8am: The Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported on Saturday, December 20, that 30 families returned via Islam Qala in Herat, 185 families through Spin Boldak in Kandahar, 790 families through Torkham in Nangarhar, and 58 families through Bahramcha in Helmand. Click here to read more (external link).
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8am: According to the sources, his decapitated body was later found in the Yaftal district. The sources added that Naser had served in the previous government within the police headquarters of Takhar and Badakhshan provinces. The sources did not specify who or which group was responsible for the killing. According to Hasht-e Subh Daily findings, from 2023 through mid-2025, the Taliban have killed approximately 110 former security personnel. Click here to read more (external link).
Amu: In its latest comprehensive report covering developments through Dec. 8, 2025, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team said more than 20 international and regional terrorist organizations remain active in Afghanistan, despite Taliban assertions that no such groups operate in or from Afghan territory. The report said groups assessed to be present include al Qaeda, Islamic State Khorasan (ISIL-K), Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement/Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Jamaat Ansarullah, among others, with several aiming to expand regionally and some using Afghanistan to plan and prepare external attacks. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: Germany plans to transfer 535 Afghan refugees from Pakistan to Germany by the end of December, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Thursday. Dobrindt said the transfer process has been accelerated amid the risk that the refugees could be deported from Pakistan. He told German media that many Afghans with German admission pledges are living in uncertainty and that the government is seeking to complete case reviews and relocate as many as possible before the end of the month. Click here to read more (external link).
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Z. Hashimi
Afghanistan International: Zulala Hashemi, a young Afghan singer whose whereabouts had been the subject of months of speculation, has said she is safe and has left Afghanistan after facing prolonged difficulties. Hashemi’s family reported in June that she had gone missing. Her husband, Sayed Mohsen Hashemi, told Afghanistan International at the time that she had left home to visit friends and had not returned, adding that her phones were switched off. He later stopped commenting publicly on her situation. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: The United Nations Security Council says Taliban opposition groups carried out 116 attacks between January and July 2025, but that the violence remains sporadic and does not pose a serious threat to Taliban rule. In its report, the Security Council said the National Resistance Front (NRF) claimed responsibility for 73 attacks during the period, while the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) claimed 43. Click here to read more (external link).
Khaama: Clashes erupted along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Kunar province on Wednesday afternoon, with Taliban forces and Pakistani border troops exchanging fire, according to local residents. The incident reportedly began after Pakistani forces fired rockets into Afghanistan territory, prompting retaliation from Taliban fighters. Officials have not yet confirmed casualties or material damage, and neither Kabul or Islamabad have issued statements regarding the incident. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: The United Nations Security Council says the Taliban have dismissed thousands of their Tajik and Uzbek fighters, particularly in provinces with large Tajik and Uzbek populations. It follows a 20 percent reduction in the group’s security forces. Click here to read more (external link).