Afghanistan | Pakistan

The United States is trying to get Bagram air base in Afghanistan back, President Donald Trump said on Thursday during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Trump is on an official state visit to the UK — his second state trip to Britain — where he signed a technology agreement with Starmer earlier today. “We’re trying to get it back,” Trump said, referring to Bagram. “It’s one of the biggest airbases in the world; we gave it to them for nothing. We’re trying to get it back. “One of the reasons we want the base, as you know, is it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.” Bagram Air Base served as the linchpin for US operations in the rugged country, where the long war against the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies was fought with air strikes and resupply missions from the airfield. The historic Soviet-built airstrip was the main base for American forces in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks, up until their 2021 withdrawal, which led to a takeove...

Pakistan has warned the UN Security Council (UNSC) that terrorism emanating from Afghanistan remains the “gravest threat” to its national security, urging the Taliban authorities to fulfill their counterterrorism commitments.

Azmatullah Omarzai hammered a 20-ball fifty as Afghanistan thrashed Hong Kong by 94 runs in the opening match of the men’s T20 Asia Cup on Tuesday. The 17th edition of the Asia Cup kicked off with the Group ‘B’ match between the two teams which have six-time Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as the other teams in their group Afghanistan elected to bat first in Abu Dhabi and posted 188-6 with opener Sediqullah Atal playing the anchor role with an unbeaten 73. His fifth-wicket partnership of 82 with Omarzai, who hit 53 off 21 balls, including two fours and five sixes, proved key for Afghanistan in the Group B fixture. Afghanistan’s bowlers then combined to keep Hong Kong down to 94-9. Temperatures early on touched 40 degrees Celsius, but it was the humidity in the evening that tested the fitness of the players who took regular drinks breaks. Hong Kong bowlers struck two early blows, but Atal stood firm to put on 51 runs with veteran Mohammad Nabi, who made 33, as the two counter-attacked. Off-spinner ...

Pakistan men, led by spinner Mohammad Nawaz’s hat-trick, bamboozled Afghanistan to win by a huge margin of 75 runs in the final of the Twenty20 International tri-series in Sharjah on Sunday. Player of the match Nawaz became the third Pakistani bowler to take a hat-trick in T20Is for the Green Shirts and ended up with figures of 5-19 as the Afghan batters had no response to his wily left-arm spin — getting bowled out for a paltry 66. He also contributed with the bat in Pakistan’s first innings by hitting two sixes and scoring 25 of 21 deliveries. Earlier, Afghanistan men’s spinners restricted Pakistan to 141-8 after skipper Salman Ali Agha had elected to bat first after winning the toss, and the Green Shirts had one change since their last encounter against Afghanistan on Tuesday, with spinner Abrar Ahmed playing in place of pacer Haris Rauf. Spinners Abrar and Sufyan Moqim picked up two wickets each as the Pakistani spinners outbowled their Afghan counterparts to win the final by 75 runs at the packed Sharjah...

Pakistan is set to host a T20 International (T20I) tri-series for the first time from November 17 to 29, according to a press release issued by the country’s cricket board on Sunday. Apart from Pakistan, the “three-nation tournament” would feature Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, the press release said. It added that the series was organised to “provide all teams with valuable preparation” ahead of next year’s International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup, which will take place in India and Sri Lanka. Detailing its schedule, it further stated that the hosts would take on Afghanistan on November 17, marking the beginning of the series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. It also mentioned that “will be Afghanistan’s first-ever T20I in Pakistan”. “On November 19, Sri Lanka will face Afghanistan at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, while the remaining five T20Is of the tri-series, including the final on November 29, will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore,” the press release said. Tri-series schedule Nov 17: P...

Afghanistan won by four runs against the United Arab Emirates in their T20 tri-series match in Sharjah on Friday. Pakistan and Afghanistan will now face each other in the final on September 7 (Sunday). Pakistan entered the final after beating the UAE twice and Afghanistan once. They set a target of 171 for the UAE today, with the latter side managing 166. Afghan skipper Rashid Khan won the toss earlier and opted to bat first. The tri-series of Twenty20 international matches is to tune up for the Asia Cup and features Pakistan, the UAE and Afghanistan. Afghanistan had already beaten the UAE by 38 runs in Sharjah on Monday.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan officially handed over 105 tons of critical humanitarian assistance to Afghan authorities on Thursday in response to the devastating earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on August 31, claiming more than 1,400 lives.

On the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan has dispatched humanitarian aid to Afghanistan for victims of the devastating earthquake that struck the country on August 31, claiming more than 1,400 lives.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday dispatched five trucks loaded with 105 tons of essential relief supplies to earthquake-affected regions of Afghanistan.

Pakistan on Wednesday dispatched 105 tonnes of humanitarian aid for quake-struck Afghanistan, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The earthquake killed a total of 1,469 people and injured more than 3,700, according to a new toll from Taliban authorities, making it one of the deadliest in decades to hit the impoverished country, according to AFP. The vast majority of the casualties — more than 1,450 — were in Kunar province, with a dozen dead and hundreds hurt in nearby Nangarhar and Laghman provinces. “Following my telephone call with Foreign Minister [Amir] Muttaqi, the government of Pakistan today dispatched 105 tonnes of humanitarian relief assistance to Afghanistan,” a statement from FM Dar said. The consignment includes “essential food items, medicines, tents, blankets, and bubble mats”, aimed at supporting those affected by the recent earthquakes in the country, the statement added. “We extend our deepest condolences and prayers for the victims and wish a speedy recovery t...

