Airstrikes by Pakistani warplanes inside Afghanistan have intensified tensions in recent days in an already volatile region. Once-close ties between Pakistan’s leaders and the Afghan Taliban have frayed, and violent cross-border exchanges have become alarmingly frequent. Officially, the Pakistani government has been tight-lipped about the strikes in Afghanistan on Dec. 24. But security officials privately said that the Pakistani military had targeted hide-outs of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a militant group also known as the T.T.P. or the Pakistani Taliban that has carried out a series of terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. The security officials said that several top militants from the Pakistani Taliban had died in the airstrikes, which came days after 16 Pakistani military personnel were ambushed and killed in a border district. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan said that dozens of civilians had died in the strikes, including Pakistani refugee families. The group condemned the strikes as a blatant violation of Afghan sovereignty, and said it had retaliated by conducting attacks on “several points” inside Pakistan. Officials in Pakistan have not officially commented on those attacks. But they reported that they had thwarted a cross-border incursion by militants they said had been facilitated by the Taliban authorities. The airstrikes were the Pakistani military’s third major operation on Afghan soil since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, and the [second this year](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/18/world/asia/pakistan-airstrikes-afghanistan-taliban.html) alone. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F01%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Fpakistan-afghanistan-taliban.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F01%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Fpakistan-afghanistan-taliban.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F01%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Fpakistan-afghanistan-taliban.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F01%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Fpakistan-afghanistan-taliban.html).

MEA India India's foreign secretary Vikram Misri met acting Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai India's latest diplomatic outreach to Afghanistan's Taliban government signals a marked shift in how it sees the geopolitical reality in the region. This comes more than three years after India suffered a major strategic and diplomatic blow when [Kabul fell to the Taliban](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-58223231). Two decades of investment in Afghanistan's democracy - through military training, scholarships and landmark projects like building its new parliament - were swiftly undone. The collapse also paved the way for greater influence from regional rivals, particularly Pakistan and China, eroding India's strategic foothold and raising new security concerns. Yet, last week signalled a shift. India's top diplomat Vikram Misri met Taliban acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai - the highest level of engagement since Kabul's fall. The Taliban government expressed interest in strengthening political and economic ties with India, calling it a "significant regional and economic power". Talks reportedly focused on expanding trade and leveraging Iran's Chabahar port, which India has been developing to bypass Pakistan's Karachi and Gwadar ports. How significant is this meeting? Delhi has now given the Taliban leadership the de facto legitimacy it has sought from the international community since its return to power, Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center, an American think-tank, told me. "The fact that this treatment is coming from India - a nation that never previously had friendly relations with the Taliban, makes this all the more significant, and also a diplomatic triumph for the Taliban," he says. AFP Days before talks between India and the Taliban, Pakistani airstrikes killed dozens in eastern Afghanistan Since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, countries have adopted varied approaches toward the regime, balancing diplomatic engagement with concerns over human rights and security. China, for example, has gone far: it has actively engaged with the Taliban government, focusing on security and economic interests, and even has [an ambassador](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-66805404) in the country. * [Taliban welcomes first new Chinese ambassador since takeover](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-66805404) No country has formally recognised the Taliban government, but up to 40 countries maintain some form of diplomatic or informal relations with it. That's why experts like Jayant Prasad, a former Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, are more circumspect about India's outreach. For the past three years, he says, India has maintained contact with the Taliban through a foreign service diplomat. India had closed its consulates in Afghanistan during the civil war in the 1990s and reopened them in 2002 after the war ended. "We didn't want this hiatus to develop \[again\], so we wanted to engage. It is very simply a step up in relations," he says. India has ["historical and civilisational ties](https://www.mea.gov.in/lok-sabha.htm?dtl/37428/QUESTION+NO+183+Indias+Relationship+with+Afghanistan#:~:text=India%20has%20historical%20and%20civilizational,education%2C%20agriculture%20and%20capacity%20building.)" with Afghanistan, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told parliament in 2023. India has invested more than $3bn (£2.46bn) in over 500 projects across Afghanistan, including roads, power lines, dams, hospitals and clinics. It has trained Afghan officers, awarded thousands of scholarships to students and built a new parliament building. This reflects a lasting geopolitical reality. "Irrespective of the nature of the regime in Kabul - monarchical, communist, or Islamist - there has been a natural warmth between Delhi and Kabul," The Indian Express newspaper [noted](https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/india-taliban-talks-9770589/). Mr Kugelman echoes the sentiment. "India has an important legacy as a development and humanitarian aid donor in Afghanistan, which has translated into public goodwill from the Afghan public that Delhi is keen not to lose," he says. Interestingly, relations with Delhi appear to be easing amid rising tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan claims the hardline Pakistani Taliban (TTP) operates from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Last July, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told the BBC that Pakistan would [continue attacks on Afghanistan](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7289yvl84po) as part of an operation aimed at countering terrorism. Days before talks between India and the Taliban government, Pakistani airstrikes killed dozens in eastern Afghanistan, according to the Afghan government. The Taliban government condemned the strikes as violations of its sovereignty. AFP The Taliban is fully in control in Afghanistan, say experts This marks a sharp decline in relations since the fall of Kabul in 2021, when a top Pakistani intelligence official was among the first foreign guests to meet the Taliban regime. At the time, many saw Kabul's fall as a strategic setback for India. "While Pakistan isn't the only factor driving India's intensifying outreach to the Taliban, it's true that Delhi does get a big win in its evergreen competition with Pakistan by moving closer to a critical long-time Pakistani asset that has now turned on its former patron," says Mr Kugelman. There are other reasons driving the