One day later, roughly 1,000 of Ismail Khan's supporters torched several offices belonging to the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations. The mayhem left seven Afghans dead and forced many international organizations to close shop in the city of Herat in what is seen a temporary measure (see "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report" 17 September 2004).

Karzai announced the appointment of Herat's self-styled "amir," or ruler, as minister of mines and industry -- an offer the governor has thus far rejected, instead opting to stay in Herat, apparently as a private citizen. Meanwhile, the newly appointed governor of Herat, Sayyed Ahmad Khairkhwah, seems to be administrating the province with little difficulty. The new governor has appealed to international organizations to return to Herat.

The Road To The Amir's Ouster

Relationships between Karzai's central administration in Kabul and Ismail Khan's virtual fiefdom of Herat have been less than cordial since the demise of the Taliban in late 2001. Upon the establishment of the Afghan Interim Authority following the Bonn agreement in December 2001, Ismail Khan established himself in his former position as the virtual ruler of Herat and parts of adjoining provinces.

In the early months of post-Taliban Afghanistan, as coalition forces concentrated on flushing out remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda from the country, any anti-Taliban force that had brought stability in a given region of Afghanistan was regarded as an ally. Ismail Khan's presence in Herat was no exception.

By the end of 2002, human rights organizations began to pay more attention to Ismail Khan's methods of rule. For example, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released on 5 November 2002 documented widespread abuses by the military, police, and intelligence services under the command of Ismail Khan. The 51-page report, titled "All Our Hopes Are Crushed: Violence and Repression in Western Afghanistan," listed abuses including arbitrary and politically motivated arrests, intimidation, extortion, and torture, as well as serious violations of the rights of free expression and free association. Other reports listing Ismail Khan's policies of segregation of sexes and his increasingly heavy-handedness on the media followed.

In the same month, reports of armed clashes between Ismail Khan's militia and forces loyal to Amanullah Khan Naykzad, a Pashtun commander in southern Herat Province, became more violent. While the governor accused Naykzad of being a "Talib," Naykzad charged that Ismail Khan was on an anti-Pashtun witch-hunt under the pretext of fighting the Taliban.

Clashes between the two sides in Herat's Shindand District gradually became more violent as both sides began using battle tanks and heavy artillery. Despite reported requests by Naykzad, Kabul was mostly absent from the Herat quagmire. However, after U.S. forces patrolling the main military airfield in western Afghanistan situated in Shindand, came under attack by one of the warring militias, the U.S. Air Force bombed the frontlines in early December.

The show of force prompted the antagonists to sign a cease-fire in which Kabul finally began to play a mediating role. However, later in January 2003, the Afghan Defense Ministry said that it was not going to try to disarm the warlords by force, thus allowing Ismail Khan and others to keep their military units intact. As a result, skirmishes continued between the respective militias of Ismail Khan and Naykzad.

In March, Ismail Khan's influence reportedly reached to Badghis Province, northeast of Herat, where some Pashtun residents complained of harassment. Analysts at the time believed that the apparent timing of Ismail Khan's military operations in Badghis suggested he might be trying to deflect the increasing international attention away from allegations of rights abuses.

Then, in May, Chairman Karzai called a meeting of provincial governors who had refused to send customs-tax revenues to the central government -- Ismail Khan chief among them. In an apparent display of his frustration, Karzai vowed to resign in three months' time if his administration proved unable to bring outlying provinces under Kabul's control.

Karzai managed to obtain written pledges of cooperation from those governors and warlords who had thus far refused to deliver customs revenues to the coffers of the central administration in Kabul. These individuals also pledged to follow and implement the laws, regulations, and legislative documents of the country and entailed in their job descriptions; not interfere in the affairs of other provinces; implement internal and external policies as directed by the central administration; and not hold military and civilian posts concurrently. They also pledged to dismantle special "zones" created in the northern and western parts of the country, and agreed that titles such as "amir" would carry no legal weight and would be unlawful and invalid.

Almost immediately after the meeting in Kabul, Governor Ismail Khan stated that he would retain, in contradiction to his pledge, his position as the military commander of Herat. In August, in official defiance of Karzai and of his own pledge, Ismail Khan organized a Herat Province loya jirga that issued a manifesto calling for the "esteemed al-Haj Amir Mohammad Ismail" to hold two posts: governor and commander of the military corps of Herat.

The beginning of Ismail Khan's end began in March 2004 with the tragic death of his son, Afghanistan's Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Mohammad Mirwais Sadeq, under circumstances that remain unclear. Sadeq's killing, apparently by troops loyal to General Abdul Zaher Nayebzadah, commander of the 17th Division that is based in Herat, led to large-scale fighting between Nayebzadah and Ismail Khan's supporters in the city of Herat (see "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report" 25 March 2004).

In an attempt to defuse the tension, Kabul decided to dispatch (against the wishes of Ismail Khan) a contingent of around 1,500 men from the nascent Afghan National Army to Herat. At the time, reports suggested that U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad had urged Ismail Khan to accept a cabinet post in Kabul in lieu of the governorship of Herat. In defiance, Ismail Khan, purporting to act as the Afghan Ministry of Defense, appointed a new commander for the 17th Division.

In August, militiamen loyal to Ismail Khan engaged troops loyal to Mohammad Ebrahim Malikzadah, the governor of Ghor Province to Herat's east, further stretching his military forces.

