Afghan

Pakistan officials dismiss Afghan media reports and official statements about strikes on university in Kunar province as ‘blatant lie’Mortars and missiles fired from Pakistan on Monday struck a university and civilian homes in north-eastern Afghanistan, killing seven people and wounding at least 85, Afghan officials said.Pakistan denied the accusation of targeting a university. Continue reading...

• The Taliban government announced restrictions on international health NGOs operating in Afghanistan on Monday, citing concerns over 'political interference' and threatening revocation of licenses for non-compliant organizations. • Medical organizations warned that the restrictions would devastate maternal and pediatric health services, particularly in rural areas where international agencies provide 70 percent of healthcare capacity. • The U.S. State Department condemned the move as undermining humanitarian efforts and expressed concern for vulnerable populations, with officials exploring alternative delivery mechanisms for critical medical assistance.

Home secretary indicates Whitehall talks about returns programme, a move that would shock humanitarian groupsShabana Mahmood has refused to rule out sending rejected Afghan asylum seekers back to the Taliban-controlled country.The home secretary said she is “monitoring very closely” talks between Kabul and EU countries about a returns programme for refused claimants. She also indicated that “additional conversations” about Afghan returns were happening inside Whitehall. Continue reading...

Discussions reportedly come after Trump’s decision to stop initiative that allowed group to apply to resettle in the USThe Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send up to 1,100 Afghans who helped US forces during the war in Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a non-profit confirmed on Tuesday.The resettlement talks, first reported by the New York Times, come after Donald Trump’s decision to stop an initiative that allowed Afghans who assisted US war efforts to apply to resettle in the US. Continue reading...

Roberts-Smith previously failed in his attempt to sue three newspapers which published allegations he committed war crimesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFormer soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, recipient of the Victoria Cross, has been arrested at Sydney airport in relation to alleged war crimes.Roberts-Smith was due to face court in Sydney on Tuesday. He has previously been accused in a defamation suit of murdering unarmed civilians while serving in the Australian SAS in Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Ahmad Mulakhil filmed himself during the assault in Nuneaton in JulyAn Afghan asylum seeker who abducted a 12-year-old girl and filmed himself as he raped her has been jailed for 15 years.Ahmad Mulakhil was found guilty of rape, child abduction, taking an indecent video and two counts of sexual assault last month. Mulakhil admitted a second count of rape before his trial began. Continue reading...

Afghan Taliban government says more than 400 people killed and 265 injured, as Pakistan disputes target of strikeFamilies and friends of people who were being treated at a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul have continued to search for their loved ones two days after it was bombed by Pakistan, in the deadliest attack so far in the months-long conflict between the two countries.The Afghan Taliban government has said more than 400 people were killed and 265 others wounded in the airstrike, which took place on Monday night as people and staff at the centre were praying days before the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Continue reading...

Afghanistan’s health ministry puts preliminary death toll at 200 as Islamabad denies targeting facility for drug addictsHeavy casualties were feared in Kabul after a hospital that treats drug users was hit by airstrikes, which Afghanistan blamed on Pakistan’s military.Pakistan dismissed the accusation, saying the strikes on Monday – which were also launched against eastern Afghanistan – did not hit any civilian sites. Continue reading...

Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, died on Saturday in Texas less than 24 hours after being detainedAn Afghan immigrant who previously worked with the United States military in Afghanistan and later sought asylum in the US died over the weekend in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas, an advocacy group said on Sunday.Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, who was living in a Dallas suburb with his wife and six children while his asylum case remained pending, was arrested by federal agents outside his apartment on Friday morning while taking his children to school, said a statement from Shawn VanDiver, president of the military veteran-led group AfghanEvac. Continue reading...

• Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, a 41-year-old Afghan immigrant who aided US forces, died on March 14 in ICE custody less than 24 hours after arrest outside his Dallas-area home while taking his six children to school. • Paktyawal's asylum case was pending; his death marks the 12th in ICE detention this year under Trump's mass deportation policy, following 31 deaths in 2025, the highest in two decades. • AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver highlighted the tragedy, criticizing ICE's role in Trump's immigration crackdown amid rising detention fatalities.