outreach. India aims to strengthen connectivity and access Central Asia, which it can't reach directly by land due to Pakistan's refusal of transit rights. Experts say Afghanistan is key to this goal. One strategy is collaborating with Iran on the Chabahar port development to improve access to Central Asia via Afghanistan. "It is easier for Delhi to focus on the Afghanistan component of this plan by engaging more closely with the Taliban leadership, which is fully behind India's plans as they would help enhance Afghanistan's own trade and connectivity links," says Mr Kugelman. Getty Images The inauguration ceremony for the first export convoy to India via Iran at Chabahar port in 2019 Clearly, India's recent outreach helps advance its core interests in Taliban-led Afghanistan: preventing terrorism threats to India, deepening connectivity with Iran and Central Asia, maintaining public goodwill through aid, and countering a struggling Pakistan. What about the downsides? "The main risk of strengthening ties with the Taliban is the Taliban itself. We're talking about a violent and brutal actor with close ties to international - including Pakistani - terror groups that has done little to reform itself from what it was in the 1990s," says Mr Kugelman. "India may hope that if it keeps the Taliban on side, so to speak, the Taliban will be less likely to undermine India or its interests. And that may be true. But at the end of the day, can you really trust an actor like the Taliban? That will be the unsettling question hovering over India as it continues to cautiously pursue this complex relationship." Mr Prasad sees no downsides to India's current engagement with Afghanistan, despite concerns over the Taliban's treatment of women. "The Taliban is fully in control. Letting the Taliban stew in its own juice won't help Afghan people. Some engagement with the international community might pressurise the government to improve its behaviour." "Remember, the Taliban is craving for recognition," says Mr Prasad. "They know that will only happen after internal reforms." Like bringing women back into public life and restoring their rights to education, work and political participation. [War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)](/news/topics/c6n97z84601t)

The international criminal court’s chief prosecutor has requested arrest warrants for the Taliban’s supreme leader and Afghanistan’s chief justice on the grounds that their persecution of women and girls in [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan) is a crime against humanity. It marks the first time the prosecutor has built a case around systemic crimes against women and girls, legal experts say. It is also a rare moment of vindication for Afghan activists, who over the last three years have often felt abandoned by the international community even as [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) oppression deepened. Shukria Barakzai, activist and former member of the Afghan parliament, said in a statement: “This historic announcement is a powerful message that impunity for flagrant violations of women’s rights is not to be tolerated in Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world. We are deeply grateful to all our Afghan sisters who have worked relentlessly toward this moment.” Karim Khan, the ICC chief prosecutor, said in a statement that the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, are “criminally responsible” for ongoing persecution of girls, women, the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. “Our commitment to pursue accountability for [gender-based crimes](https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/policy-gender-based-crimes), including [gender persecution](https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/policy-crime-gender-persecution), remains an absolute priority,” he said. The team will file warrants for other senior Taliban officials soon, he added.  Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader. Photograph: Reuters Since [sweeping back to power in 2021](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/16/taliban-declares-war-is-over-in-afghanistan-as-us-led-forces-exit-kabul), the Taliban have issued more than 80 decrees that violate women’s basic rights. [Women are barred from most work](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jul/18/send-us-a-man-to-do-your-job-so-we-can-sack-you-taliban-tell-female-officials), [secondary education](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/17/taliban-ban-girls-from-secondary-education-in-afghanistan) and public spaces, and their daily life is restricted in various ways. Recently the group banned windows in rooms frequently used by women, to ensure they could not be seen by men not related to them. New buildings should be constructed without windows in these rooms and existing windows should be covered up, the order stipulated. Activists are campaigning for the crime of [gender apartheid](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/09/what-is-gender-apartheid-activists-international-law-women-girls-rights-afghanistan-iran) to be recognised under international law, to reflect the scale of Taliban restrictions. Akila Radhakrishnan, strategic legal adviser on gender justice for the Atlantic Council, said that although the ICC had sought to prosecute gender crimes before, this is the first time they had been the main focus in a case. She said: “It is a landmark, because this is the first time a case has been built around crimes of gender persecution. Usually, gender crimes are ancillary, an add-on to a case driven by other \[crimes\]. “The request for an arrest warrant … demonstrates the systematic way in which these violations have been working in tandem to oppress girls and women under the Taliban’s gender apartheid.” There may not be any immediate consequences. Neither man is likely to travel anywhere they could face arrest – Akhundzada rarely even leaves his base in Kandahar – and the group has only responded with defiance to other international pressure over their treatment of women. Nevertheless, Radhakrishnan said, even without any expectation of a day in court, the warrant sent an important message. She said: “It helps to stigmatise what is happening in Afghanistan. We can now say that people engaging with the Taliban are on notice that what their officials are doing is criminal. There are warrant requests out for the most serious crimes that exist.” Afghan women who have endured violence and exile for demanding basic rights said the case marked a critical vindication of their struggle. Zahra Haqparast was jailed by the Taliban in 2022 for protesting against restrictions on women’s lives, and now lives in exile. She said: “This is the best news I’ve heard since the Taliban came to power. “I was cooking lunch when I heard the news, and I was so happy that I ran to check immediately if it was true. By the time I got back, an hour had passed and my food was burnt.” Despite initial outrage at Taliban restrictions when the group seized power in 2021, Afghan women say an international community that once claimed to be fighting in their name has not done enough to fight back. Heather Barr, deputy women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch, said: “They have felt ignored by the world while the Taliban has systematically stripped their rights away day after day. This step by the ICC is a good start. Afghan women and girls are owed full justice for the Taliban’s crimes and an end, now, to Taliban abuses.” Afghan activists also called on the court to seek justice for other crimes by several perpetrators over more than four decades of war in Afghanistan. “It is historic but it is insufficient,” said Shaharzad Akbar, executive director of Rawadari, an Afghan human rights organisation. “It leaves out many victims of war crimes and other perpetuators.”

