Taliban are cheering five years in power while Afghan women starve

August 8, 2026
Christina Lamb
Chief Foreign Correspondent
The Sunday Times

When Nilofar Hanafi started working for the World Food Programme hotline in Afghanistan in 2022, she thought she would simply be providing information to callers.

Now, as the organisation has run out of food for the starving nation, she and other call handlers are fielding hundreds of pleas every week from women so desperate that they threaten to kill themselves or say they will have to sell one of their children into marriage to be able to feed the rest.

“I feel like a counsellor,” said Hanafi, whose name has been changed to protect her identity. “Most of the areas they are calling from we no longer have any feeding programmes. We just have to say, ‘Sorry, there is no food because there’s no aid’. People get angry and emotional and start crying. It’s very hard.”

As the Taliban prepare to celebrate five years of rule on August 15, with parades expected of their suicide bomber squad on motorbikes and American equipment left by Nato forces when they abandoned Afghanistan in 2021, the country is on the brink of famine.

Six out of seven women and children suffering life-threatening acute malnutrition are being turned away from clinics because of cuts to international aid, combined with price rises and supply disruption caused by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to country director John Aylieff, from the World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan.

On top of that, they can only provide special nutrition packs for a fraction of the 4.7 million Afghans facing life-threatening malnutrition. “We’re turning six out of seven women and children away empty handed, with absolutely nothing,” Aylieff said. “The situation is absolutely bleak.”

‘Gender-based lockdown’

The hunger, compounded by ever-more repressive Taliban restrictions on women and girls, is causing what many see as the world’s worst female mental health crisis.

Afghanistan is the only place on Earth where girls are banned from high school and university. Women are banned from parks, gyms and most jobs and not allowed outside without a male guardian in what Shukria Barakzai, a former Afghan MP, calls “gender-based lockdown”.

“We all remember the toll of lockdown in the pandemic,” said Barakzai, who like most female MPs, fled the country for her safety after the Taliban took back control in 2021. “Afghan women and girls have had almost five years of gender-based lockdown.

“Imagine living every day not knowing whether the door to freedom will ever reopen. The psychological trauma is immense.”

Initial outrage in the West seems to have faded and, in June, the European Union even hosted a Taliban delegation to discuss sending back migrants.The Taliban has imposed more and more restrictions on women, including banning all books by female authors and closing down beauty salons, which had become many women’s last refuge. Morality police patrol the streets, raiding workplaces and public spaces and arbitrarily arresting women for “violations” of dress codes.

The most recent penal code in January allows domestic abuse by recognising only “excessive beating” of wives as a crime and even then punishable by a maximum of 15 days in jail, and scrapped the minimum age for child marriage.

A recent study by the London School of Economics on the impact of the restrictions on women’s health, both mental and physical, described “a sense of loss, hopeless, fear for themselves and for their children, as well as sheer boredom … to alleviate a sense of despair for the future, and combat pain, [some] girls and women are getting addicted to tobacco and other drugs … In worse-case scenarios, young women are committing suicide.”

Professor Joanna Lewis, director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the LSE, and one of the co-authors of the study, said: “The women call the situation ‘arrest at home’ and say [the Taliban] do not want us to live.”

    Sara Nazim, 28, a mental health professional in Hounslow, west London, whose family are from Afghanistan, runs an online book club for about fifty women in the country. She says the stories they tell her are heartbreaking.

    “One woman told me we are not even allowed to have a window in our kitchen,” she said. The Taliban have banned women being seen at windows. “Many talk of the loss of hope. They say even animals are treated with more respect than us.

    “I can’t help comparing my own life,” she added. “I completed my bachelor’s degree in London in 2021 just as the Taliban took over, then did a master’s and now work in integrated neurological services. Had I been in Afghanistan, none of this would have been possible and I would be shut up at home.”

    There is also a physical impact from keeping 2.6 million girls out of school. Increased child marriage and early childbearing combined with restrictions on women’s healthcare have seen maternal mortality rise to 600 per 100,000 live births, according to a report in June from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This compares with 16 per 100,000 in Iran and 12 in the UK.

