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Pakistan won’t support any attempt by Taliban to recapture power: ISPR general
Pakistan’s Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said Wednesday that Pakistan has done what it can to promote peace efforts in Afghanistan and that Islamabad will not support the Taliban in any attempt to “recapture Kabul”.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Iftikhar said: “Even Afghan leaders are admitting that Pakistan has done utmost for peace in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan’s The News International quoted him as saying that it is for the citizens and the government of Afghanistan to determine the future of their country, and how the negotiating process would progress.
“We only aim for a long-lasting peace in Afghanistan,” he said.
On a question on NATO forces’ likely drawdown and a possible return of the Taliban, he said: “Afghanistan now is not what it was in ’90s and the state infrastructure cannot be trounced easily, and Pakistan also has changed.
“It’s impossible for the Taliban to recapture Kabul and that Pakistan would support them. It isn’t going to happen,” he said.
The News reported that he maintained the policy of the Pakistan government to extend a hand of peace to the neighbours was very clear.
This comes just days after Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov visited Islamabad to encourage Pakistan’s support for a meeting in Moscow to help facilitate the stalled Afghan peace process.
Kabulov told Russian news agency Sputnik that his “leadership has set the task of finding ways that will facilitate the start of inter-Afghan negotiations through consultations within the framework of the enlarged troika. We agreed on such a meeting with the American special envoy [Zalmay] Khalilzad. It can happen in Moscow.”
The “enlarged troika” was in reference to what Kabulov said was a group that evolved over the last two years, including countries with the most influence on the Afghan peace processes – the United States, China, Iran, Pakistan and Russia.
VOA reported that the Moscow format was a Russian initiative to organize regional stakeholders involved in the Afghan peace process. Its second meeting in 2018 brought the Taliban to an international forum for the first time. The U.S. sent representatives to observe.
Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior Affairs, has stressed the need to adopt necessary security measures to ensure the safety of citizens during the month of Muharram.
Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, said that Haqqani raised the issue during a leadership meeting of the ministry attended by deputy ministers, directors, and officials from various departments.
During the meeting, Haqqani emphasized the implementation of a new law approved by the leader of the Islamic Emirate for the Ministry of Interior and also called for the adoption of necessary security measures to ensure public safety during Muharram.
Haqqani added that serious efforts are needed to further strengthen individual and social security, and that security forces across the country should intensify efforts to build public trust through sincere service to the people so that issues can be addressed in a timely manner through coordination between citizens and security forces.
The meeting also stressed the provision of technical equipment for the Crime Prevention Directorate as well as improving the capacity of its professional staff.
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Uzbek president highlights active role in Trans-Afghan Railway project; Khalilzad urges Pakistan’s support
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has said that Uzbekistan is playing an active role in advancing the Trans-Afghan Railway project, a major regional infrastructure initiative aimed at connecting Central Asia with South Asian markets through Afghanistan.
Speaking at the Fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum, Mirziyoyev said the project would provide Central Asian countries with access to southern seaports and strengthen regional transport and trade connectivity.
The Trans-Afghan Railway is expected to connect Central Asia with Pakistan’s seaports via Afghanistan, offering landlocked countries in the region a shorter route to global markets. In 2025, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan signed a trilateral agreement in Kabul to conduct a feasibility study for the railway.
Meanwhile, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad welcomed Mirziyoyev’s support for the project, describing it as an important step toward linking Central Asia and Afghanistan with South Asia, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean.
In a post on X, Khalilzad said the successful implementation of the railway could contribute to greater prosperity and stability in Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He identified strained relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan as a major obstacle to the project’s realization.
Khalilzad argued that the economic and transit benefits of the corridor should encourage both countries to resolve their differences through diplomatic engagement and negotiated agreements. He added that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has expressed interest in the project and called on Pakistan’s military leadership to respond in kind.
“Both should think of the positive future than can lie ahead, instead of repeating past mistakes,” he said.
Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has captured a suspected senior operative of ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and brought him to Türkiye, according to a report by Anadolu Agency.
The suspect, identified as Ahmet Kazanci, also known as Abu Ubeyde and Abu Ibrahim, allegedly served in the media wing of ISIS-K, the Afghanistan-based branch of the Islamic State group.
According to Turkish security sources cited by Anadolu Agency, Kazanci traveled from Türkiye to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, joined ISIS-K, and became active in the group’s camps. He is also accused of helping facilitate the movement of recruits from Türkiye to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and later taking over parts of the organization’s activities following the arrest of another senior operative.
The report said Kazanci was detained in a border-region operation while allegedly attempting to return to Türkiye illegally. Turkish authorities have not disclosed the exact location of the arrest.
Security sources told Anadolu Agency that the operation disrupted alleged ISIS plans targeting Türkiye and uncovered networks used to transfer recruits to the group.
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