The straw that broke the camel's back came in mid-August when forces of Naykzad overran Ismail Khan's defenses and reached, according to some reports, within 30 kilometers of the city of Herat. Units of the National Army -- backed by U.S. air forces and a few U.S. advisers on the ground -- managed to create a buffer zone, keeping the antagonists apart. Khalilzad managed to broker a cease-fire in a conflict that had left more than 130 people dead and Ismail Khan finally at the mercy of the National Army and its U.S. backers.

An Efficient Dictator

Compared to other warlords roaming Afghanistan as ministers, governors, presidential candidates, or commanders, Ismail Khan's presence arguably had a positive side. He was not merely interested in enriching himself and his immediate associates. Under Ismail Khan's dictatorial "emirate," Herat witnessed a reconstruction boom that included clean and efficient roads -- something that Kabul dearly misses. While Ismail Khan initially kept all -- and later at least a large portion -- of the tax revenues generated by Afghanistan's main border crossing with Iran, he spent a portion of it on public projects.

With respect to his past compared to other warlords, Ismail Khan apparently was not engaged in wholesale massacres or sexual abuses. He reportedly was a tough, even ruthless, commander during the jihad period (1978-92). But he was always a mujahed -- unlike some other warlords who turned chameleon, changing sides and selling their allies at will.

Such traits made Ismail Khan a sort of legend -- one bolstered by his escape from a Taliban prison. As a legend with a solid local backing, Ismail Khan arguably was the toughest of the warlords to crack.

It is still early to predict what might happen in Herat. More than a week after his ouster as governor, the amir is living in the domain over which he once ruled, but as a citizen. If this affair lasts, Ismail Khan's ouster is a crucial victory for Afghanistan's central government -- and for whomever the Afghans choose as their first elected president in October.

Who's Next?

If Ismail Khan could be removed with little resistance -- although the circumstances leading to this ouster took lengthy steps and unfortunately involved the spilling of blood -- then why couldn't the Afghan central authorities and their international backers use this example and begin working on other warlords who, unlike Ismail Khan, do not enjoy popular support? On the contrary, some of the warlords might easily be referred to a court for crimes against humanity, if such an institution existed for Afghanistan. (At the first hint of a move against them, they would likely leave the country.) Ismail Khan's ouster clearly illustrated that the warlords, whose services might arguably have been needed in the early days after the demise of the Taliban, are no longer necessary and are the most visible obstacles on Afghanistan's march toward stable statehood.

This author wrote immediately following the May 2003 pledge that Karzai obtained from Ismail Khan and others that the Afghan leader "has obtained a good working document from the renegade governors/warlords. However, implementation of this agreement needs to be backed by force -- something that Karzai does not have" (see "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report" 23 May 2003). It appears that Karzai today has the services of the National Army, backed by its international supporters.

The removal of a single warlord is insufficient. What Afghanistan urgently needs is an international security arrangement to ensure both that terrorists and domestic and international spoilers are kept at bay throughout the country and that ordinary Afghans are allowed to voice their opinions in vital decisions for the country (such as the election of a president and later a parliament) free of intimidation by this or that warlord -- whatever title they are afforded these days.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers were shunned by foreign governments after seizing power in 2021, but recently the hard-line militants have notched up some big wins in their diplomatic efforts to forge international ties.

This week, Indian special envoy Anand Prakash was in Kabul for talks with senior Taliban leaders on boosting political and trade links.

That came after Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov hosted a Taliban delegation in Tashkent to talk about a proposed trans-Afghan rail link.

And last week, in the biggest win of all, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations and agreed that ambassadors would be appointed in Kabul and Moscow.

Nobody has formally recognized the Taliban regime, yet. The militant rulers have been broadly criticized for widespread human rights violations, particularly against women and girls.

But things are moving toward their ultimate goal of acceptance in international circles.

"There's a growing feeling that the great powers are starting to compete among themselves to recognize a terrorist organization," Afghan political analyst Fakhim Kukhdomani told RFE/RL's Current Time.

China became the first country to accept a Taliban-appointed ambassador in January 2024. It has been edging talks forward on infrastructure and investment as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

What Does Russia Want In Afghanistan?

Russia has also been seeking to develop economic interests in Afghanistan, especially in the mining and energy sectors. It did, in fact, keep its embassy in Kabul open, merely downgrading it in name after the Taliban seized power.

"The Russian intelligence services never cut their contacts with Taliban commanders," said Kukhdomani.

On security, Russia's main interest is about combatting the Islamic State–Khorasan group , which claimed responsibility for the deadly Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in March 2024.

Aleksei Zakharov, at the Observer Research Foundation (OSR), a Delhi-based think tank, also says that Russia is pursuing an economic agenda in Afghanistan.

"Russian and Taliban representatives are expected to sign a contract transitioning 50 million cubic meters of LPG (liquified petroleum gas) at the KazanForum in May 2025," he wrote on April 28.

This would be aimed at markets in South and Southeast Asia.

"However, the capacity of the route through Afghanistan and security issues may ultimately limit the agreement's implementation," added Zakharov.

There may be similar issues facing the above-mentioned rail project seeking to create a transit corridor from Russia through Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to Pakistan.

India-Pakistan Tensions On The Rise

The Taliban's relations with its southern neighbor are strained, as Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering militants from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It said its army had killed 54 fighters "trying to infiltrate" across the border on April 27.