 The Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday announced that it is seeking arrests of two Taliban leaders for their role in gender-based crimes. A statement issued by the office of the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, requests approval for warrants for Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, chief justice of the Taliban's supreme court. The charge: They are "criminally responsible" for persecuting Afghan girls and women, their allies and those the Taliban perceives as not conforming with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression. The statement says persecutions have been committed since at least Aug. 15, 2021, the day the Taliban took over Afghanistan following the collapse of the Western-backed government. Since then, the Taliban has imposed over 100 decrees restricting the rights of women and girls, including bans or restrictions on education, employment, public and political participation, dress and travel. The request for arrest warrants would need to be approved by the court, with cooperation from ICC member states. The Taliban has denounced the call for arrests on their website, terming them as "devoid of just legal basis, duplicitous in nature and politically motivated." ### **Support for the arrest warrants** Even without final approval for the warrants, Afghan activists and international human rights groups have welcomed the move. Human Rights Watch (HRW), which has been investigating the Taliban's human rights abuses, welcomed the move as a milestone. "With no justice in sight in Afghanistan, the ICC warrant requests offer an essential pathway for a measure of accountability," said Liz Evenson, HRW's international justice director. "This long overdue decision is a vital move toward accountability and a small step towards enhancing justice to women and girls who are the direct victims of the Taliban's systematic abuse, discrimination and persecution," said Samira Hamidi, an Afghan women's rights activist currently based in the United Kingdom. Her voice was echoed by Mariam Safi, founding director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies. "I'm really glad to see the ICC taking this step and acknowledging that the conditions women and girls are facing in Afghanistan amount to an international crime," she said, adding that the decision feels like a "significant recognition of women's plight." Safi, however, also expressed concern that the announcement might lead to even worse treatment. "The Taliban may want to demonstrate to the international community that they don't see this as a legitimate move and might even double down, issuing more restrictive edicts to strengthen their position in negotiations with the international community, potentially trying to pressure or discredit the ICC," she said. ### A note of caution Others like Tamana Paryani, an Afghanistan women's rights activist, remained cautious. "We met with ICC representatives last year, and the arrest plans were discussed. Whether the arrests will actually take place and the Taliban will answer for their crimes remains to be seen," she said. Paryani and her sister were detained by the Taliban in January 2022 for their roles in organizing protests against the Taliban's restrictions on women's rights. Since fleeing to Germany, Paryani has talked extensively about her detention and torture in a Taliban prison. Paryani's testimony is part of the ICC investigation of the Taliban. "In the three years \[since the Taliban takeover\], women in Afghanistan have lost so much because of their gender. There is no other country where women are banned from schools, universities, parks, etc. The Taliban have created this apartheid state, and they should have to answer for their crimes," Paryani said, referring to a demand that Afghan women activists, alongside their Iranian counterparts, have been making for many years — that gender apartheid be recognized as a crime under international law. Safi pointed out that the ICC doesn't have its own police force and depends on support from signatory countries to carry out arrests. "By backing the ICC's investigations and supporting its decisions, the international community can demonstrate its commitment to justice and help ensure that these efforts have a real impact," she said. Hamidi urged the ICC to expand their investigation of the Taliban for other crimes and human rights abuses. "While I welcome this announcement as a women's rights activist, I am also fearful that it does not cover the widespread human rights violations and crimes that the Taliban are committing, violating international human rights laws," she said.

A senior Taliban minister who expressed support for reversing the ban on girls’ education in [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan) appears to have been forced to flee the country. Speaking at [a graduation ceremony](https://www.instagram.com/p/DE_oSDYNthC/) in Khost province, near the Afghan-Pakistani border, on 20 January, Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, [criticised](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-deputy-foreign-minister-calls-girls-high-schools-open-2025-01-20/) the government’s ban on girls attending secondary schools and higher education. “There is no excuse for this – not now and not in the future,” Stanikzai said. “[We are being unjust to 20 million people](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/senior-taliban-official-calls-for-end-to-ban-on-afghan-women-education/3456101). “During the time of the prophet Muhammad, the doors of knowledge were open for both men and women,” he said. “There were such remarkable women that if I were to elaborate on their contributions, it would take a considerable amount of time.” [ How the Taliban are erasing Afghanistan’s women – photo essay ](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/nov/14/women-girls-afghanistan-taliban-repression-interviewed-photographed-100-afghan-women) After this speech, and [reports of Stanikzai criticising him,](https://amu.tv/155000/) the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, allegedly ordered the minister’s arrest and issued a travel ban, which pushed Stanikzai to leave Afghanistan for the United Arab Emirates. Stanikzai confirmed to local media he had [left for Dubai but claimed it was for health reasons](https://www.khaama.com/abbas-stanikzai-denies-rift-with-taliban-leadership-cites-health-leave/). The Taliban were contacted for comment but did not respond. Since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, the rights of women and girls to education, work, travel and appearing in public have been [severely curtailed](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/09/what-is-gender-apartheid-activists-international-law-women-girls-rights-afghanistan-iran). Last month, the international criminal court’s chief prosecutor [requested arrest warrants for the Taliban’s supreme leader](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/23/icc-chief-prosecutor-seeks-arrest-warrants-for-taliban-leaders-over-persecution-of-women) and Afghanistan’s chief justice on the grounds that their persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan is a crime against humanity.

