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Drone strike on Pakistani Taliban leader fails to explode, TTP sources say
A drone strike hit a house just inside Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, apparently targeting a senior member of the Pakistani Taliban, but the missile failed to explode, Reuters quoting Pakistani Taliban sources said on Thursday.
One of the Pakistani Taliban officials said the drone fired a missile at a hujra, or guesthouse on the compound of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, a senior leader of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan movement (TTP), read the report.
“It was around 3:30 when a drone suddenly appeared in the sky. We got worried and advised Maulvi Faqir to go to a safe place but he refused and argued it was not possible to hide in the daytime,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to the report around half an hour later, when Faqir Mohammad left his own house to visit the guesthouse, the missile struck.
“He was about 3 metres away from the hujra room when the drone fired a missile and hit the same room. Luckily the missile didn’t explode and he and other people around him remained safe,” he said.
Faqir Mohammad is a former deputy leader of the TTP who spent eight years in Afghanistan’s Bagram prison before being released by the Afghan Taliban [Islamic Emirate] following their shock overthrow of the Western-backed government in Kabul on Aug. 15.
The apparent attempt to kill him in a drone strike came after talks to agree a permanent ceasefire between the TTP and the Pakistani government broke down last week after the militant movement refused to extend a 30-day truce.
According to Reuters the TTP, which has fought for years to overthrow the government in Islamabad, is a separate movement from the Afghan Taliban [Islamic Emirate] but TTP fighters and senior leaders have long been known to shelter in the lawless eastern border regions of Afghanistan.
Two people have been killed amid protests against a poppy eradication campaign in northeastern Badakhshan province, local officials said.
Authorities said counter-narcotics forces were deployed on Friday to Atan Jalo area of Argo district to destroy poppy fields. Clashes erupted after a number of farmers and residents reportedly attempted to block the operation.
Officials said a child was killed during Friday’s unrest, while another person died on Saturday as protests and tensions continued in the area.
According to local authorities, demonstrators also temporarily blocked the Kishm–Faizabad highway, disrupting traffic for several hours before it was reopened following coordinated efforts by security officials, religious scholars, and community elders.
Officials blamed “drug traffickers and criminal groups” for inciting the unrest and said security forces have since regained control of the area.
A high-ranking Uzbek delegation comprising government officials and private sector representatives from the Republic of Karakalpakstan arrived in Kabul on Saturday to discuss the expansion of trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan.
The delegation is headed by Amanbay Orinbayev, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Karakalpakstan.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the delegation is expected to hold talks with Nooruddin Azizi, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, focusing on strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations.
The ministry said the visiting delegation will also participate in trade connectivity meetings and business-to-business sessions aimed at enhancing commercial cooperation between the two sides.
As part of the visit, the Uzbek delegation is also scheduled to travel to Balkh province, where members will attend additional trade meetings and inaugurate an exhibition showcasing Uzbekistan’s domestic products.
Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan, has expressed concern over recent developments along the Durand Line, saying Pakistan has increased military and economic pressure on villages and residents living near the line.
In a statement, Karzai said the apparent purpose of these pressures is to push residents of Durand Line areas to seek help from Pakistani institutions for resolving security and other local issues.
He added that, amid this situation, some tribal elders from both sides of the Durand Line recently signed documents described as “peace agreements,” which were later officially welcomed by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Karzai, these developments amount to an effort by Pakistan to legitimize the Durand Line and represent an action against Afghanistan’s national sovereignty.
The former Afghan president also urged the relevant Afghan authorities to provide the public with a clear explanation regarding the recent agreements and developments along the Durand Line.
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