Afghanistan men’s quartet of spinners ruled the roost as they beat Pakistan by 18 runs in their Twenty20 International tri-series encounter in Sharjah on Tuesday. Both teams observed a minute of silence for the flood victims in Pakistan and the earthquake victims in Afghanistan before the match. Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan said that they would aim for crossing 170 after winning the toss and batting, but his team fell just short of that mark as Pakistan’s bowlers, led by Faheem, kept the lid on scoring. However, the Pakistani reply never got going as the Afghan bowlers kept taking wickets at regular intervals, with pacer Haris Rauf being the highest scorer for the Green Shirts. Faheem was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, picking a career best of four wickets for 27 runs and picking up the prized scalps of player of the match Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal as both batters scored 50s for their side. Pakistan still top the table in the tri-series, with both sides scheduled to play the UAE ahead of th...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Tuesday said that tremors were felt in Peshawar, Mansehra and Islamabad after another earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan. A press release from the PMD said the 5.4-magnitude earthquake occurred at 5:30pm in southeastern Afghanistan at a depth of 22 kilometres with tremors felt all the way in Peshawar, Mansehra, Islamabad, Abbottabad and Swat. Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey reported it as a 5.2-magnitude earthquake 34 kilometres northeast of Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province. The epicentre of the tremor was close to where a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit late Sunday night, devastating remote areas in mountainous provinces near the border with Pakistan. The “quake was felt in the same areas which were affected in Kunar [province] in the first earthquake”, Ehsanullah Ehsan, the disaster management spokesman in the hard-hit province, told AFP. “These aftershocks are constant, but they have not caused any casualties yet.” The number of victims from Sunday’s ...

The death toll from Afghanistan’s worst earthquake in years jumped to over 1,400 on Tuesday with thousands more injured, authorities said, as difficult terrain hindered rescue efforts in isolated villages of the country’s mountainous eastern region. At least 1,411 people have died, 3,124 have been injured and over 5,400 houses have been destroyed, Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said. More people are feared trapped under rubble, said the Afghan Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian group working in the region. The United Nations coordinator in Afghanistan said the toll was likely to rise. A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan later today, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The epicentre of the quake was 34 kilometres northeast of Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province, according to the USGS. Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. The earthquake, with a magnitud...

A massive rescue operation was under way in Afghanistan on Monday, after a strong earthquake and multiple aftershocks flattened homes in a remote, mountainous region, killing more than 800 people, the Taliban authorities said. The quake, which struck at a relatively shallow depth of eight kilometres, was 27 kilometres from the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Nangarhar and Kunar provinces border Pakistan, with the Torkham crossing, the site of many waves of Afghan returnees deported or forced to leave, often with no work and nowhere to go. The earthquake struck just before midnight, shaking buildings from capital Kabul to Islamabad. After the initial quake, a series of at least five aftershocks followed throughout the night, with the strongest being one of magnitude 5.2 just after 4am (2330 GMT on Sunday). More than 1.2 million people likely felt strong or very strong shaking, according to the USGS. Casualties and destruction swept across at least five pro...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a phone call with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, expressing deep sorrow over the tragic earthquake in Afghanistan that has claimed hundreds of lives.

A powerful earthquake jolted eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan late on Sunday, killing at least 800 people and injuring 2,500 others, with authorities fearing a rise in the death toll. Surrounded by mountains, Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes as it sits near the junction of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, a highly active seismic zone. Many of the recent quakes have had shallow depths, which increased the intensity of shaking on the surface and destruction. Here is a timeline of major earthquakes that struck the country since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and before. August 31, 2025: A 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook eastern Kunar province, killing more than 800 people and injuring more than 2,000 others, and flattening hundreds of houses and buildings. Afghans dig graves for the victims’ bodies from the earthquakes in Sarbuland village, Zendeh Jan district of Herat province on Oct 8, 2023. — AFP October 7, 2023: A 6.3 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks in Herat province kil...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday condoled the losses of life and property after a strong earthquake jolted the eastern provinces of Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.

At least 622 people were killed and more than 1,500 injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday night, Afghan authorities confirmed on Monday.

Tremors from a 6.0 magnitude earthquake were felt across several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab in the early hours of Monday, according to the authorities but no casualties or damage were reported. According to the state-run PTV which cited the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the earthquake was recorded at 12:18am. It added that the tremors were felt in Peshawar, Manshera, Abbottabad, Hangu, Malakand, Swat, Chitral, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. A Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson said the quake was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometres with its epicentre located southwest of Asadabad, Afghanistan. Shocks were also felt in India and Tajikistan. Following the tremors, district administrations across Punjab began inspections of buildings to assess structural safety. “However, no casualties or damage have been reported so far,” PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia confirmed. The PDMA stated that its provincial control room and all district emergency operation cente...

SHARJAH: Skipper Salman Agha hit an unbeaten half-century and fast bowler Haris Rauf grabbed four wickets as Pakistan upstaged Afghanistan by 39 runs in the Twenty20 International tri-series opener in Sharjah on Friday. Right-handed Salman hit a 36-ball 53 not out with three sixes and as many boundaries which lifted Pakistan to a solid 182-7 in their 20 overs. Haris took 4-31 while fellow pacer Shaheen Afridi claimed 2-21, while spinners Mohammad Nawaz (2-23) and Sufiyan Muq­eem (2-25) dismissed Afghanistan for 143 in 19.5 overs before a noisy capacity 16,000 crowd at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan matched Pakistan with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 27-ball 38 with a six and three boundaries, adding 51 for the second wicket with Sediqullah Atal, who made 23. It was right-armer Haris who changed the game with a two-wicket 12th over sending Atal and Karim Janat back without conceding a run. Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan smashed five sixes and a four in his whirlwind 16-ball 39 but fell to Haris to end ...