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Daesh, al-Qaeda to establish Islamic Caliphate in Badakhshan
Local officials in Badakhshan say that some 600 families of Daesh and al-Qaeda, who are citizens of some Asian countries, are present in the province and have chosen the Khustak Valley of Jurm district as the center of their activities.
Badakhshan Governor Zakaria Sowda said, “After Daesh was defeated in Helmand and Nangarhar provinces, it is now working with the Al-Qaeda group, all of whom are foreigners, to build a caliphate center in Dara-e Khustak, Jurm district of Badakhshan. If it is not stopped, it will be a great danger after the peace process in Afghanistan and the Middle East.”
Altafullah Alizai, commander of the army’s brigade in Badakhshan, said, “Dara-e Khustak is under the control of Daesh and al-Qaeda for years. The place has open borders with China, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. It has gold mines, exported by the group to foreign countries through the open borders – a good income stream for them.”
Badakhshan military officials say that the Ansarullah network, the eastern Turkestan group, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan are among the groups working directly with the Daesh and al-Qaeda in Jurm, Warduj and Raghistan districts of Badakhshan province.
They add that more than 2,000 Taliban, in addition to these groups, conduct anti-government activities in 22 districts of Badakhshan.
Asadullah Mohammadi, the Police Chief of Badakhshan, said: “In the last week, a number of security forces were killed and others were wounded. The enemy has also suffered casualties. These groups fighting against the Afghan forces are all foreigners.”
Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, First Deputy Chief of Special Operations in the North, said: “Foreign groups in the valley are using advanced weapons against us. Most of these fighters are citizens of Middle Eastern countries. Up to $10,000 has been recovered from the fighters killed in action.”
Meanwhile, residents of the Khustak Valley, Jurm district say that al-Qaeda and Daesh groups, along with their families, have forcibly taken hold of their homes.
“They kicked us out of our homes and located their families. All are black-skinned foreign nationals,” said one resident of Khustak Valley.
Another resident of the valley, said, “There are foreigners who have weapons and ammunition that our government does not have. All of them use dollars. Wherever they take, the people of that locality are kicked out of their homes.”
It is noteworthy that Badakhshan is one of the most insecure provinces in northeastern Afghanistan.
The province has borders with Pakistan, Tajikistan, and China. The Taliban, al-Qaeda, and Daesh have recently taken over Raghistan district and parts of Jurm district too.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has called a United Nations report on Afghan opiates “tailor-made political propaganda” saying such publications do not help combat drug trafficking in Afghanistan.
The ministry said that the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, published in late October, recorded an increase in the cultivation, production and distribution of Afghan opiates for the first time since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) imposed a ban in 2022.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the report, which the IEA has already rejected as politically motivated, appears unbalanced and relies on indirect evidence, including satellite images that are open to different expert interpretations.
According to UN estimates cited in the report, the area under poppy cultivation increased from 10,200 hectares in 2025 to 43,300 hectares in 2026, while opium production rose from 300 tonnes to 1,470 tonnes.
The ministry acknowledged that Afghanistan’s drug problem still exists and said authorities in Kabul are aware of the issue. It added that Afghan security forces conduct almost daily operations in various parts of the country to destroy drug laboratories and seize narcotics.
According to the statement, more than 7.4 tonnes of various narcotics and over 4.7 tonnes of precursor chemicals were seized in Afghanistan over the past week, while two drug laboratories were dismantled.
Cooperation between the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment and the Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce has paved the way for exporting potatoes from Bamyan province to the Uzbek market.
In this regard, Sayed Karim Hashemi, President of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, and Doran Vahabov, President of the Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce, have agreed on the export of 100,000 tons of Bamyan potatoes to Uzbekistan. Work is underway to finalize the export agreement.
Meanwhile, the first shipment of potatoes, consisting of eight trucks, has departed for the Uzbek city of Termez through the Hairatan Port.
The chambers of commerce of both countries, in cooperation with local authorities in Bamyan, have facilitated connections between traders and farmers and coordinated the purchasing, marketing, and transportation of the produce. This initiative is expected to expand market opportunities for Bamyan farmers and strengthen trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Afghanistan’s Prime Minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk in Kabul on Thursday evening, emphasizing the need to strengthen bilateral relations and expand economic cooperation between the two countries.
According to a statement from the Presidential Palace, several senior officials from both countries attended the meeting, including Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and representatives of Russia’s political and economic sectors.
Akhund described Afghanistan’s security and stability as favourable conditions for foreign investment and thanked Moscow for recognizing the Islamic Emirate and supporting Afghanistan in international forums.
Meanwhile, Overchuk praised the security situation and developments in Afghanistan, expressing Russia’s interest in investing in various sectors of the country.
He said around 70 representatives of Russia’s private sector were accompanying the delegation and were expected to hold discussions with relevant ministries and institutions of the Islamic Emirate on trade and investment agreements, as well as ways to address existing obstacles.
The Russian deputy prime minister reaffirmed his country’s support for Afghanistan in various fields.
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