Pakistan has deported some 100,000 Afghan refugees in recent weeks, accusing them of being linked to terrorism and drug smuggling.

These tensions give an added security dynamic to India's attempts to warm ties, as it faces off with Pakistan following the deadly militant attack in Kashmir on April 22.

"India has keenly monitored the fluctuating relationship between the Taliban and Pakistan," Najib Azad, lecturer in global affairs at Wisconsin University, told RFE/RL on April 29.

"[It is] attempting to fill the void and mitigate the anti-Indian sentiments that Pakistan has fostered within the Taliban," added Azad, who was a spokesman for the pre-Taliban Afghan government.

Do Western Countries Talk To The Taliban?

Western powers have been the most strident in distancing themselves from the Taliban, following the withdrawal of their forces in 2021. They have also been the most outspoken in their criticism of the Taliban's human rights abuses.

But here, too, there's movement.

A British government report in March said it was pursuing a policy of "limited and pragmatic" engagement with Taliban officials via its embassy in Qatar.

The incoming German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has called for direct talks with the Taliban leadership to enable deportations of Afghans. A foreign policy spokesman for his Christian Democrats, Juergen Hardt, told RFE/RL in February "the truth is that they are in power."

"There's also the question of recognition," he added.

"I think there should be a common position of the European Union how to handle that. Not yet, but probably under special circumstances."

US officials have already held direct talks. Last month, they were in Kabul to secure the release of Americans held there. In return, Washington lifted the bounties on three members of the Haqqani network, including the Taliban's interior minister.

"It seems to me that Moscow's final decision to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations was taken after Washington removed the bounties," said Afghan political analyst Fakhim Kukhdomani.

Two Americans were released. But there's a way to go. Several are still detained, while the United States still designates both the Taliban and the Haqqani network as terrorist organizations.

Dangers For The Taliban

Former spokesman Najib Azad says there are also risks for the Taliban as it reaches out for better relations with multiple nations.

"The risk lies in allowing global and regional powers to exploit Afghanistan as a battleground for their rivalries, as has been the case over the past fifty years," said.

"Given the Taliban's inability to maintain a balanced political stance with these powers, they risk becoming a catalyst for renewed instability in the region once again."

Dildar Khan says he's spent his entire life in Pakistan but has now been sent "home" to Afghanistan under a scheme that has seen some 100,000 people deported in recent weeks.

Khan has five children between the ages of 2 and 13. "There are two girls and three boys. They were going to school," he told RFE/RL in a phone interview.

But Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have canceled secondary education for girls since they retook power in 2021.

"It is difficult, very difficult. Because it is important that they are educated," added Khan.

The Pakistani authorities announced a mass deportation campaign in March, accusing Afghans of links to drug smuggling and terrorism.

Other deported Afghans who spoke to RFE/RL also voiced concern about the impact it would have on their children.

"Our children are sad they cannot go to school," said Khan Zaman after being forcibly returned to Kabul from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan.

The Save the Children organization said some 50,000 minors were among those deported in the first two weeks of April alone. The charity's country director, Arshad Malik, said "many of these children were born in Pakistan -- Afghanistan is not the country they call home."

Scarce Jobs In Afghanistan

In a report on April 18, the group noted that many deported families also faced problems finding food, shelter, and work.

Dildar Khan worked as a taxi driver in Pakistan but is now unemployed. He and his family are sheltering in a single room in his brother's house in a mountainous area of the Achin district of Nangarhar Province.

"There is no space. We are living like this. There are no jobs," said Khan.

The family was deported on April 20. At the border, they received some $140 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) but Khan said they had now run out of money.

Their possessions are stacked outside his brother's house, exposed to the sun and rain. "Our request is that [someone] can find us work so we can make a life," he said.

Imran, a resident of Nangarhar who has six children, told RFE/RL a similar story of a life destroyed by deportation from Pakistan.

"We used to work there, our lives were going well, our children went to schools, madrasahs. Our expenses were covered," he said.

"But when we came here, there are no jobs, we cannot meet our expenses, we are facing a difficult life."

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated on April 28 that it was "working around the clock to provide emergency assistance."

But, it added, "the needs are rapidly increasing and more resources are urgently needed."

The exodus from Pakistan has mostly passed through the Torkham border crossing, which has seen long lines of trucks heading northwest along the highway to Jalalabad.

"We have no place to stay in Afghanistan," truck driver Ahmad Nabi told RFE/RL. "I wonder how this situation could impact me…. I don't know."

The Pakistani authorities have set varying deadlines for people to leave, depending on their residency status. More than 800,000 Afghans were estimated to be living in Pakistan without papers after fleeing the Taliban takeover in 2021.

But another 1.4 million have papers issued by the UNHCR, and many have been living in Pakistan for decades.

According to UN figures, some 800,000 Afghans were forcibly expelled prior to this new deportation drive, starting in 2023.

The Taliban authorities have criticized the deportations while also saying they are preparing sites to house deportees. But one site near Torkham visited by AFP recently "consisted of nothing more than cleared roads on a rocky plain."

RFE/RL has been unable to operate freely in Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power in the country.

Pakistani security forces said they killed dozens of militants attempting to cross into the country from Afghanistan, even as its troops separately continued to exchange gunfire with the India military near Kashmir amid skyrocketing tensions in the region.

