Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through

Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a state sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing the Taliban of using terrorist tactics against Americans.

Repeated appeals from the international community for restraint have had no effect as the fighting, now in its ninth day, continued unabated.

Pakistan’s president is defending cross-border strikes in Afghanistan and urges the Taliban government to disarm militants attacking his country.

Afghanistan said at least four people were killed in Pakistani strikes on the capital and other provinces. The Taliban’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on X Friday that strikes hit civilian homes resulting in the deaths of women and children.

Though Pakistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan have experienced strained relations in recent years, analysts warn that the latest escalation could leave long-lasting scars on communities living along the border. Asif Peer Jan, a social worker based in Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, warned that a humanitarian crisis could be unfolding.

The State Department on Monday designated Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations separately called out the country for engaging in what he said was “hostage diplomacy.

The Taliban has released a video of an interrogation of a girl who passed as a boy. It's an age-old practice in this patriarchal society but now appears to be happening with some frequency.