Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has traveled to Moscow to participate in the eighth meeting of the Moscow Format on Afghanistan.

According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi is expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials during his visit to discuss issues related to Afghanistan.

Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, head of the ministry’s public relations department, said discussions at the eighth consultative meeting will focus on Afghanistan’s current situation and the country’s relations with the region.

Takal added that the Moscow Format meeting is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 5, in Moscow.

Abdul Latif Mansour, Afghanistan’s Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, says the Islamic Emirate considers the unjustified shedding of Afghan and Pakistani blood forbidden, as both sides are Muslims.

Mansour made the remarks at the inauguration of the Wakhan road in Badakhshan on Sunday, while responding to Pakistan’s recent attacks on Afghanistan.

He said some people become emotional over Pakistani bombings, but stressed that Afghanistan needs to become self-reliant enough to defend its citizens.

“We must build this system to the point where we become self-reliant and can defend every Afghan in such a way that we can neutralize the person causing harm in his own country,” Mansour said.

He acknowledged that the current system has not yet achieved full self-reliance, but said efforts are underway to strengthen Afghanistan’s ability to defend its people.

At the same time, Mansour stressed that the situation should not escalate into indiscriminate bloodshed.

“We consider the unjustified shedding of our own people’s blood forbidden, and we also consider the shedding of Pakistani blood forbidden because they are Muslims,” he said.

Pakistani military officials have repeatedly accused Afghanistan of allowing militant attacks on Pakistan to be planned or carried out from Afghan territory.

The Islamic Emirate has rejected the allegations, saying Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan’s security problems.

India says a fugitive drug-trafficking kingpin accused of smuggling heroin and methamphetamine from Afghanistan into India has been deported from Turkey and brought back to the country.

Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that Navpreet Singh, also known as “Nav,” was deported from Turkey after Indian authorities tracked him down.

Shah said Singh had obtained Turkish citizenship using the fake identity “Navab Virk” and continued to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine from Afghanistan to India.

The 34-year-old, a native of Punjab, had been wanted in several narcotics cases and was on the run for more than two years. Indian authorities allege that he headed an international narcotics syndicate whose operations in India were managed by his cousin, Prabhdeep Singh.

Prabhdeep Singh, also known as “Harry,” was extradited from Azerbaijan to India in May in connection with a case involving the seizure of 358 kilograms of heroin in 2021.

India submitted its request for Navpreet Singh’s extradition to Turkish authorities in 2023-24, according to officials familiar with the case.

Shah described Singh’s deportation as a “historic milestone” and said the Indian government was committed to dismantling drug-trafficking networks.

The Indian Home Ministry says 288 fugitives from 36 countries have been brought back to India between 2019 and August 2026 as part of efforts to pursue wanted criminals abroad.