All posts tagged: Taliban

Dozens of Afghan men protest govt crackdown on women, police accused of ‘firing shots’

Dozens of Afghan men protest govt crackdown on women, police accused of ‘firing shots’

Published by Sam Flores

Afghan men held a rare rally Tuesday in the western city of Herat over new restrictions against women, with police denying witness accounts that protesters were dispersed with live fire. Dozens of men gathered in response to a crackdown three days earlier by the Taliban government’s morality police, who detained women not wearing the body-cloaking chador or burqa. Read moreAfghan women erased by the Taliban as the international community looks on A 33-year-old protester said the security forces “used sticks, whips and firearms to disperse the crowd. They even fired shots into the air”. Along with other residents, he spoke on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns. The city’s police force denied that any weapons were used, accusing demonstrators of seeking “to disturb public order”. Protests are incredibly unusual in Afghanistan, where the Taliban authorities have ruled according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law since August 2021. The protester said he saw people wounded, but his account could not be independently verified. “People are extremely frightened,” he said. WatchEU Taliban invite ‘the wrong …

Russia has signed a military pact with the Taliban. Could its fighters start turning up in Ukraine?

Russia has signed a military pact with the Taliban. Could its fighters start turning up in Ukraine?

Published by Sam Flores

Russia has signed an agreement to increase its military cooperation with the Taliban, deepening its ties to the hardline Islamist group and enshrining its outlier status as the only country in the world to recognise its regime in Afghanistan. The deal was ratified at an event in Moscow dubbed the “International Security Forum”, hosted by Russia and attended by the Taliban’s defence minister and senior leader Mohammad Yaqoob on Wednesday. This is the first high-level summit attended by Taliban officials after Russia recognised the group as the official government of Afghanistan in July 2025. No other nation in the world has done so. Neither Russia nor the Afghan side shared details of the military technical agreement, but it will raise concerns that the Taliban could begin providing its seasoned fighters to join Russia’s war effort against Ukraine. North Korea sent thousands of troops to the front lines of the war in Europe after Pyongyang and Moscow signed their own military pact in June 2024. Mr Yaqoob said the Taliban and Russia have expanded their bilateral …

Russia signs military partnership with the Taliban – POLITICO

Russia signs military partnership with the Taliban – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and spent the next decade fighting a bloody war against the mujahideen, Islamic guerrilla fighters resisting the occupation, many of whom would later found the Taliban. In the years after Soviet troops withdrew, relations between Moscow and Kabul remained tense. However, following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Russia was accused of supplying arms to the Taliban as the group moved to consolidate its control over the country. On Wednesday, Shoigu called for Western countries to “unfreeze” sanctions on the Taliban and “fully acknowledge their full responsibility for their 20-year presence in Afghanistan.” In April 2025, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist groups, a designation that had been in place since 2003. Then, in July of the same year, it became the first and only country to formally recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. Earlier this month, the European Commission confirmed that it had invited Taliban officials to Brussels, although a spokesperson said that the invitation “does not by any means constitute a …

UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage : NPR

UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

FILE: Zareena, left, and Shakeela, internally displaced Afghan girls play outside a shanty at a refugee camp in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 25, 2011. Dar Yasin/AP hide caption toggle caption Dar Yasin/AP KABUL, Afghanistan — The United Nations expressed “grave concern” on Thursday about a new law issued by Afghanistan’s Taliban government on separation in marriage which includes provisions on child marriage, saying the code further entrenches discrimination against women and girls. The government rejected the accusations, saying the decree follows Islamic law and insisting the country has already banned the forced marriage of girls. Afghanistan’s justice ministry published Decree No. 18 “on judicial separation of spouses” last week, which sets out rules for separation of a married couple. Among its most controversial provisions, it says that the silence of a girl reaching puberty can be interpreted as consent to marriage. It also includes a section on the separation of girls who reach puberty and are married, which “implies that child marriage is permitted,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) …

Afghans sell their children in grim reality of life under Taliban | World | News

Afghans sell their children in grim reality of life under Taliban | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

Men in Afghanistan have been selling their children to survive poverty under the Taliban, a report from the country has revealed. The Taliban has taken over the country since the US withdrew its troops back in 2021. Since then, the Taliban offensive reestablished the Islamic Emirate, bringing Afghanistan back under their rule. The group intensified their crackdown on human rights, especially against females. The collapse of the economy almost entirely dependent on foreign aid pushed over 90% of the population into poverty and caused a near-total degradation of the local economy. The country is now facing record levels of hunger, with 4.7 million – more than a tenth of Afghanistan’s population – estimated to be one step away from famine. One resident of the badly-affected province Ghor, Abdul Rashid Azimi, told the BBC about his plans about his seven-year-old twins Roqia and Rohila. “I’m willing to sell my daughters,” he said. “I’m poor, in debt and helpless. I come home from work with parched lips, hungry, thirsty, distressed and confused. My children come to me …

Why Do These ‘Taliban Sneakers’ Keep Selling Out in America?

