiterated that stability in Afghanistan was imperative for peace and stability in the entire region. Pakistan to &lsquo;positively consider&#39; contributing forces as Gaza peacekeepersResponding to a question on the International Stabilization Force (ISF), Dar said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had given an &ldquo;in principle indication&rdquo; that Pakistan would also positively consider sending its forces. &ldquo;My counterproposal was that if it is not a UN Peacekeeping Force, it must be sanctioned by the UN Security Council. The subsequent US resolution&rsquo;s wording was unacceptable to us.&rdquo; He added that there was &ldquo;a thought&rdquo; that the ISF might be mandated to disarm and de-weaponize Hamas. To this, he stated: &ldquo;We are not ready for that. Our job is peacekeeping, not peace enforcement; that is the role of Palestinian law enforcement agencies.&rdquo;

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says Pakistan is considering resuming humanitarian aid to Afghanistan following a UN request, stressing regional stability, dialogue over force, and conditional support for international stabilization efforts in Gaza.

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