    While almost 19 million Afghans are in the grip of acute hunger or worse, the WFP received only 8 per cent of the $500 million funding it needs for the next six months, according to Aylieff. It has been particularly affected by cuts from the Trump administration. The US used to provide the majority of its funding.“It feels like starving children no longer strikes a chord because there are too many conflicts,” Aylieff said. Families are left feeding starving babies weak tea and bread.

    Resources have been further stretched by the forced return of refugees from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan — almost 6 million over the last three years.

    As hunger worsens, the 26 WFP hotline operators like Hanafi are at the sharp end, dealing with more than 11,000 calls a month. The majority of the call handlers are women working from home.

    Hanafi, who used to work in a government ministry and is overqualified to be a call handler, says she is lucky to have a job and be able to feed her parents, whom she lives with.

    But she says the combination of the women’s hopelessness over their own situation, as well as not being able to feed their children, often leaves her in tears.“I’ve had cases where women say, ‘If you can’t assist us, we will have to kill ourselves or burn our families’,” she said.

    “One woman recently called me from Balkh and told me she has six children and her husband is a drug addict and only comes home when he is hungry, then takes their household items to sell to buy drugs. She said, ‘The last time he came we had nothing left so he started beating me. The Taliban don’t let me work so the only option I have is to sell my 11-year-old daughter’.

    “Unfortunately, I had to tell her we didn’t have any [food available] in that area.” Hanafi does not know what happened to the woman.

    One man who called her turned aggressive when she said there was no food and asked her. “Why are you called the World Food Programme?” He said he would have no alternative but to sell his eight-year-old daughter.

    Taliban are cheering five years in power while Afghan women starve
    read more

    In Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan, One Woman Refuses a Life of Dependence

    August 8, 2026

    Inter Press Service

    Friday, August 7, 2026

    Afghan women working under Taliban rule face severe restrictions. Mehrmaa’s story shows one widow’s fight to earn a living and support her children
    “They say driving is only for men. But women have proved that they, too, can drive.” Credit: Learning Together.

    KABUL, August 7 (IPS) – The Taliban’s rise to power robbed Mehrmaa of her husband, her job and her chance to live freely.

    It was a cold, snowy night in March 2022 when Mehrmaa’s neighbors brought her husband’s lifeless body home. He had disappeared more than seven months earlier. Mehrmaa had barely managed to cope with the new restrictions imposed on women by the Taliban, and now she felt as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

    “At the end of our road home, there were seven coffins containing bodies that had been delivered to their families. Seven months ago they had been taken alive and now they have been returned dead,” Mehrmaa says.

    Mehrmaa describes how, in July 2021, the Taliban took over the provinces and its forces entered her hometown on motorbikes. The Taliban raised their flag in the centre of the city as a sign of victory. Government helicopters bombed the city, leaving many people homeless and without shelter. Mehrmaa’s province was the first to fall under Taliban oppression. Many fled in panic.

    “The state kidnapped many young men to defend the city, including my husband.”

    After the Taliban takeover, women were threatened with imprisonment if they walked the streets alone.

    “Women were flogged in public for small and frivolous reasons. Widowed women and underage girls were forced into marriages without their consent.”

    Women faced daily hardships, regardless of whether they had male relatives to protect them.

    “Now that the Taliban are in power in Afghanistan, what can we do? We only live for our children. Women want to work so they can earn money for their families.”

    Under the Taliban, women were forbidden from working. Mehrmaa wanted to continue working to support her children. That drove her onto the streets.

    “Now I live a nomadic life with my children. We have no permanent home and we don’t stay in one place for long.”

    Work became a means of survival

    Mehrmaa is a trained teacher and midwife. She treats women’s fertility problems with herbs and gives massages for knee, back and joint pain. Under her late husband’s guidance, Mehrmaa learned to drive. She ran the first driving school for women in her province and taught hundreds of women how to drive.

    Then the Taliban banned women from driving. Under the direction of the Ministry of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, or morality police, local Taliban authorities reprimanded Mehrmaa and issued her a warning.

    “They say driving is only for men. But women have proved that they, too, can drive. Even those who don’t have a husband in their family have learnt to drive.”

    After her husband died, Mehrmaa had to continue working to feed her children. To survive, she returned to the city and began working as a teacher.