When the Taliban began marching towards cities across [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan) in the summer of 2021, Alia\*, a 22-year-old Afghan journalist, found herself doing some of the most important work of her short life and career. In the weeks leading up to the [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) takeover in August, Alia’s voice on the radio became familiar to many in northern Afghanistan. She reported on the withdrawal of foreign troops, the siege of government offices and on the detention of former officials in her province. Above all, Alia reported on the situation for women and their fears and concerns – emotions she was experiencing herself. As the Taliban gradually began imposing restrictions on them, Alia was documenting history repeating itself. “I grew up with the history of the Taliban’s domination of women \[during their first stint in power between 1996 and 2001\] and a lot of my work focused on the impact such radical ideology has had on women’s progress in Afghanistan,” she says. “I had joined the station straight from university in 2019 and worked for two years before the Taliban takeover. In the following months, I felt the most passionate about my job and choice of career even though there was always the fear of the Taliban.” > We showed to the world that the Taliban have not changed and will not change. And it scares them Alia It did not take long for the Taliban to begin a crackdown on media and journalists in the country, with 336 known cases of arrest, torture and intimidation between August 2021 and September 2024, [according to the UN](https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_report_on_media_freedom_in_afghanistan.pdf). It has been particularly hard for broadcast reporters who can be recognised and targeted by their face and voices. In several provinces, the Taliban have [banned women from radio broadcasting](https://cpj.org/2023/08/taliban-authorities-detain-2-journalists-ban-womens-voices-from-broadcasts-in-helmand/). In the early days after the takeover, amid the chaos and uncertainty and attacks by Taliban members, some journalists were forced into hiding or fleeing the country. Alia’s employers temporarily took her off air to protect her, but she continued newsgathering, particularly on women’s issues, her stories often riling the new powers. [](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/19/off-air-one-by-one-the-taliban-are-removing-womens-voices-from-afghan-radio#img-2) An Afghan journalist working at Women in Kandahar radio station in 2020. Photograph: Muhammad Sadiq/EPA In 2022, after Alia’s employers began to receive threats from local Taliban leaders for hiring and broadcasting female journalists, they sacked Alia for their mutual safety. “I was asked to leave because of my gender. I wanted to amplify women’s voices. I did not imagine that one day my own voice would be stifled.” Over the subsequent two years, women have continued to be excluded from public and the media. First there was a [nationwide ban on women’s voices in public](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/26/taliban-bar-on-afghan-women-speaking-in-public-un-afghanistan) and now, this month, one of the last remaining female-run media outlets has been silenced, with the offices of a Kabul-based women’s radio station, Radio Begum, raided, staff arrested and the [station taken off air](https://rsf.org/en/afghanistan-radio-begum-suspended-and-two-employees-arrested-tyrannical-media-repression-escalates). While the Taliban accused Radio Begum of violating broadcast policy, Begum staff members insist they have simply been providing “educational services for girls and women in Afghanistan”. With recent [bans on women attending higher education](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/17/taliban-ban-girls-from-secondary-education-in-afghanistan), platforms such as Radio Begum have been attempting to fill the vacuum for girls who wish to continue learning. Under threats, immense pressure and even forced closures, the Afghan media has significantly shrunk in the last three years. Prior to the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan [had approximately 543 media outlets](https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_report_on_media_freedom_in_afghanistan.pdf) employing 10,790 workers. By November 2021, 43% of these outlets were closed, with only 4,360 media workers remaining. It has been even worse for women in media. A recent [estimate](https://www.ifj.org/actions/working-groups/surveillance?tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=22466&tx_news_pi1%5BoverwriteDemand%5D%5Bcategories%5D=47&cHash=b5fe395fda80de7a6ffa72fab7c0cfee) by the International Federation of Journalists documented only 600 active female journalists in Afghanistan as of March 2024, down from 2,833 women in journalism before August 2021. “I cannot express the sense of hopelessness and misery I feel. You have to be an Afghan woman to truly understand how difficult it has been to give up everything you worked for. We showed to the world that the Taliban have not changed and will not change. And it scares them,” says Alia. Some female voices remain on air in northern provinces, a result of [opposing views within the Taliban about excluding women](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/03/mohammad-abbas-stanikzai-taliban-minister-flees-afghanistan-over-support-girls-education) from society. Alia says radio in particular remains a powerful medium in a country with widespread poverty and poor access to internet or television. Many families rely on the radio for news and information. “The media is the only source that can expose the Taliban’s crimes to the people and the world, to expose how they have been depriving women and other groups. And it also helps Afghans be more aware through programmes such as on Radio Begum,” she says. \* _Name has been changed to protect their identity_

