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Taliban looted, torched Afghan homes after evicting residents: Watchdog
Taliban fighters in northern Afghanistan last month evicted families and looted and torched their homes in apparent retaliation for cooperating with the Kabul government, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.
Reuters reported the “retaliatory attacks” were committed by insurgents participating in a Taliban offensive that has overrun scores of districts around Afghanistan, including an estimated 150 districts in Kunduz and other northern provinces, the group said.
“The Taliban leadership has the power to stop these abuses by their forces, but haven’t shown that they are willing to do so,” Patricia Grossman, the organization’s associate Asia director said in a statement.
A Taliban spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, the Taliban published on Twitter an order to “military officials” to safeguard public property and “behave well with the general public.”
The Taliban launched their offensive, with a focus on the north, as U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew after two decades of war. U.S. troops abandoned their main base, Bagram Airfield, earlier this week.
Human Rights Watch said it conducted telephone interviews early this month with displaced residents of Bagh-e Sherkat, a town in Kunduz province from which some 600 families fled, some to Taloquan and others to Faizabad.
Displaced residents were quoted as saying that from June 21 to 25, Taliban fighters gave them two hours to leave their homes and threatened those who the insurgents accused of providing support to the Afghan government, Reuters reported.
Taliban fighters then looted and burned abandoned homes, and shot dead two civilians, displaced residents said.
“We helped the government and they left us to the Taliban,” an unidentified 24-year-old woman was quoted as saying. “The Taliban have burned our houses. We are so scared. Both sides force us to help them. We are poor people, we don’t have any choice.”
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Pakistan to repatriate nearly 20,000 Afghans awaiting US resettlement
Authorities will also share verified data of the affected individuals with relevant departments to support implementation.
Pakistan will repatriate nearly 20,000 Afghan nationals currently awaiting resettlement in the United States, The Nation reported, citing official sources.
The move affects 19,973 Afghans living across Pakistan.
A federal directive will instruct provincial chief secretaries and police chiefs in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Islamabad Capital Territory to begin the repatriation process immediately.
Authorities will also share verified data of the affected individuals with relevant departments to support implementation.
Following the Islamic Emirate’s return to power in 2021, more than 100,000 Afghans fled to Pakistan, many of whom had worked with the US and UK governments, international organizations, or aid agencies.
Thousands have remained stranded in Pakistan for over four years while awaiting US resettlement clearance.
Prospects for relocation have dimmed amid a suspension of case processing by the US administration, according to The Nation.
Under Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP), all Afghan nationals still awaiting US relocation will now be returned to Afghanistan.
Terrorist activities continue to be observed along Afghanistan borders and along the India–Pakistan–Afghanistan corridor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Monday.
Speaking to Russia-based media outlet TV BRICS, Lavrov pointed to ongoing concerns in the Middle East, including its Asian regions.
He highlighted the importance of collaboration with India at the United Nations to advance a global counter-terrorism convention.
Lavrov stated that while the draft convention has already been prepared, consensus on its adoption has not yet been reached.
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern about militant threats from Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has dismissed the concerns saying that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against any country.
Noorullah Noori, Afghanistan’s Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, held a phone conversation with Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, to discuss bilateral border cooperation.
According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening border collaboration, with a particular focus on the ongoing renovation and updating of border markers. They also agreed to accelerate joint technical and legal meetings to enhance coordination.
As part of the agreement, the next meeting of senior border officials from Afghanistan and Iran is scheduled to take place in Iran in 1405 (2026–2027).
Tahawol: Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Failure of Towards Afghanistan discussed
Saar: Regional Problems, Opportunities, and Challenges discussed
Pakistan to repatriate nearly 20,000 Afghans awaiting US resettlement
Terrorist activities observed along Afghanistan borders, says Lavrov
Afghan border minister holds phone talks with Iran’s deputy foreign minister
Afghanistan–China joint market opens in Kabul
Pakistan approves re-export of stranded Afghan transit trade cargo
ATN secures broadcast rights to Carabao Cup semis across Afghanistan
Pakistan army orders evacuation of Tirah Valley, fears of mass displacement grow
Afghan traders sign deal to import pharmaceuticals from Bangladesh
Tahawol: Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Failure of Towards Afghanistan discussed
Saar: Regional Problems, Opportunities, and Challenges discussed
Saar: Afghanistan’s relations and opportunities with regional countries
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