    Despite changing careers, Mehrmaa was once again banned from working. Girls were banned from attending school from high school onwards, and educational institutions were closed to them. Mehrmaa took up work as a domestic helper and also provided personal physical education lessons to girls and women who had been excluded from school.

    She is also a skilled physiotherapist. She founded the first women-only sports and massage centre so that she could help women manage their weight and improve their overall health. Mehrmaa’s health advice has given hope to women who had lost faith in their recovery.

    Through her work, Mehrmaa met an 18-year-old girl who had fallen into a well two years earlier, damaging her legs, arms and ribs in the accident. Mehrmaa treated the girl’s muscles by massaging them with olive and black cumin oil. In less than two months, the girl was able to move.

    The girl’s father praised Mehrmaa’s skills at the local mosque. Men heard about her healing abilities and rushed to propose marriage to her.

    The Taliban regime considers it shameful for an unmarried woman to work alone. When the morality police learnt that Mehrmaa had rejected all offers of marriage, they banned her from working.

    Mehrmaa rejected a life of dependence on others.

    “For the sake of my children, I want to earn my own honest living and not live under the humiliation of anyone,” she says.

    Sometimes injustice is a greater pain than poverty.

    “I will continue to fight against forced marriage for the sake of my children and in memory of my late husband, until my last breath,” Mehrmaa says.

    Once again, Mehrmaa moved with her children, this time to the northeast of the country. She brought with her hope for justice and a better future.

    The women of her new village encouraged Mehrmaa to stay and help provide healthcare at local clinics. They told her about the countless pregnant women who die before they can reach a hospital.

    The women in the village speak of Mehrmaa with admiration, describing her as incredibly kind and capable.

    “It’s as if there’s light in every finger of hers,” they say, using an Afghan proverb to describe someone who is highly skilled and brings much good to those around them.

    Despite constant losses, threats, and marriage proposals, Mehrmaa keeps going. She fights for her children, for women in need, and for a better future. Mehrmaa envisions an Afghanistan where women can work freely, study, and take care of their families.

    © Inter Press Service

    In Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan, One Woman Refuses a Life of Dependence
    read more

    Pakistan Says TTP Issue Remains Main Obstacle in Ties With Kabul

    August 8, 2026
    Khaama Press

    Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi has said that Islamabad’s concerns over continued support for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remain the biggest challenge in improving relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    According to reports, Andrabi’s remarks came as Pakistan continues to raise concerns over militant groups operating from Afghanistan territory. During a recent United Nations Security Council meeting, Pakistan’s envoy also called for greater international action against what Islamabad described as growing terrorism threats linked to Afghanistan, including activities by groups such as TTP and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).

    Responding to comments by Taliban authorities that they do not seek conflict with any country, particularly Pakistan, Andrabi said Islamabad could not independently confirm the accuracy of those statements. However, he stressed that Pakistan also does not want confrontation with Afghanistan and considers the Afghan people as “brothers and sisters.”

    Andrabi said Islamabad believes improved relations depend on addressing its security concerns regarding TTP. He added that Pakistan’s current security policy would remain unchanged until it sees what it considers effective action against the group.

    The Pakistani spokesperson said his country would continue measures aimed at protecting its citizens and would not compromise on national security.

    Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent years, largely due to Islamabad’s allegations that TTP fighters use Afghanistan territory to plan and carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul authorities have repeatedly rejected accusations of supporting anti-Pakistan militant groups and have said Afghanistan soil will not be used against other countries.

    Andrabi also commented on reports of increased clashes between Taliban authorities and armed opponents in provinces including Badakhshan, saying Islamabad was monitoring the developments but viewed them as internal Afghanistan affairs.

    Earlier, Afghan officials accused Pakistan of supporting armed groups involved in attacks in Badakhshan, alleging that some fighters entered the province through Chitral with assistance from Pakistan’s military. Islamabad has rejected those accusations.

    The dispute comes amid wider regional concerns over terrorism threats, with the United Nations and several countries warning that groups including ISIS-K continue to pose security challenges across Afghanistan and neighbouring regions.

    Pakistan Says TTP Issue Remains Main Obstacle in Ties With Kabul
    read more

    Pakistan: We Do Not Want War with Afghanistan

    August 8, 2026
    Bibi Amina Hakimi
    TOLOnews’ Reporter
    August 7, 2026

    Zabihullah Mujahid said continued tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan are harmful to both countries.

    Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, has said that Islamabad does not seek war with Afghanistan and considers the Afghan people its “brothers and sisters.”

    Speaking at a press briefing, Andrabi responded to recent remarks by Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, who said Kabul does not want conflict with any country, particularly Pakistan, and seeks to restore stronger ties with Islamabad. Andrabi said Afghanistan should clarify whether it wants to improve relations with Pakistan or continue supporting and maintaining links with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

    Tahir Andrabi said: “We do not want war with Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan are our brothers and sisters, and there is no question of going to war with them. However, the Taliban government’s support for the TTP remains the biggest obstacle in our bilateral relations, and this situation must come to an end.”

    Earlier, Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said continued tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan are harmful to both countries and stressed that differences should be resolved through dialogue.

    Political analyst Khalil Ahmad Nadim said Pakistan is making demands that are not practical, arguing that Islamabad expects the Islamic Emirate to control the TTP, even though doing so is beyond its authority.

    Another political analyst, Abdul Sadiq Hamidzoy, said Afghanistan and Pakistan are two Muslim countries with many shared interests and that all disputes should be resolved through dialogue and mutual understanding. He added that the exchange of accusations benefits neither side and that both countries should work toward establishing an effective mechanism for resolving their differences.

    Although officials in both Afghanistan and Pakistan have expressed a desire to ease tensions and restore normal relations, the issue of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains one of the main challenges in relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

    Pakistan: We Do Not Want War with Afghanistan
    read more

    ‘Her face was beaten in’: how Taliban rule ushered in a new era of women being killed

    August 8, 2026

    Khadija Haidary, Zahra Nader, Hura Omar* & Atousa Azar* for Zan Times

    The Guardian

    Friday, August 7, 2026

    An investigation into 231 femicide cases highlights the dire situation in Afghanistan, where men are empowered to murder and face no punishment while their crimes are covered up by the state

    In a voice message recorded weeks before she died, Liza Shams, 33, asks a relative to pray for her. “There’s no end to my days of misfortune,” she says. “Pray that God shames Hasib [her husband, Hasibullah Sarwari] in front of the whole world for what he has done to me.” In a second recording, she describes being beaten by Sarwari while pregnant, then kept isolated for days, injured to the point she couldn’t eat or speak. “I’m a woman, fine, I should not talk about what happens in my home,” she says. “But I can’t do this any more.”

    On the afternoon of 1 February, Liza’s neighbours heard screaming and alerted the police. A short while earlier, Liza’s father, Shamsuddin Shams, had received a video call from his daughter. Her injuries were shocking: “Her jaw was broken and she could hardly talk,” he says, but she had managed to pass the message that her husband had beaten her again. Shamsuddin immediately called his two other daughters who lived close by, who arrived at the house and took her to Rahmat hospital in Kabul. About an hour after arrival, Liza died.The report on her death shows that Liza’s face has been beaten in. The CT scan findings describe multiple fractures to her cheekbones and sinus walls, an injury pattern consistent with enormous blunt-force trauma to the face. Photographs of her body and the report’s physical examination, conducted the evening she died, document extensive bruising, injuries and swelling across her face and body.

    Despite the extensive nature of her injuries, the forensic report lists the likely cause of death as ingesting rat-poison, noting that an autopsy was not performed at the family’s request (Liza’s father says this request came from her in-laws).

    A clear pattern

    The Taliban does not collect any data on how many Afghan women are killed each year. The attorney general’s office, which used to collate this information, was abolished in 2023.

    To measure what the state will not, reporters for Zan times, a collective of journalists who work under cover in Afghanistan, collected cases of women killed in 10 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces since the Taliban came to power in August 2021, drawing on 174 instances reported by local media, as well as 57 cases documented directly by the journalists but previously unreported. The investigation found women across Afghanistan are being killed at home by husbands, fathers, brothers, in a system that all but guarantees impunity for the crime. Many cases are never entered into official records.