A British couple were arrested in [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan) due to a “misunderstanding” that they had fake Afghan passports, the Taliban said on Tuesday. Peter and Barbie Reynolds, 79 and 75, [were detained by the Taliban’s interior ministry](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/feb/23/british-couple-in-their-70s-arrested-by-the-taliban-in-afghanistan) on 1 February while returning to their home in the central province of Bamiyan. The couple, who run education and training programmes in Afghanistan, were arrested along with Faye Hall, a Chinese-American friend and an interpreter from their business. Taliban spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani said the arrests were due to a “misunderstanding” that they possessed fake Afghan passports. On Monday, the Reynolds’ daughter, Sarah Entwistle, said the family had initially chosen not to involve the UK authorities “hoping to hear directly from the Taliban about why they’d arrested our parents”. “Our parents have always sought to honour the Taliban, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to explain their reasons for this detention. However, after more than three weeks of silence, we can no longer wait,” Entwistle told Times Radio. “We’re now urgently calling on the British consulate to do everything in their power to get us answers and to put as much pressure as they can on the Taliban for their release.” On Monday, Qani said the Taliban would attempt to release the couple “as soon as possible”, the BBC reported. He said: “A series of considerations is being taken into account and, after evaluation, we will endeavour to release them as soon as possible.” The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was “supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan”. The couple married in Kabul more than 50 years ago and run Rebuild, “an Afghan-registered research and training business” that has been operating since 2009. In an open letter to the Taliban, Entwistle and her three brothers said: “We do not understand the reasons behind their arrest. Our parents have consistently expressed their commitment to Afghanistan, stating that they would rather sacrifice their lives than become part of ransom negotiations or be traded.”

A US man who was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan) as a tourist has been released by the [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) in a deal brokered by [Donald Trump’s](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, and Qatari negotiators. George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, is the third American detainee to be released by the [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) since January. He was seized by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 and was designated by the US government as wrongfully detained the following year. In a statement, secretary of state Marco Rubio said Glezmann was on his way back to the United States to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra, and praised Qatar for “steadfast commitment and diplomatic efforts” that he said were “instrumental in securing George’s release”.“George’s release is a positive and constructive step,” Rubio said. “It is also a reminder that other Americans are still detained in [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan). President Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world.” He was being accompanied back to the US, through [Qatar’s](https://www.theguardian.com/world/qatar) capital, Doha, by Boehler, who has been handling hostage issues for the [Trump administration](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-administration). Qatar has hosted negotiations between the US and the Taliban over the years. The release of Glezmann is part of what the Taliban has previously described as the “normalization” of ties between the US. and Afghanistan following the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Most countries still do not recognize the Taliban’s rule. Glezmann’s release follows a separate deal, arranged in the final days of the Biden administration and also mediated by the Qataris, that secured the [releases of Ryan Corbett and William McKenty](https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/21/us-afghanistan-prisoner-swap). The Taliban’s foreign ministry in Kabul said at the time that those two US citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life terms in 2008 after being convicted under US narco-terrorism laws. Unlike in that arrangement, the US did not give up any prisoner to secure Glezmann’s release, which was seen as a goodwill gesture, according to an official briefed on the matter who insisted on anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations. The Taliban disclosed earlier on Thursday that Boehler had been meeting on hostage issues with a delegation that included the Afghan foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi. Joe Biden contemplated before he left office an earlier proposal that would have involved the release of Glezmann and other Americans for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. But Biden told families during a call in January that he would not support trading Rahim unless the Taliban released the Afghan-American businessman Mahmood Habibi. US officials believe the Taliban is holding Habibi, but the Taliban has denied it.

 The U.S. has lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister who also heads a powerful network blamed for bloody attacks against Afghanistan's former Western-backed government, officials in Kabul said Sunday. Sirajuddin Haqqani, who acknowledged planning a January 2008 attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul, which killed six people, including U.S. citizen Thor David Hesla, no longer appears on the State Department's Rewards for Justice website. The FBI website on Sunday still featured a wanted poster for him. Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the U.S. government had revoked the bounties placed on Haqqani, Abdul Aziz Haqqani, and Yahya Haqqani. "These three individuals are two brothers and one paternal cousin," Qani told the Associated Press. The Haqqani network grew into one of the deadliest arms of the Taliban after the U.S.-led 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. The group employed roadside bombs, suicide bombings and other attacks, including on the Indian and U.S. embassies, the Afghan presidency, and other major targets. They also have been linked to extortion, kidnapping and other criminal activity. A Foreign Ministry official, Zakir Jalaly, said the Taliban's release of U.S. prisoner George Glezmann on Friday and the removal of bounties showed both sides were "moving beyond the effects of the wartime phase and taking constructive steps to pave the way for progress" in bilateral relations. "The recent developments in Afghanistan-U.S. relations are a good example of the pragmatic and realistic engagement between the two governments," said Jalaly. Another official, Shafi Azam, hailed the development as the beginning of normalization in 2025, citing the Taliban's announcement it was in control of Afghanistan's embassy in Norway. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, China has been the most prominent country to accept one of their diplomats. Other countries have accepted de facto Taliban representatives, like Qatar, which has been a key mediator between the U.S. and the Taliban. U.S. envoys have also met the Taliban. The Taliban's rule, especially bans affecting women and girls, has triggered widespread condemnation and deepened their international isolation. Haqqani has previously spoken out against the Taliban's decision-making process, authoritarianism, and alienation of the Afghan population. His rehabilitation on the international stage is in contrast to the status of the reclusive Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who could face arrest by the International Criminal Court for his persecution of women.

