Afghanistan seeks to cut economic dependence on Pakistan

Afghanistan’s Taliban administration is seeking to expand trade ties with Central Asian countries as part of an effort to reduce its decades-long economic reliance on Pakistan, officials and experts said.

Efforts to secure a lasting peace between Afghanistan and Pakistan have suffered a major setback after the latest round of negotiations in Istanbul collapsed, though both countries have agreed to continue observing the fragile ceasefire reached earlier this month.

A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan early Monday, killing at least 14 people and injuring hundreds more, according to officials.

Efforts to secure a lasting truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan have stalled, as peace talks in Istanbul concluded without an agreement. sources from both sides confirmed on Tuesday. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan have reached an agreement on an immediate ceasefire, following marathon negotiations held in Doha, Qatar, and mediated jointly by Qatar and Turkey, according to a statement released early Sunday by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry.

Pakistan closed all major border crossings with Afghanistan on Sunday after intense overnight clashes between the two sides, in which the Taliban-led Afghan government claimed to have killed at least 58 Pakistani soldiers.

Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a six-day visit aimed at strengthening political and economic relations with India. marking the first official trip by a Taliban leader since the group regained power in August 2021.

US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Afghanistan, saying `bad things` will follow if Kabul refuses to hand back control of the Bagram air base to the United States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on the Taliban to immediately lift restrictions on Afghan women aid workers, warning that the ban is crippling relief operations in areas devastated by last week’s powerful earthquake.

The death toll from the massive earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday has risen to nearly 1,000, officials confirmed Tuesday, with fears the figure could climb higher as rescue operations continue in remote, mountainous regions.

A powerful earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale has devastated eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 622 people and injuring over 1,500, according to state-run broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA).

As a government-imposed deadline expired on Sunday, Iran has directed millions of Afghan migrants and refugees residing within its borders to leave or alternatively, face arrest. 

The Taliban administration has launched a nationwide campaign to purge `un-Islamic` and anti-government literature from circulation in Afghanistan. This initiative involves scrutinizing imported books, removing contentious texts from libraries, and issuing lists of banned publications. 

Over the span of three days heavy rains and subsequent flash flooding have led to the loss of at least 33 lives in Afghanistan, as reported by the government`s disaster management department.

Tragedy struck on Monday as eight individuals, including women and children, lost their lives in what has been described as "reckless" air strikes conducted by the Pakistan military in the border areas of Afghanistan, according to a statement by a spokesman for the Taliban government.

A devastating landslide triggered by heavy snowfall has resulted in the loss of 25 lives and left eight individuals injured in the eastern Afghan province of Nuristan, according to statements from a spokesman for the disaster management ministry on Monday.