    The team documented 231 cases, of which 53 were declared suicide. The provinces with the highest recorded tolls were Jawzjan (36), Herat (32), Badakhshan (28) and Ghazni (26). The age of victims ranged from girls as young as five to women of 65. Seven out of 10 victims – 165 of 231 – were housewives with no independent income or institutional standing to pursue a domestic violence case. Most of the cases occurred in the victim’s home. Across the dataset, only 58 arrests were recorded. More than one in five were officially declared suicide, even when there was significant evidence of foul play. Only one in four of the 231 killings resulted in any arrest, but even in these cases, the suspect was often released – sometimes just one day after being detained.

    The reporters found a number of deaths that according to family or witnesses had resulted from domestic violence, but were being officially recorded as suicides.

    Portrait of Freshta Emady in a headscarf, with UN logo in background
    Freshta Emady, whose family and friends believe she was killed by her husband

    A healthcare worker in Jawzjan said that many of the dead women that came to hospital and were labelled suicides had clearly been beaten, their bodies covered in wounds and bruises.

    Freshta Emady, 33, a UN agency employee in Kabul, was found dead in her home on 31 May. Her husband reportedly told Taliban police she had killed herself, citing a psychiatric condition.

    Her family and friends, however, believe she was killed by her husband. Five people who knew her said Freshta, who had been married off at 17, had spent 15 years being beaten, choked and controlled. A colleague said Freshta had described her husband repeatedly strangling her and telling her, “I’ll cut your throat.”

    Danger for families who intervene

    Often, the families of girls who try to intervene on behalf of their daughters can face deadly consequences. In Kandahar, a 14-year-old girl was killed after being given into marriage to a much older man. Her husband was violent, and she fled back to her father’s family. When he came to force her home in October 2024, she refused to go. He drew a pistol and killed her. Her younger brother, who ran to help, was also shot and died a week later.

    The Taliban opened a file but her husband, a serving member of the group, was never arrested.

    In May in Sar-e-Pol province, Sara, 16, and her mother, Chaman, an Iranian-trained doctor, were shot dead by a local Taliban official who had forced an engagement on Sara. When Chaman refused to hand her daughter over without the agreed dowry, he beat her with his rifle and, as Sara ran to her mother, he shot them both. He was captured after a manhunt and remains in jail.

    The Taliban’s new criminal code means a husband’s punishment for beating his wife to the point of visible injury such as fracture or wounds is capped at 15 days’ imprisonment. If a wife goes to her family’s house without her husband’s permission, however, and her family does not return her on request, the wife and her family are subject to three months in prison. The code creates a legal structure in which seeking refuge from domestic violence brings a worse punishment than the violence itself.

    ‘Her face was beaten in’: how Taliban rule ushered in a new era of women being killed
    read more

    Pakistani Newspaper Says US Still Has Influence Over Afghanistan

    August 7, 2026
    Khaama Press

    A Pakistani newspaper has argued that the United States continues to have influence over developments in Afghanistan despite its military withdrawal, saying Washington’s diplomatic, financial and institutional tools could still affect regional security issues.

    In an opinion article, The Nation said stronger counterterrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the United States could help address security concerns involving groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K).

    The newspaper described the fourth round of U.S.-Pakistan counterterrorism talks as a positive step, arguing that militant groups in the region should be addressed as a broader international security challenge rather than only a domestic concern.

    The article said Pakistan has repeatedly argued that groups such as the TTP and ISIS-K pose threats beyond its borders and require international cooperation. It added that Washington continues to play a role in global security efforts related to Afghanistan through diplomatic engagement, sanctions and intelligence cooperation.

    The Nation suggested that Islamabad could use renewed engagement with Washington to seek stronger international action against groups it considers responsible for attacks in Pakistan.

    The newspaper also argued that closer cooperation with the United States does not require Pakistan to reduce its strategic relationship with China, saying Islamabad could maintain ties with both countries while pursuing regional security objectives.

    The article concluded that Pakistan and the United States share common interests in counterterrorism efforts and that renewed cooperation could lead to practical measures against militant networks.

    The claims and assessments in this report reflect The Nation’s analysis and do not necessarily represent the official positions of Pakistan, the United States, the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan, or other parties mentioned.

