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China, U.S., Russia, Pakistan to hold talks on Afghanistan – China, U.S. say

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A top U.S. diplomat will meet this week in China to discuss issues in Afghanistan with his Chinese, Russian and Pakistani counterparts, the Chinese foreign ministry and the State Department said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The United States understands that China has invited Taliban representatives to the talks in Tunxi, a State Department spokesperson said.

Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong will host the meeting, said Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in Tunxi for the talks, Interfax news agency cited a ministry spokeswoman as saying late on Tuesday. Lavrov has largely stayed in Russia since last month's invasion of Ukraine but did travel to Turkey for talks with his counterpart from Kyiv, Reuters reported.

Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, will attend the talks of the so-called Extended Troika: the three world powers plus Pakistan, the State Department spokesperson said.

The talks come against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as Afghanistan suffers an economic and humanitarian crisis worsened by a financial aid cutoff following the Islamic Emirate (IE) takeover as U.S.-led troops departed in August, read the report.

They also come amid widespread condemnation of the IE's U-turn last week on allowing girls to attend public high schools, which has sparked consternation among funders ahead of a key aid donors conference, a U.N. official said on Tuesday.

The retention of the ban prompted U.S. officials to cancel talks in Doha with the IE and a State Department warning that Washington saw the decision as "a potential turning point in our engagement" with the Islamic Emirate, Reuters reported.

The United States believes that it shares with other Extended Troika members an interest in the IE making good on commitments to form an inclusive government, cooperate on counterterrorism and rebuild the Afghan economy, the State Department spokesperson said.

According to Reuters the meeting takes place while foreign ministers from Afghanistan's neighbors meet on Wednesday and Thursday in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, Wang said.

That meeting will be chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and attended by Afghan acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and diplomats from Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Qatar, Reuters reported.

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Khawaja Asif links Pakistan’s security crisis to Afghanistan

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Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has claimed that the country’s deteriorating security situation is directly linked to Afghanistan.

Speaking in a press conference on Friday in Islamabad, Asif pointed to the escalation of recent security incidents in different regions of Pakistan and added that the cross-border threat against Pakistan has escalated.

Condemning the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups, he has claimed that Pakistan's security concerns originate from Afghanistan.

“We stand against terrorism with all our strength. They now carry out their attacks on a daily basis. These invaders enter our soil from outside, they are brought and sheltered in Pakistan. Terrorists are smuggled in from Afghanistan and they are given shelter. They attack our people, both women and children, from the same houses,” said Asif.

The government of Pakistan claims that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan "TTP" is funded and supported in Afghanistan and asked the Islamic Emirate to hand over the leaders of TTP to Islamabad.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate has always rejected such claims and considers Pakistan's security crisis to be the result of the country's weak internal management.

IEA still does not consider the issue of the Pakistani Taliban as a new issue and stressed that this group has been active in Pakistan for many years.

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Afghan, Pakistani border officials meet in Torkham over movement of people

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The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced on Saturday that Afghan and Pakistani border officials have met in Torkham to address problems related to the movement of people.

During the meeting, Torkham Commissioner Abdul Jabbar Hekmat urged the Pakistani delegation to pay greater attention to the problem faced by passengers and patients.

Bakht Jamal Gohar, border head of the Nangarhar refugees department, also spoke about the problems of migrants and their rights in the light of Islam and international laws.

He also stressed the importance of mutual respect and good neighbourliness.

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Police: 22 rockets explode in a house in Balkh

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Balkh police said 22 rockets exploded in a residential house in the northern Afghan province on Friday.

The incident occurred in Bist Pikal village in Chaharbulak district when a gas cylinder caught fire, Balkh police said in a statement.

According to the statement, the ammunition was illegally stored in the house.

The statement added that the incident did not cause any casualties but caused huge financial losses.

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