Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said no military operations will be allowed in the province.

Gandapur said despite the deaths of militants in Pakistan, militants continue to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan in large numbers, Geo News reported on Thursday.

He added that 9,500 to 11,500 militants had entered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and about 22,500 others were on the Afghan side.

Gandapur said that former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan must be released from prison to make progress on security issues.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that attacks in the country are planned on Afghan soil.

The Islamic Emirate, however, has denied the claim, saying Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan’s “security failure”.

Afghanistan has ranked last out of 147 countries in the 2025 edition of the World Happiness Report released Thursday.

Published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the report evaluates various factors, including health, wealth, freedom, generosity, and freedom from corruption, to measure overall happiness across societies based on self-reported assessments from 147 countries.

Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the eighth consecutive year.

Denmark, Iceland and Sweden followed Finland in the ranking.

According to the new World Happiness Report, Afghanistan lost approximately 2.7 points from 2013 to 2025.

The lowest frequency of positive emotions is in Afghanistan. It also has the most frequent negative emotions.

The United States came in 24th place, the lowest position for it in such rankings.

Torkham border gate has been reopened for trade vehicles after Afghanistan and Pakistan jirga members reached an agreement following several rounds of talks.

The border, which had been closed for 26 days, will reopen to the public on Friday.

According to officials from the Nangarhar Chamber of Commerce, several rounds of discussions were held between the private sectors of both sides. The extended border closure cost Afghan traders an estimated $1 million a day, chamber officials said.

Sayed Tayyib Hamad, spokesperson for the Nangarhar Police Command, also confirmed Wednesday that the Torkham gate had been reopened for trucks and will reopen for the public on Friday.

Pakistan closed the gate almost a month ago amid growing tension and subsequent clashes between border forces over the reconstruction of a controversial checkpost on the Afghanistan side of the border.

The move resulted in significant financial losses for traders on both sides.

Afghanistan and Pakistan traders have meanwhile appealed for authorities in both countries to separate trade from politics and said disputes can only be solved through dialogue.