    Pakistani Newspaper Says US Still Has Influence Over Afghanistan
    read more

    Climate Disasters Deepen Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Crisis, IOM Says

    August 7, 2026
    Khaama Press

    The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that climate change is intensifying Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, as repeated floods, droughts and extreme weather events increase the number of vulnerable people needing assistance.

    IOM said climate-related disasters have caused an unprecedented rise in humanitarian needs across Afghanistan, while humanitarian organisations face growing challenges due to limited funding and reduced capacity to respond.

    The organisation said recurring climate shocks have affected communities already struggling with poverty, food insecurity and limited access to basic services. Floods, droughts and environmental degradation have damaged livelihoods, particularly in rural areas where many families depend on agriculture and livestock for survival.

    The worsening climate situation comes as Afghanistan is also facing additional pressure from the large-scale return of Afghan migrants from neighbouring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan.

    Humanitarian agencies have warned that millions of Afghans returning from abroad are arriving in communities that already lack sufficient jobs, housing, healthcare and food resources. Many returnees are settling in areas that are highly vulnerable to drought, water shortages and natural disasters.

    According to humanitarian organisations, the combination of climate emergencies and forced returns has placed further strain on Afghanistan’s fragile economy and aid system. Communities hosting returnees are often among the same populations already affected by displacement, unemployment and food insecurity.

    IOM said it is working with donors and humanitarian partners to provide emergency assistance to communities affected by climate-related disasters, prioritising people facing the greatest risks.

    The agency called for increased international support and stronger long-term response mechanisms to help Afghanistan adapt to the growing impacts of climate change.

    Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly warned that Afghanistan remains one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, while declining aid funding threatens efforts to support millions of people facing worsening humanitarian conditions.

    Climate Disasters Deepen Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Crisis, IOM Says
    read more

    Pakistan Warns UN of Growing Terror Threat From Afghanistan

    August 7, 2026
    Khaama Press

    Pakistan has warned the United Nations Security Council that militant groups operating from Afghanistan continue to pose a serious regional security threat, urging stronger international action against cross-border terrorism.

    Speaking during a Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security from terrorism, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said terrorist organisations have expanded their presence in Afghanistan since 2021 and called for greater accountability over commitments to prevent Afghanistan territory from being used for attacks against other countries.

    Iftikhar alleged that groups including Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), and al-Qaeda continue to operate from Afghanistan.

    He claimed these groups use Afghanistan territory for recruitment, training and planning attacks, and said some militant organisations receive external support. Pakistan has previously accused India of supporting anti-Pakistan militant groups, a claim New Delhi has repeatedly rejected.

    The Pakistani envoy said the latest UN monitoring report showed that although international counterterrorism operations have weakened some extremist networks, terrorist groups continue to adapt and expand across Afghanistan, Africa and the Middle East.

    He called for stronger international cooperation, including improved border security, intelligence sharing and law enforcement coordination to address the threat of cross-border militancy.

    Iftikhar also warned that extremist groups are increasingly using emerging technologies, including drones, artificial intelligence, encrypted communication platforms and digital financial systems, to improve recruitment, propaganda and operational capabilities.

    Pakistan’s comments came during a Security Council session where other major powers also expressed concerns over terrorism threats linked to Afghanistan.

    U.S. Deputy Representative to the UN Tammy Bruce said ISIS-K continues to exploit instability in Afghanistan and remains a significant regional security concern. She warned that extremist organisations are becoming more sophisticated through the use of advanced technologies and said counterterrorism cooperation remains a priority for Washington.

    China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Sun Lei also raised concerns over militant groups operating in Afghanistan, urging stronger action against terrorist organisations and greater regional cooperation to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism.

    The UN Secretary-General’s latest strategic assessment similarly warned that ISIS-K has maintained the ability to conduct external attacks and is rebuilding its capacity for high-profile operations despite sustained pressure.

    Kabul has rejected allegations that foreign terrorist groups operate from Afghanistan territory, saying Afghanistan does not pose a threat to other countries and claiming that ISIS-K has been significantly weakened.

    However, ISIS-K has continued to claim responsibility for attacks inside Afghanistan, including the recent killing of a Taliban official in Badakhshan province, keeping international concerns over the group’s operational capability alive.