Yogita Limaye South Asia and Afghanistan Correspondent Shutterstock Sirajuddin Haqqani addresses an audience in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 August 2023. The US has removed millions of dollars in bounties from senior members of the Haqqani militant network in Afghanistan, including one on its leader Sirajuddin Haqqani who is also the Taliban government's interior minister. It is a significant move given that the Haqqani network is accused of carrying out some of the most high-profile and deadly attacks in Afghanistan during the US-led war in the country, including attacks on the American and Indian embassies, and NATO forces. Currently, the network is a key part of the Taliban government, which has controlled Afghanistan since foreign troops withdrew from the country in 2021, following a deal struck between the US and the Taliban during President Trump's first term. The move to lift the bounties comes weeks into President Trump's second term, and just days after US officials met with the Taliban government in Kabul to secure the release of an American tourist, detained since 2022. A US state department spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that "there is no current reward" for Sirajuddin Haqqani, his brother Abdul Aziz Haqqani and brother-in-law Yahya Haqqani, but they remain 'Specially Designated Global Terrorists and the Haqqani Network remains designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization". An FBI webpage, which on Monday showed a $10 million dollar bounty on Sirajuddin Haqqani, has now been updated to remove the reward offer. Taliban interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani told the BBC that the lifting of bounties "was a result of continued diplomatic efforts" by his government. "It is a good step and this shows our new interaction with the world and particularly with the United States. They (the US delegation) told us they want to increase positive interaction and confidence building between us," he added. On Saturday, a US delegation including hostage envoy Adam Boehler and former envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad met with the Taliban government's foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and other Taliban officials in Kabul. Afterwards, [US national George Glezmann,](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgwlzkwmjzo) detained in December 2022 while visiting Afghanistan as a tourist, was released by the Taliban government. It is unclear if lifting the bounties was a part of the negotiations. Founded by Sirajuddin Haqqani's father, Jalaluddin Haqqani in the 1980s, the Haqqani network started out as a CIA-backed anti-Soviet outfit operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it grew into one of the most feared anti-Western militant organisations in the region. The group allied with the Taliban when they first took power in Afghanistan in 1996. Jalaluddin Haqqani died of a prolonged illness in 2018. Currently, Sirajuddin Haqqani is emerging as a power centre in Afghanistan's Taliban government, as rifts between him and the Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada grow. Members of the Taliban government have told the BBC that the issue of women's education is a key point of disagreement between the two sides. The Haqqanis have sought to project themselves as more moderate, galvanising support among people in the country who are frustrated by the supreme leader's intransigence on women's education. The dropping of bounties by the US government is evidence that its stature is also growing externally, among parts of the international community keen to engage with the Taliban. _Additional reporting by Mahfouz Zubaide and Bernd Debusmann_

Afghanistan’s government has said that Russia had become the first country to officially recognise its rule, calling it a “brave decision”. The [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) swept back to power in 2021 after ousting the foreign-backed government and have imposed an austere version of Islamic law. The announcement was made on Thursday after Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, met Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, in Kabul. “This brave decision will be an example for others … now that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone,” Muttaqi said in a video of the meeting posted on X. “Russia is the first country which has officially recognised the Islamic Emirate,” Taliban foreign ministry spokesperson Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal told AFP, using the government’s name for its administration. Moscow’s special representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told Russia’s state news agency, Ria Novosti, that the government had “recognised” the Taliban government. Russia’s foreign affairs ministry also confirmed the news to the Tass news agency. The move comes shortly after Gul Hassan, a Taliban diplomat, assumed the role of Kabul’s ambassador to Moscow. Moscow has taken steps to normalise relations with the Taliban government, removing its designation as a “terrorist organisation” in April and inviting representatives to official events. Russia was the first country to open a business representative office in Kabul after the Taliban takeover, and has announced plans to use Afghanistan as a transit hub for gas heading to south-east Asia. In July 2024, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, called the Taliban “allies in the fight against terrorism”. Only Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates recognised the Taliban during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001. This time, multiple other states, including China and Pakistan, have accepted Taliban ambassadors in their capitals, but have not officially recognised Afghanistan as an Islamic emirate. However, their restrictions on women and girls – barring them from education and squeezing them from public life – have been key sticking points for other nations. The Taliban authorities have keenly sought international recognition and investment, as the country recovers from four decades of war, including the Soviet invasion from 1979 to 1989.