Why Do These ‘Taliban Sneakers’ Keep Selling Out in America?

Published by Jenni Sidey

You’re still getting them from a third party. Have you tried to get them from Servis? We’ve attempted to work with Servis. Personally, I think they’re probably more focused on handling international distribution themselves, because if they were interested, they probably would’ve responded to our emails and calls. That’s no fault of theirs. How common were the Cheetahs among Taliban fighters? I have seen guys in our comment section being like, “I was there. I remember that. That’s interesting.” [The New York Times article mentioned] there was an intercepted radio transmission from a Taliban commander who sent one of his guys to buy 200 pairs of Cheetahs. He was quoted as saying, “I want them to fight comfortably,” or something like that. And presumably they’re cheaper and more easily accessible than going out and buying combat boots. It is easy to see why they might be appealing to guerrilla fighters: It’s easier to blend into the populace when you’re not wearing combat boots. 100%. But it might look a little suspicious if you’ve got 30 …

Pakistan Launches Airstrikes on Afghanistan

Pakistan Launches Airstrikes on Afghanistan

Published by Sam Flores

new video loaded: Pakistan Launches Airstrikes on Afghanistan 0:44 Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalated on Friday as the two countries clashed. By Monika Cvorak February 27, 2026 Green Party Defeats Labour in U.K. Special Election 1:54 Denmark’s Prime Minister Calls For a Snap Parliamentary Election 1:36 Marco Rubio Says U.S. Is Probing Deadly Cuban Shooting 0:45 Amid Chaos in Mexico, False Images Stoked Fears 2:45 Violence in Mexico After Cartel Boss Is Killed 1:40 Violence Erupts Across Mexico After Cartel Boss Killed 0:58 Video › Today’s Videos U.S. Politics Immigration NY Region Science Business Culture Books Wellness World Africa Americas Asia South Asia Donald Trump Middle East Crisis Russia-Ukraine Crisis Visual Investigations Opinion Video Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Source link

Pakistan claims at least 70 fighters killed in strikes along Afghan border | Pakistan Taliban News

Pakistan claims at least 70 fighters killed in strikes along Afghan border | Pakistan Taliban News

Published by Sam Flores

Afghan officials deny claims, as they accuse Pakistan of targeting civilians and violating its sovereignty in Sunday’s border air raids. Listen to this article | 4 mins info Published On 23 Feb 202623 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A senior Pakistani government official has claimed that its military killed at least 70 fighters in air raids along the border with Afghanistan, claims Kabul has denied, amid escalating tensions between the two South Asian neighbours. Talal Chaudhry, Pakistan’s deputy interior minister, offered no evidence for his claim in an interview with Geo News on Sunday evening that at least 70 rebels were killed in the attack. Pakistan’s state media reported that the death toll had jumped to 80; however, there was no official confirmation. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Pakistan’s military carried out the air raids early on Sunday, targeting what it called “camps and hideouts” belonging to armed groups behind a spate of recent attacks, including a deadly suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in the capital, Islamabad. …

Pakistan says Afghanistan has created conditions ‘similar to or worse than’ pre-9/11 attacks

Pakistan says Afghanistan has created conditions ‘similar to or worse than’ pre-9/11 attacks

Published by Sam Flores

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s president has warned that the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan has created conditions “similar to or worse than” those before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a sign of rising tensions with Kabul after last week’s mosque attack in Islamabad, which analysts said Monday highlights militants’ reach to the capital. Asif Ali Zardari made the remarks while thanking the international community for condemning Friday’s suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed 31 worshippers and wounded 169. Without directly blaming India, Zardari also said Pakistan’s eastern neighbor was “assisting the Taliban regime and threatening not only Pakistan but regional and global peace.” In a statement issued Sunday, Zardari said Pakistan “takes strong exception to the situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban regime has created conditions similar to or worse than pre-9/11, when terror organizations posed threats to global peace.” He added that Pakistan had long maintained terrorism cannot be confronted by any single country in isolation. The unusually strong comments were likely to irk Kabul and New Delhi, both of which have condemned …

Pakistani military orders evacuations ahead of security sweep in Tirah | Pakistan Taliban

Pakistani military orders evacuations ahead of security sweep in Tirah | Pakistan Taliban

Published by Sam Flores

NewsFeed The Pakistani military is forcing thousands of families to evacuate from Khyber District’s Tirah Valley ahead of a security operation it says will target Pakistani Taliban fighters who now control parts of the region. Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder filed this report. Published On 23 Jan 202623 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Source link