The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has announced that Mahdi Ansary, a reporter for the Afghan News Agency (AFKA), has been released after serving one and a half years in Bagram prison.

In a statement welcoming his release, AFJC emphasized that the fundamental rights of this journalist—who had been tried and imprisoned on charges of cooperating with exiled and foreign media—were “seriously” violated.

Ansari was arrested on October 5, 2023, after returning from his workplace in Kabul.

He was sentenced on January 1, 2024 by the Kabul Primary Court to one and a half years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Emirate.”

Afghanistan’s Chief of Armed Forces, Fasihuddin Fitrat, said in his Eid message that Pakistan’s military regime has violated the ceasefire along the Durand line.

According to the Eid message released by the Ministry of Defense, several civilians were killed in attacks carried out by Pakistani forces in border areas.

Fitrat added that the continuation of Pakistan’s attacks despite the ceasefire “demonstrates a lack of commitment and deception” on the part of the country.

He stressed that the Islamic Emirate has refrained from retaliatory action in order to prevent further deterioration of the situation and has remained committed to the ceasefire.

However, he warned that if such attacks are repeated, “the ceasefire will become meaningless,” and the Islamic Emirate will deliver a “decisive response” to Pakistan’s actions.

It is worth noting that the Islamic Emirate and Pakistan reached a temporary ceasefire on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr through mediation by Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.