Islamabad did not directly blame India for the incursion of militants from Afghanistan, but it said the fighters had been sent to carry out terrorist attacks by their "foreign masters."

Some Pakistani officials suggested, without providing evidence, that nuclear-rival India encouraged the insurgents' actions to divert the attention of Pakistan's military from the brewing crisis in Kashmir.

"Such actions by [the insurgents], at a time when India is leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan, clearly implies on whose cues [the fighters are] operating," the Pakistani Army said in a statement.

The military said it killed 71insurgents entering from Afghanistan on April 27 and claimed that intelligence reports indicated the militants were "Khwarij" -- a phrase the government uses for Tehrik-e Taliban, otherwise known as the Pakistani Taliban.

"On the nights of April 25-26 and 26-27, movement of a large group of Khwarij, who were trying to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was detected by the security forces in general area Hassan Khel, North Waziristan district," the military said.

"Own troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate…; A large cache of weapons, ammunition, and explosives was also recovered."

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters the incident represented the largest number of "terrorists" killed in a single day.

"We had information that the foreign masters of these terrorists are asking them to enter Pakistan as soon as possible" to undertake attacks.

Reuters quoted local police officials on April 28 as saying security forces had detained around 500 people for questioning after a search of some 1,000 houses and forests in a hunt for militants in Indian Kashmir.

What's Behind The New India-Pakistan Escalation?

Tensions have soared in the region between Pakistan and its bitter rival and neighbor India, both nuclear-armed nations.

The latest flareup occurred on April 22 when an attack killed mostly Indian nationals in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India has accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism, but the Pakistani government denies it was behind the attack that killed 26 civilians.

New Delhi and Islamabad have since carried out tit-for-tat punishments following the incident, including downgrading diplomatic and trade ties, closing the main border crossing, and revoking visas for each other's nationals.

On April 27, Pakistani and Indian troops exchanged fire near Kashmir's Line of Control for a third night in a row.

The Pakistani government has said it would consider it "an act of war" if India followed through on a threat to block the flow of crucial rivers as punishment for the deadly incident.

The United States on April 27 said it was in touch with India and Pakistan and urged them to seek a "responsible solution" to the crisis.

"This is an evolving situation and we are monitoring developments closely. We have been in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at multiple levels," a State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

In comments to foreign media, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tatar claimed that India blamed Islamabad for the tourist attack to distract Pakistan's security forces from their focus on the tensions on its western borders.

He added that Pakistan had "undeniable evidence" of India's support for the Pakistani Taliban and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which is behind multiple attacks in Balochistan. India has denied the charges.

Balochistan has been the site of an insurgency, with separatists seeking independence from Pakistan.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP

When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, they quickly banned music, declaring it un-Islamic.

Musicians faced threats, raids, and the destruction of their instruments.

“Our homes were searched for what we had there,” says Faiz Muhammad Sakhki, an Afghan musician now living in Peshawar. “Our instruments were broken down, the instruments that we hid at home. Music is our passion, it is our love, and it is our profession.”

Sakhki and fellow musician Baryali Wali are among many Afghans who have sought refuge in Pakistan since the Taliban takeover.

In cities like Peshawar, they have been able to continue performing Afghan music, even as cultural spaces have shrunk elsewhere.

“Here, we can still work playing Afghan music. These possibilities don't exist in the West,” Wali says.

But that fragile lifeline is now under threat.

Since April 1, Pakistan has intensified its deportation of Afghan nationals, with over 50,000 already forced to leave.

For musicians, the stakes are especially high.

Returning to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan would leave them facing an uncertain future and an end to their ability to perform or teach music.

Now, with an uncertain legal status in Pakistan and no clear path forward, these musicians are left in limbo -- unsure how much longer they can remain or whether the rich traditions they carry can survive displacement once again.

They fear that Afghanistan’s musical heritage -- including ancient instruments like the rebab -- is at risk.

“If you take any of these [instruments] away, the whole ensemble is lost,” says Sakhki. “It is already disappearing.”

Russia’s Supreme Court removed Afghanistan's militant Taliban rulers from its list of banned terrorist groups in a step toward recognizing the group that seized power in 2021 as international forces withdrew from the war-torn country.

Russian state news agencies said that in its ruling on April 17, the Supreme Court sided with a petition from the Prosecutor-General's Office, a sign the move is a coordinated policy change with support from top legal and political authorities, who designated the Taliban as a terrorist organization more than 20 years ago.

The suspension of the terrorist designation does not amount to full diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government.

Amid poverty and unrest in the country, the Taliban rulers have made moves to open ties with the rest of the world. But Western nations have been reluctant to engage with the extremist group amid complaints of widespread human rights violations, especially against girls and women.

Russia has not officially recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, nor has it re-established ambassadorial-level relations. However, the April 17 ruling may lay the legal groundwork for expanded cooperation, investment, and potentially future recognition.

Russia officially banned the Taliban in 2003, aligning itself with international counterterrorism standards and reflecting concerns over jihadist movements in Central Asia and Russia's North Caucasus region.

Still, Russia has been one of the few major powers to keep its embassy in Kabul operational during the Taliban regime.

Russian diplomats, intelligence officials, and even business interests have since engaged with Taliban authorities — especially on regional security, counter-narcotics, and economic cooperation, such as potential mining and energy projects.

Russia Looking To Gain Influence

With Moscow eager to strengthen its influence in Central Asia amid growing competition with the West and China’s expanding footprint, Afghanistan has become a critical piece of the regional chessboard.