The international criminal court has issued arrest warrants for two senior [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity for the persecution of women and girls. In [a statement, the ICC said](https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-afghanistan-icc-pre-trial-chamber-ii-issues-arrest-warrants-haibatullah-akhundzada) on Tuesday there were “reasonable grounds to believe” the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and Afghanistan’s chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, had ordered policies that deprived women and girls of “education, privacy and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion”. Afghan human rights activists have called for the Taliban’s system of depriving women and girls of rights and freedoms and enforcing segregation to be recognised as [gender apartheid](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/09/what-is-gender-apartheid-activists-international-law-women-girls-rights-afghanistan-iran). [](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jul/08/international-criminal-court-icc-arrest-warrants-taliban-supreme-leader-persecution-women#img-2) The Taliban’s chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani. Tahera Nasiri, an Afghan women’s rights activist now living in Canada, said the arrest warrant was an acknowledgment of the abuses Afghan women faced. “For four years, the Taliban have told us to stay silent, stay at home, cover our faces, give up our education, our voices and our dreams. Now, an international court is saying: ‘Enough. This is a crime.’ “Even if Akhundzada and Haqqani never sit in court, they now carry the mark of international criminals,” she said. “They are no longer just leaders of [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan), they are wanted men.” The court said the alleged crimes had taken place since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 until January 2025, when the [ICC’s chief prosecutor first sought the warrant.](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/23/icc-chief-prosecutor-seeks-arrest-warrants-for-taliban-leaders-over-persecution-of-women) Since returning to power, the militant Islamists have banned women from paid work and girls from secondary education, as well as issuing a series of edicts that ban women from many areas of public life, including [walking in parks](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/27/taliban-bans-women-from-national-park-in-afghanistan#:~:text=The%20Taliban%20have%20banned%20women,women%27s%20access%20to%20public%20places.) and even [speaking in public](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/26/taliban-bar-on-afghan-women-speaking-in-public-un-afghanistan). Human rights groups have called on the international community to support the ICC in enforcing the arrest warrants. [Liz Evenson, Human Rights Watch](https://x.com/liz_evenson/status/1942598482835247139)’s international justice director, said: “Senior Taliban leaders are now wanted men for their alleged persecution of women, girls, and gender non-conforming people.” [ What is gender apartheid – and can anything be done to stop it? ](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/09/what-is-gender-apartheid-activists-international-law-women-girls-rights-afghanistan-iran) In June, the UN accused the Taliban of removing legal protections for women and turning the justice system into a tool for entrenching an “[institutionalised system of gender oppression](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/taliban-weaponising-justice-sector-entrench-gender-persecution-afghanistan#:~:text=The%20expert%20warned%20that%20Taliban,hold%20the%20Taliban%20to%20account.), persecution and domination”. The UN report also highlighted the suspension of a law on violence against women that included protections against rape and forced marriage. When [announcing that he was seeking a warrant](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/23/icc-chief-prosecutor-seeks-arrest-warrants-for-taliban-leaders-over-persecution-of-women) in January, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, said the two leaders were “criminally responsible” for gender-based persecution in Afghanistan and that he would also be seeking warrants for the arrest of other Taliban leaders. “Our commitment to pursue accountability for [gender-based crimes](https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/policy-gender-based-crimes), including [gender persecution](https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/policy-crime-gender-persecution), remains an absolute priority,” he said. Amnesty International has also called on the international community to recognise gender apartheid as a crime under international law. Parwana Ibrahimkhail Nijrabi, a former Taliban prisoner now living in Germany, said: “Arresting these men won’t be easy, especially with some countries still engaging with the Taliban. But I hope member states of the ICC take this seriously and act to arrest them.”

The Taliban have issued an order targeting underground beauty salons operating in secret across [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan), warning the women running them that they have one month to stop or face arrest. Officially, all beauty salons were closed by the Taliban in August 2023, shuttering 12,000 businesses with the loss of more than 50,000 female beautician jobs. Yet [clandestine salons have continued to operate](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/01/afghanistan-taliban-repression-women-beauticians-secret-salons-hair-makeup#:~:text=The%20Taliban%20announced%20the%20closure,makeup%20%E2%80%93%20were%20violating%20Islamic%20law.) within communities across the country. Now, the [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) have said that they intend to root out and eliminate these underground businesses, issuing orders to community leaders and elders across the country that they must identify clandestine beauty salons and report those running them to the “vice and virtue” police. Frestha, a 38-year-old mother of three young children, said she had been operating her beauty salon business in secret since they were banned in 2023 because she had no choice but to work and no other way of earning money. “When the Taliban closed our salons, I was the only breadwinner in my family; my husband was sick, and I had three children whose expenses I had to cover,” she said. “But also I kept working because I feel so good when I could bring beauty back to a woman. When a woman looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, her happiness became my happiness. “Now, I don’t think I can keep going because the risk is too high \[but\] I don’t know any other work. Our situation is very bad, but in this world there is no one to hear our voice or support us,” she added. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, women have been banned from most forms of paid employment and girls prevented from attending secondary school or university. Human rights groups say the Taliban operate a de facto [system of gender apartheid](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/09/afghan-women-exile-taliban-justice-gender-apartheid-crime-against-humanity), preventing women from engaging in any kind of public life. As well as shutting beauty salons, gyms and other communal spaces, women are also prevented from walking in public parks, travelling without a male chaperone, must [cover themselves completely when leaving the house](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2025/jun/09/ordinary-men-unpaid-taliban-enforcers-homes-afghanistan-women) and are [not allowed to be heard speaking in public](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/26/taliban-bar-on-afghan-women-speaking-in-public-un-afghanistan).

