Security sources said that special forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) have targeted a hideout in Badakhshan province linked to suspects involved in attacks against Chinese nationals in neighboring Tajikistan.

According to the sources, the operation was carried out on Tuesday night in Faizabad city, where several individuals suspected of orchestrating cross-border attacks from Badakhshan’s frontier regions were believed to be present. As a result of the operation, one wanted suspect was arrested alive along with weapons and other military equipment.

The sources added that preliminary investigations and initial confessions by the detainee indicate the planning of the attacks was carried out from outside Afghanistan.

This comes as Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on November 27 that three Chinese citizens were killed in an attack in Khatlon province.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, has called on religious scholars to play a stronger role in promoting the protection of the Islamic system and Afghanistan’s national interests among the public.

Speaking at a turban-tying ceremony at Jamia Fath al-Uloom in Kabul on Wednesday, Baradar urged scholars to adopt a softer tone in their sermons and public addresses.

He said that alongside teaching religious obligations, scholars should help foster a sense of responsibility toward safeguarding the Islamic system and national unity.

Baradar described madrasas as the sacred foundations of religious learning, moral education, spiritual and intellectual development, and Islamic movements within Muslim societies.

He noted that in Afghanistan, religious teachings and the concept of sacred jihad originated in madrasas, spread from villages to cities, and eventually translated into action and resistance.

He also emphasized the role of madrasas in the intellectual reform of society, the removal of what he described as un-Islamic cultural influences, and the preservation of Islamic traditions.

Baradar stressed that religious schools must remain committed to their original mission and values under all circumstances.