The court’s decision may also be linked to Moscow’s concerns about the Islamic State–Khorasan group, which has claimed responsibility for several high-profile attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and even within Russia itself — including the deadly Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in March 2024.

Some analysts say Russian officials likely view the Taliban as a lesser evil or even a potential security partner.

The suspension of the ban may spark unease in Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, which has historically viewed the Taliban with deep suspicion.

While some regional governments have engaged with Kabul out of necessity, fears remain about Taliban-inspired radicalization, border security, and cross-border militancy.

In September 2024, Kyrgyzstan removed the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations, aligning with similar moves by neighboring Kazakhstan earlier that year.

Another Central Asian nation, Uzbekistan, has been at the forefront of engaging with the Taliban, emphasizing economic cooperation and regional connectivity.

China is also cautiously increasing its engagement with the Taliban, including through infrastructure and investment talks under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Taliban carried out public executions of four individuals on April 11 -- the highest single-day number since it returned to power -- prompting a wave of condemnation from groups around the world.

Local Taliban officials confirmed that the individuals — who were accused of murder — were executed in front of crowds gathered in the western provinces of Farah, Nimroz, and Badghis.

Eyewitnesses at one of the sites, who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Azadi on condition of anonymity, said family members of the victims shot the accused.

"Their families offered blood money to spare their relatives' lives, but the victims' relatives refused. People here don't fully understand these issues — this kind of event leaves a serious psychological impact," the person said.

In Nimroz province, the Taliban invited civilians, civil servants, and military personnel to witness the execution at a stadium in Zaranj.

"The man was shot by the victim’s family. Watching this scene was unbearable. No one wants to witness a killing, even if it is declared a divine punishment," said one local resident.

The executions, part of the Taliban’s hardline interpretation of Islamic law, are described by the regime as "qisas," or retributive justice.

Since they seized power in August 2021, the Taliban have resumed corporal punishments and public executions, echoing their repressive rule of the 1990s. So far, at least 10 individuals have been publicly executed.

Rights organizations say these punishments are a clear violation of international law.

They say the use of executions as a public spectacle is not only inhumane but also contributes to a culture of fear and trauma in communities already scarred by decades of war and violence.

In a statement posted on X, Amnesty International condemned the executions, calling them "deplorable."

"Afghanistan: The deplorable public executions of four people in Nimroz, Farah and Badghis in Afghanistan today point to Taliban’s continued alarming abuse of human rights in the country. The Taliban de facto authorities continue to flagrantly flout human rights principles," it said.

"The international community must put pressure on the Taliban to stop this blatant human rights abuse and help ensure international guarantees are upheld in Afghanistan."

The Taliban claim that the executions followed "transparent investigations and justice procedures," but the United Nations and multiple human rights bodies have consistently disputed such assertions, citing the absence of a functioning judicial system and lack of due process in Taliban courts.

"We are appalled by executions of four men in the Badghis, Nimroz and Farah provinces this morning," the United Nations rights office said on X, urging "the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to place a moratorium on the use of the death penalty."

Thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan have left via the Torkham border crossing as part of Islamabad's large-scale deportation campaign.

The government initially set a March 31 deadline for Afghan nationals to leave voluntarily, but the deadline was extended to April 10. Still, thousands have been forcibly removed since the beginning of the month.

The stepped-up deportation campaign comes as Pakistani authorities charge that "illegal immigrants" pose security concerns and economic challenges.

The Pakistani government has frequently linked Afghan nationals to militant violence and criminal activity -- claims the Taliban-led administration in Kabul firmly denies.

The deportation campaign has sparked strong criticism as authorities move forward with the controversial policy.

Human rights organizations warn that those forced to return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan may face serious dangers including persecution, violence, and extreme economic hardship. Particularly at risk are vulnerable groups such as women, journalists, human rights advocates, and former government employees.

Pakistan's deportation drive targets Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, undocumented migrants, and those who arrived after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan.

There are roughly 800,000 ACC holders and 1.4 million Afghans with Proof of Registration (POR) cards issued by the UN refugee agency. While POR holders are currently exempt from deportation -- at least until their permits expire in June -- ACC holders lack such protection. Their temporary residency in Pakistan is subject to the federal government's discretion, with no assurance of extension beyond official deadlines.

This policy creates complications, as members of the same family may have different legal statuses.

Many of those being forced to leave have never lived in Afghanistan and see Pakistan as their only home.

Pakistan’s plan to deport millions of Afghan migrants has drawn sharp criticism as the country begins implementing its controversial policy.

Rights groups warn that many returnees face severe risks in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, including persecution, violence, and economic hardship. Vulnerable individuals such as women, journalists, human rights defenders, and former government officials are particularly at risk.

The government had initially set March 31 as the deadline for Afghan migrants to leave voluntarily or face deportation. However, the deadline was postponed until April 10 due to the Eid al-Fitr holidays marking the end of Ramadan, officials said.

The delay provides a brief reprieve for tens of thousands of Afghans but does not alter the government’s goal of expelling up to 3 million migrants by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, around 40,000 Afghans in Pakistan await uncertain resettlement to third countries, mostly in the West. Many fled after the Taliban’s 2021 return, fearing retribution due to ties with the United States, NATO, and other Western organizations.

Who Is Being Deported?