Carrie DaviesPakistan correspondent, Stuart Lau and Ethirajan Anbarasan The Taliban government has confirmed that it attacked Pakistani troops in multiple mountainous locations on the northern border. A Taliban spokesman said 58 Pakistan military personnel had been killed in what it called "an act of retaliation". It claimed Pakistan had violated Afghan airspace and bombed a market inside its border on Thursday. Pakistan has disputed that figure, saying 23 of its armed forces' members had died and claiming that "200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists have been neutralized". Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the Afghan attacks were "unprovoked" and civilians were fired at, warning that his country's forces would respond "with a stone for every brick". Islamabad has accused Kabul of harbouring terrorists who target Pakistan on its soil, a claim the Taliban government rejected. Both the Afghan and Pakistani sides are said to have used small arms and artillery in the Kunar-Kurram region, the BBC understands. At a press conference on Sunday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in addition to the 58 Pakistani military deaths, around 30 others had been wounded. He added that nine Taliban fighters had died and between 16 and 18 people had been injured. **Pakistan Armed Forces said 29 of its soldiers had been injured whlie claiming the number of wounded Taliban and "affiliated" fighters was in the hundreds.** Afghan's foreign minister said in a press conference in New Delhi that "we have no problems" with Pakistan's people and its leadership but added "there are some groups in Pakistan that are trying to spoil the situation. Afghanistan has a right to keep its territory and its borders safe, and so it has retaliated to the violation." Pakistan's interior minister said he "strongly condemns" the Taliban's attacks: "The firing by Afghan forces on civilian populations is a blatant violation of international laws. "Afghanistan is playing a game of fire and blood," he said in a post on X. The two main crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan - Torkham in the north and Chaman in the south - have been closed, leaving hundreds of trucks carrying goods stranded on both sides. A Pakistani military spokesman said they would take necessary measures to safeguard Pakistani lives and properties. Pakistan's military has not officially commented, but a security source speaking to the BBC claimed that firing took place at several locations along the Pakistani-Afghan border, including Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral and Baramcha. A police official stationed near the Zero Point in Kurram district told the BBC that heavy weapons fire began from the Afghan side around 22:00 local time (17:00 GMT). He said they had received reports of intense gunfire from multiple locations along the border. Last week, Afghanistan's [Taliban government accused Pakistan of violating Kabul's "sovereign territory"](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62lp7yd1jeo), as two loud blasts were heard in the city late on Thursday. Pakistan bombed a civilian market in the border province of Paktika, in Afghanistan's south-east, the Taliban Defence Ministry said on Friday. Locals there told the BBC's Afghan service that a number of shops had been destroyed. A top Pakistani general alleged Afghanistan was being used as a "base of operation for terrorism against Pakistan". Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of permitting the Pakistan Taliban, known as the TTP, to operate from their land and fight against the Islamabad government in a bid to enforce a strict Islamic-led system of governance. The Afghan Taliban government has always denied this. The latest escalation coincided with an [historic week-long trip to India](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8exzzz5dp5o) made by Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, his first since the Taliban's return to power. In a diplomatic thaw, Delhi said that it would reopen the embassy in Kabul, which was shut four years ago when the Taliban returned to power. "Afghanistan will also be given a befitting reply like India, so that it will not dare to look at Pakistan with a malicious eye," Naqvi warned. In a statement, Saudi Arabia, which signed a [mutual defence pact](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c147gkxyyrmo) with Pakistan last month, called for self-restraint and avoidance of escalation between Islamabad and Kabul. Qatar also expressed concern over the Pakistan-Afghanistan border tensions, calling on both sides to "prioritise dialogue, diplomacy, and restraint".

EPA The Taliban has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government have agreed to an "immediate ceasefire" after more than a week of deadly fighting. The foreign ministry of Qatar, which mediated talks alongside Turkey, said both sides had agreed to establish "mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability". Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said ending "hostile actions" was "important", while Pakistan's foreign minister called the agreement the "first step in the right direction". Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties during the clashes, the worst fighting since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Islamabad has long accused the Taliban of harbouring armed groups which carry out attacks in Pakistan, which it denies. Clashes intensified along the 1,600-mile (2,574 km) mountainous border that the two countries share after the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul. Rumours had circulated that the blasts in Kabul were a targeted attack on Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan's Taliban. In response, the group released an unverified voice note from Mehsud saying he was still alive. In the days that followed, Afghan troops fired on Pakistani border posts, prompting Pakistan to respond with mortar fire and drone strikes. At least 17 Afghan civilians have been killed and hundreds more wounded, the [UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan](https://unama.unmissions.org/unama-welcomes-afghanistan-pakistan-ceasefire-urges-protection-civilians) said on Thursday. A temporary truce was declared on Wednesday night as delegations met in Doha, but cross-border strikes continued. On Friday, the Taliban said Pakistan had [carried out an air strike which killed eight](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20pnz01x0eo), including three local cricket players. Under the new agreement, the Taliban said it would not "support groups carrying out attacks against the Government of Pakistan", while both sides agreed to refrain from targeting each other's security forces, civilians or critical infrastructure. Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the latest ceasefire meant "terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistan's soil will be stopped immediately", with the two sides set to meet in Istanbul for further talks next week. Pakistan was a major backer of the Taliban after its ouster in 2001 following a US-led invasion. But relations deteriorated after Islamabad accused the group of providing a safe haven to the Pakistan Taliban, which has launched an armed insurgence against government forces. The group has carried out at least 600 attacks on Pakistani forces over the past year, according to the [Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.](https://acleddata.com/report/battle-borderlands-tehreek-i-taliban-pakistan-challenges-states-control)