    Pakistan Warns UN of Growing Terror Threat From Afghanistan
    read more

    UNSC Raises Terrorism Concerns; Islamic Emirate Rejects Allegations

    August 7, 2026
    Bibi Amina Hakimi
    TOLOnews’ Reporter
    6 August 2026

    While the United Nations Security Council has once again expressed concern over threats posed by the activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate has rejected these concerns and insists that no group is allowed to use Afghan territory against other countries.

    Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, told TOLOnews that Afghanistan is under the government’s full control and that no independent armed group is permitted to operate in the country.

    Mujahid said: “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s position on this matter is very clear. Afghanistan will not allow its territory to be used against other countries. No unauthorized group is permitted to operate in Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate has full control over the entire country, and what some countries raised at the Security Council is completely incorrect. We assure everyone that no unauthorized group will be allowed to operate. ISIS has been completely suppressed in Afghanistan, and its safe havens have been eliminated.”

    At the UN Security Council meeting held yesterday at the organization’s headquarters in New York, China’s representative stressed the importance of combating terrorism and called on the Afghan authorities to remain committed to their obligations in this regard.

    Sun Lei, China’s representative to the UN Security Council, said: “The international community should help Afghanistan revive its economy and improve the livelihoods of its people so that the root causes that create favorable conditions for the spread of terrorism can be eliminated. China supports Central Asian countries and regional organizations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in strengthening cooperation with Afghanistan to jointly address cross-border terrorist threats.”

    Meanwhile, a number of military analysts believe that continued security and economic cooperation between Afghanistan, regional countries, and the international community could play an important role in reducing shared threats and strengthening regional stability.

    Military analyst Sadiq Shinwari said: “If the international community cooperates with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in this regard, the expansion of ISIS activities across borders can be prevented.”

    Another military analyst, Turyalai Zazai, said: “From Afghanistan’s side, there is no obstacle to continuing economic and security cooperation with regional countries; however, some countries in the region, due to their own political and economic objectives, are hindering the expansion of such cooperation.”

    These concerns about the presence of ISIS in Afghanistan were raised during the UN Security Council meeting while, in recent months, several ISIS centers beyond the disputed Durand Line have been targeted in operations carried out by the forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

    UNSC Raises Terrorism Concerns; Islamic Emirate Rejects Allegations
    read more

    UN Security Council to Hold Meeting on Global ISIS Threat

    August 6, 2026
    Khaama Press

    The United Nations Security Council is set to meet on Wednesday to review the latest assessment of the global threat posed by the Islamic State (ISIS), with a new UN report warning that ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) remains capable of carrying out major external attacks despite sustained counterterrorism operations.

    The Council will receive briefings from the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) on Secretary-General António Guterres’ 23rd Strategic Report on ISIS and its regional affiliates.

    According to the report, ISIS-K continues to pose a significant threat to regional and international security, maintaining the ability to organize or inspire attacks beyond Afghanistan while rebuilding operational networks despite pressure from the Taliban and Pakistani security forces.

    The report highlights two recent attacks attributed by several UN member states to ISIS-K: a January 19 suicide bombing in Kabul and a February 6 attack on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad, which together killed 32 people and injured more than 150 others.

    While noting that ISIS has suffered operational setbacks, the report says the group has adapted by relying on decentralized regional branches to sustain its activities.

    Globally, the UN identifies Africa as the organization’s main operational hub, with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) remaining its most active affiliate and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) expanding attacks across Niger and parts of Nigeria.

    In Syria, the report estimates ISIS retains around 3,000 fighters and warns that the closure of the Al-Hol displacement camp has left thousands of women and children linked to the group missing or vulnerable to re-radicalization. Iraq, by contrast, has reduced ISIS to its weakest position in years after repatriating families associated with the group.

    The report also warns that ISIS is increasingly exploiting artificial intelligence, drones, encrypted communications and cryptocurrencies to support recruitment, financing and operational planning, presenting new challenges for international counterterrorism efforts.

    Security Council members are expected to discuss the evolving threat posed by ISIS across Afghanistan, Africa, Syria and Iraq, while examining whether existing international counterterrorism mechanisms remain adequate to address an increasingly adaptive extremist network.

    UN Security Council to Hold Meeting on Global ISIS Threat
    read more

    Recent Posts