The deportation campaign targets Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, undocumented individuals, and those who arrived after the Taliban’s return to power.

There are around 800,000 ACC card holders and 1.4 million Afghans who have been issued Proof of Registration (POR) cards by the UN refugee agency. POR card holders are not yet being deported, Pakistani officials say, as their permits expire in June.

ACC holders are granted temporary permission to reside in Pakistan, but the validity and duration of their stay are determined by the federal government. Unlike POR cardholders, ACC holders do not have guaranteed protections against deportation beyond the government’s specified deadlines.

This poses another problem, as members of the same family can hold different immigration statuses.

That’s the case for Rehmat Khan, a man in his 50s who is facing immediate deportation because he is an ACC card holder, while the other members of his family are POR card holders.

“I don’t know how I can leave my family behind, and I don’t know who will support them when I am deported to Afghanistan,” he told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal.

Rehmat Khan is one of approximately 20,000 Afghans who live in Jalala refugee camp, some 150 kilometers northwest of Islamabad. Residents of the camp have been formally notified to prepare to leave.

Most of the Afghans in the camp are descendants of refugees who migrated to Pakistan after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Many are in their 30s, meaning they have never lived in Afghanistan and consider Pakistan their home.

The camp functions as a small village, with several schools, houses mostly made of mud, and a makeshift bazaar.

“I am in 11th grade. Sending me back to Afghanistan at this point in the school year will ruin my future,” a student who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons told Radio Mashaal. “There are no educational opportunities there, and I am unfamiliar with the education system. I was born and raised here, and I know this place better than Afghanistan.”

A holding camp to process the relocation of refugees has been established in Landi Kotal in Peshawar, where Frontier Corps paramilitary forces and local police are deployed.

While no refugees are currently housed in the camp, officials expect an influx of families in the coming days as the repatriation process gains momentum.

Rights Groups Alarmed by ‘Cruel’ Deadline

The United Nations has expressed alarm over the plan, warning that some people would be at risk once in Afghanistan.

“We urge Pakistan to continue to provide safety to Afghans at risk, irrespective of their documentation status,” said Philippa Candler, UNHCR's country representative, said in a statement on February 5, when the initial deadline was set.

Amnesty International has also condemned the deportations, calling them a violation of international human rights law.

“The Pakistani government’s unyielding and cruel deadline to remove Afghan refugees shows little respect for international human rights law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement,” Amnesty’s deputy regional director for South Asia, Isabelle Lassee, said on March 26.

She added that portraying Afghan refugees as a threat is “disingenuous” and scapegoats a community that has fled persecution.

Despite mounting criticism, Pakistani officials defend the policy as necessary for national security and resource management.

The Pakistani government has often blamed militant violence and criminal activity on Afghan citizens, allegations rejected by the extremist Taliban-led government in Kabul.

More than 800,000 Afghans who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover in 2021 live without papers in neighboring Pakistan.

These undocumented Afghan refugees and migrants face a rapidly approaching deportation order issued by Islamabad requiring them to leave the country by March 31.

Another 1.4 million Afghans who are formally registered with the Pakistani government and who hold a Proof of Residence card issued by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) have until June 30 to return to their homeland. Many have lived in Pakistan for decades.

The fate of an additional 40,000 Afghans who are waiting to be resettled to third countries, mostly in the West, is unclear.

Pakistan initially said these at-risk Afghans, a group that includes activists, journalists, and former members of the defunct Western-backed Afghan government and its armed forces, must leave or face deportation by March 31. But a source at the Pakistani Interior Ministry told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that the deadline for them to leave the country has been extended to June 30.

Among this group are some 15,000 Afghans who are waiting to be resettled in the United States, although their status remains unclear after President Donald Trump's administration announced that the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) would be suspended for at least three months starting on January 27.

“We are left in a deep despair,” said Hina, a 25-year-old Afghan woman who lives with her family in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.

Her family had been cleared for resettlement in the United States and even booked their flights from Islamabad. But now they are in limbo.

“Our dreams of building a safe future [in the United States] have been shattered,” added Hina. “We can’t return to Afghanistan where our lives will be at risk, nor can we build a stable life in Pakistan.”

Growing Fears

Pakistan has already forcibly deported more than 800,000 undocumented Afghans since 2023, when it launched a major crackdown, according to the UN.

The deportees have returned to a country gripped by devastating humanitarian and economic crises, and many have struggled to access shelter, health care, and food and water.

The deportations have coincided with tensions soaring between the unrecognized Taliban government in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Islamabad has accused the Taliban of sheltering Pakistani militants, a claim rejected by the Afghan militant group.

Ahead of the March 31 deadline, Pakistani police conducted night raids and arbitrarily detained and arrested hundreds of Afghan refugees in the capital, Islamabad, and the nearby city of Rawalpindi, according to international rights groups.

Videos shared on social media show Pakistani police using loudspeakers to order undocumented Afghans to leave Islamabad.

"The problem is that our children go to school here and we have jobs here,” Obaidullah, an undocumented Afghan refugee living in Peshawar, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. “What will we do in Afghanistan?”

Dire Situation

The tens of thousands of Afghans who are awaiting resettlement abroad face a race against time.

Many of them are in a dire financial situation in Pakistan, said Maiwand Alami, who leads an NGO to help Afghan refugees in Islamabad.

