Even as Pakistan and Afghanistan gear up to meet in Doha on Saturday to broker a peace after days of fighting and air strike the Taliban government said that Afghanistan reserves the right to respond to Pakistani airstrikes on its land.
Pakistan announced a 48-hour ceasefire with Afghanistan following deadly border clashes. The agreement aims to facilitate dialogue and find a resolution to the conflict.
Pakistan seized 19 Afghan military posts and "terrorist hideouts" in response to alleged attacks by Afghan forces. Kabul claims significant Pakistani casualties. Tensions escalate following repeated attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Taliban's spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced the decree that aims to solve "obscene acts".
A senior Afghan interim government official on Monday confirmed that strikes in the Afghanistan provinces of Paktika and Khost along the Pakistan border have taken place.
Local officials in Herat said that over 30 people have died and more than 600 others have been injured in several earthquakes in this province, reported the Pajhwok Afghan News.
Taliban hails US departure from Afghanistan as 'historic moment'.
US President Joe Biden will address the American people on US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan on Tuesday.
The police also said that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is behind the suicide attack that injured over 100 people in Khar, the capital of Bajaur tribal district.
Taliban also blamed the US for encouraging the Afghan elite to leave the country, Tolo News reported.
The Taliban described co-education as the 'root of all evils in society'.
Rejecting General David Petraeus' claim that thousands of Afghan Taliban have either 'laid down' their arms or moving towards doing so, Mullah Omer-led Taliban vowed continuing their war until the establishment of Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan.
On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror strike, the Afghan Taliban have requested the international community to urge the United States against the "illegal occupation" of Afghanistan for the War on Terror.
Pakistan's national flag carrier on Thursday suspended flight operations to Afghanistan due to what it called "security concerns", hours after the Taliban government threatened to ban the airline unless it reduced the fare on the Kabul-Islamabad route to previous levels.
The Taliban have slammed "coward" Prince Harry for comparing the decade-long conflict in Afghanistan with computer games, saying that the British Royal "must have a mental problem".
The explosion took place at 4 pm at the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl workers' convention in Khar, the capital of Bajaur tribal district.
Afghan Taliban has denied reports that their leader Mullah Omar is dead and said that their website and phones were hacked and false news was delivered to the media.
The first rocket caused some damage inside the heavily fortified palace compound, while the second hit the capital's police headquarters, but caused no casualties, reports Sky News.
Police in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Monday that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group Islamic State is behind the suicide attack on a political convention of a hardline Islamist party that killed at least 46 people and injured over 100.
Claiming that it was not in "direct conflict" with India, the Taliban has said there was a possibility of reconciliation even as it justified the February 26 Kabul attack on Indians as a "legitimate" action.
The Indian side expressed readiness to provide extensive humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, Mujahid was quoted as saying by Afghanistan's Tolo News.
Describing China as its 'most important partner', the Afghan Taliban has said it looks to Beijing to rebuild Afghanistan and exploit its rich copper deposits as the war-ravaged country faces widespread hunger and fears of an economic collapse.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We want to establish a government that includes all sides," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah said, adding that they want an end to the war.
'The really striking thing is that the Taliban has suo moto presented to us certain firm benchmarks against which it expects us to hold to account the Taliban rulers's actions in the period ahead' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The team's remarkable rise has been cricket's biggest fairytale story in recent times but Afghanistan risk isolation following the country's takeover by the Taliban in August.
Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund is appointed as Prime Minister with two deputies Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Molavi Abdul Salam Hanafi.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has delayed his visit to India by a few hours.
Officials said the militants targeted residential areas and held hostages.
Hundreds of Afghan protesters, including women, took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday, chanting 'death to Pakistan' and denouncing Islamabad's interference in Afghanistan and airstrikes by its jets in Panjshir province in support of the Taliban, according to a media report.
India on Monday hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for its criticism of the country in the wake of the alleged derogatory remarks made against Prophet Mohammed by two Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries.
An audio message has been released in Pushto, circulated by Taliban commanders, where Akhundzada said, "Taliban will never bow their heads and will not agree to peace talks," reports Dawn.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the BJP spokesperson, saying it insulted Prophet Muhammad.
"If we have to recognise a government, the first thing is that we will need to wait until the government is formed," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
'There is far more goodwill towards India from across the board in Afghanistan'
"But the completion by August 31 depends on the Taliban continuing to cooperate and allow access to the airport for those who were transporting out and no disruptions to our operations," US President Joe Biden said.
In a major crackdown to eliminate the terrorists' sanctuaries, Afghanistan has carried out three air strikes within a week in Kunar province, bordering Pakistan, inflicting heavy casualties on Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror group.
The Taliban had promised an 'inclusive' government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup, but there is no Hazara member in the cabinet.
Robust military preparedness along the entire perimeter of our nation is the only iron-clad permanent guarantee for our security, asserts Vivek Gumaste.
The key is to act and not wait and watch before the limited window of opportunity shuts, argues Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
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