“They have sold their homes in Afghanistan, but that money has since run out,” Alami told RFE/RL. “But [their] biggest problem is uncertainty about their immigration cases. Everybody is anxious about it.”

“Afghans in Pakistan are now required to extend their stay every month. It costs 20,000 rupees [about $71] per person which is a lot of money here, especially if you don’t have any income,” Alami said.

The resettlement of Afghans to the West is uncertain amid increasingly anti-migrant sentiment across Europe and the United States.

Trump said the United States “lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans.”

He ordered the suspension of USRAP “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.”

An American woman has been released by the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan after being detained since February, the second freeing of a US citizen in the past eight days.

In a video posted by US President Donald Trump on March 29, Faye Hall said she had been released by the Taliban after being detained in the war-torn country last month.

"I've never been so proud to be an American citizen," Hall said in the video. "Thank you, Mr President…God bless you."

Trump thanked Hall for the comments and added: "So honored with your words!"

Former U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad first announced the release hours earlier on X, saying it had occurred on March 27. He said she was in the care of the Qatari delegation in Kabul.

"American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home," said Khalilzad, who has been part of a US team seeking the release of hostages held by the Taliban.

The development came a week after George Glezmann, 66, was released from detention in Kabul following the first visit by a senior US official to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in the wake of the withdrawal of international troops in August 2021.

Hall had been detained in February while with a British couple in their 70s, Barbie and Peter Reynolds.

British media said the Reynolds had been operating school projects in Afghanistan for 18 years and had remained in the country despite the Taliban’s return to power.

Reuters quoted a US official as saying Adam Boehler, Washington's special envoy for hostage affairs, had worked with Qatari officials and others to win Hall’s release.

There was no immediate information on the British couple. Their daughter has pleaded for their release, citing health concerns.

Several Americans are still detained in Afghanistan.

Upon his release, Glezmann also thanked Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others who helped free him.

He told Fox News he was abducted in the streets of Kabul and thrown "into a dungeon with no windows no nothing."

Two other Americans held in Afghanistan were exchanged in late January for a Taliban man imprisoned for life in California on drug and terrorism charges.

Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were swapped for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life terms in 2008 and was incarcerated in a US prison.

Aid worker Corbett, 40, and Mahmood Habibi, 37 -- who led the Afghan Aviation Authority under the previous Afghan government -- were detained separately in August 2022.

The world community has not recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, although some countries -- including Russia, China, and Turkey -- still maintain embassies in Kabul.

Qatar has also maintained direct contact with the Taliban and has helped broker negotiations for the release of US hostages.

Amid poverty and unrest in the country, the Taliban rulers have made moves to open ties with the rest of the world. Western nations are reluctant to engage with the extremist group amid complaints of widespread human rights violations, especially against girls and women.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, Reuters, AFP, and AP

The new school year started in Afghanistan on March 22, but for the fourth consecutive year, millions of teenage girls were barred from attending classes.

Among them was Khalida, who was in the ninth grade when the Taliban seized power and banned education for girls above 12 years old.

“The ban has had a big impact on my life,” Khalida, now 18, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. “I used to spend all my time on my studies. Now my time passes aimlessly.”

The school ban has had a catastrophic impact on an estimated 2.2 million girls in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has erased women from public life and severely restricted their fundamental rights.

There has been a surge in forced, early, and child marriages. Child marriages have increased by around 25 percent since the Taliban takeover, according to the UN.

The lack of educational and professional prospects for women has fueled a rise in female suicides, making the country one of the few in the world where more women take their own lives than men.

"The lack of access to education not only threatens our future but also hinders our country from progress and development,” said another teenage Afghan girl, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

“We have the right to study, progress, and have a bright future," she told Radio Azadi.

UNICEF, the UN's children's agency, said the repercussions of the school ban will last for generations.

“The ban negatively impacts the health system, the economy, and the future of the nation,” UNICEF said in a March 22 statement.

“With fewer girls receiving an education, girls face a higher risk of child marriage with negative repercussions on their well-being and health.”

The agency warned that over 4 million girls will be out of school if the ban lasts until 2030.

Calls To Do More

Senior UN officials and Afghan female activists have termed the Taliban’s treatment of Afghan girls and women as “gender apartheid.”

They have called for the international community to put more pressure on the Taliban to reverse its ban on education for girls beyond the sixth grade.

No country has recognized the Taliban’s government, which is under international sanctions. But a growing number of countries, including some in the West, are cooperating with its government on trade, security-related issues, and immigration.

"The Taliban still go around and travel freely,” said Pashtana Durrani, a prominent Afghan education activist who lives in exile.

“They give interviews. They have bank accounts. Their families live abroad yet they have banned Afghan women from getting an education.”

She added: “The international community should be asked whether they truly want the Taliban to open girls’ schools or not?”

For over three years, Syed Abdul Samad Muzoon, a middle-aged former Afghan security official, has lived with his wife and their teenage daughter in Pakistan to pursue immigration to the United States.

During Washington’s nearly two-decade-long war in Afghanistan, he worked for the Afghan security forces in sensitive roles, he said, helping the US war effort.

Yet, there is still no clarity on whether they will ever be able to make a fresh start in the United States because of new curbs on immigration.

In January, hundreds of Afghans cleared for resettlement in the United States were prevented from traveling to the country after President Donald Trump immediately suspended Washington’s refugee program and foreign aid after assuming office on January 20.

On February 18, Reuters reported that the State Department's program to manage Afghan resettlement in the United States will be shut down in April.

Media reports suggest that the Trump administration could impose a new travel ban to bar the entry of people from Afghanistan and Pakistan, which would close all pathways for Afghans to move to the United States.

The State Department, however, disputes this. “There is no list,” Tammy Bruce, its spokesperson, told journalists on March 17.

Trump has been elected twice on an anti-immigration platform. In a Gallup poll from 2024, a majority of Americans (55 percent) said that they believed there should be less immigration to the United States.

Since the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Washington has helped some 200,000 Afghans resettle.

But Muzoon and many more Afghans might never have a chance to begin a new life in the United States. Tens of thousands of them have been living in Pakistan, Qatar, Albania, and other countries for years as they wait for a final decision on their refugee and immigration cases. Fearing retribution by the Taliban, many are fearful of returning to Afghanistan.

'Extreme Predicament'

Advocacy groups estimate that up to 200,000 more Afghans may be eligible for US immigration. Meanwhile, after reviewing government documents, CBS reported that more than 40,000 Afghans who have already been cleared to leave the country are now stranded.

“I and other Afghan refugees here are in an extreme predicament,” Muzoon said.

Since late 2023, Pakistan has expelled more than 800,000 Afghans, and in the capital, Islamabad, Afghans face constant harassment and police brutality.

Muzoon and 20,000 more Afghans in Islamabad now fear repatriation to Afghanistan after the Pakistani government announced it would forcefully deport some 1.5 million documented and undocumented Afghans if they fail to leave by the end of this month.

“I am suffering from the uncertainty and the seemingly endless wait for our cases,” he said.

Muzoon said threats to his life and family prompted him to flee Afghanistan soon after the Taliban seized the Afghan capital, Kabul, on August 15, 2021, as it toppled the pro-western Afghan republic.

He is among more than half a million Afghans, mostly educated professionals and officials who were integral to running the Afghan republic, who fled the Taliban’s takeover.

Most feared being persecuted for working with the US-led international forces in Afghanistan. Others were senior officials in the Afghan government or worked in the civil society sector.

Three years on, those still waiting for a decision on their US immigration are stuck.

“We are living in extreme despair,” said Maiwand Alami Afghan. He leads an informal association of Afghan refugees in Islamabad.

'Hanging By A Thread'

He said most families in Islamabad sold their properties and belongings in Afghanistan, but that money is now running out.

“Most of us are hanging by a thread,” he said.

Afghan said he had worked for US-funded development projects, which, he fears, makes it impossible for him to return to Afghanistan because the Taliban have persecuted some Afghans associated with the US presence in the country.

“We will still be refugees in our own country, because we don’t have a house, job, or any prospects to earn a livelihood,” he said.

Washington, however, does not look like it will be welcoming any more migrants. During his election campaign, President Trump promised stricter controls on immigration.

In his speech to Congress on March 4, Trump said his administration “has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history.”

Steps taken by Trump after taking office have effectively blocked or suspended the two primary routes for Afghans to immigrate to the United States.

Under the Special Immigration Visa (SIV), Afghans who worked directly for the US government, such as embassy staff or translators for its forces, qualify for relocation. Afghans granted visas under this program can still relocate to the US without financial assistance from Washington, according to Afghans seeking relocation under the program.

“Those who have assisted us and worked with us, that’s been a policy and a dynamic that we’ve worked on from certainly even the previous administration, working to try to get that happening,” said Bruce, the State Department spokesperson.

The refugee program, which enabled former Afghan government officials, lawmakers, and civil society figures to immigrate to the US, is suspended for the next couple of months.

However, the suspension of the State Department's Afghan resettlement program has rattled Americans involved in or supporting the initiative.

“Right now, there's a lot of uncertainty,” said Shawn VanDiver, head of the Afghan Evacuation Association, a coalition of US veterans and advocacy groups that support Afghan resettlement.

'Nothing But Problems And Worries'

VanDiver is now lobbying the US Congress to remove the “complete stop” Trump’s executive orders have put on Afghan resettlement. He says that Congress had authorized Afghan resettlement through December 2027.

“President Trump needs to listen to the voices,” he said, pointing to the bipartisan support in Congress, veterans and service members, who want the immigration of Afghans to continue.

In a statement on March 18, the Afghan Evacuation Association said the ambiguity surrounding the immigration of Afghans “is unnecessary and cruel”. It called on Washington to provide “clear and unequivocal answers” to its wartime Afghan allies.

In media statements and letters, scores of lawmakers have urged President Trump to “fully restore humanitarian and refugee protections for our Afghan allies.”

Several courts across the United States are hearing cases regarding refugee and foreign aid suspensions. Some have issued injunctions against Trump’s executive orders.

A State Department spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “At this time, no decisions have been made” about its Afghan relocation program.

The spokesman said the department is “considering” the future of its Afghan relocation program, officially called Enduring Welcome and the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE).

The spokesperson noted that it “continues to provide life-sustaining support to Afghan allies and partners previously relocated to our overseas case-processing platforms.”

In Islamabad, Muzoon has little understanding of how his future will unfold amid the domestic US wrangling over the fate of Afghans seeking immigration to the country.

He hopes to avoid being deported back to Afghanistan. He wants to move to the United States to send his daughter to school, treat his wife’s depression, and seek some treatment for his heart ailment.

“I have nothing but problems and worries,” he said.