Afghanistan U19 defeats India A by 65 runs to reach Youth Tri-Series final

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Amu: Afghanistan U19 delivered a commanding all-round performance to defeat India A U19 by 65 runs in the sixth match of the Youth Triangular Series 2025 on Thursday, securing their third win of the tournament and booking a spot in the final. The 65-run win marks Afghanistan U19’s third victory in the tri-nation youth tournament, putting them in strong form ahead of the final. Both teams will meet again in the series final on Sunday, November 30, at the same venue. Click here to read more (external link).

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US Halts Afghan Immigration Requests After D.C. Shooting

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Rahmanullah Lakanwal

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 27, 2025

The United States will immediately stop all immigration requests relating to Afghanistan after an Afghan national shot and critically wounded two members of the National Guard not far from the White House in Washington, D.C., on November 26.

The suspect, who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire before he was arrested by other National Guard members, has been identified by the Department of Homeland Security as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal.

US President Donald Trump, who was at his resort in Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving at the time of the attack, released a prerecorded video statement on his Truth Social media account later on November 26 calling the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.”

According to Trump, the suspect arrived in the United States in September 2021 on one of “those infamous flights” — a referral to the evacuation of Afghans after the Taliban regained control following the US withdrawal.

He also added that his administration would “re-examine” all Afghans who came to the United States during Joe Biden’s presidency. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency later confirmed on X that “effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols. The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”

Several American media outlets reported that Lakanwal had served in the Afghan Army for a decade, supporting US special forces in the war-torn country during that time.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed in a statement that Lakanwal had also worked for the CIA and the US military while in Afghanistan.

The November 26 attack, which took place close to a metro station a few blocks away from the White House, is also expected to put renewed focus on Trump’s controversial move to station national guards to several major US cities in a stated attempt to bring down crime rates around the country.

In a response to the shooting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said another 500 National Guard members would be added to the 2,000 already stationed in the US capital.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has openly clashed with the presidential administration over the deployment of the National Guard in the capital, described the attack as “horrific and unconscionable” and added that the “suspect is in custody for this targeted shooting and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Pakistan No Longer Expects ‘Anything Positive’ From Taliban, Says Defence Minister

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Khawaja Muhammad Asif

Afghanistan International: Islamabad no longer expects “anything positive” from the Taliban, describing the group as self-interested and untrustworthy. Khawaja Asif acknowledged that he had once welcomed the Taliban’s return to power, but said any hopes Pakistan held at the time had now disappeared. Click here to read more (external link).

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Pashteen: Pakistan Targeting Pashtuns Under Western Agenda

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Manzoor Pashteen

Tolo News: The Pashtun leader also claimed that Pakistan has been tasked by Western powers to ignite a conflict in the region, a war aimed at halting China’s commercial corridor, the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said Pakistan is playing this game so cleverly that China perceives the crisis as real, leading it to both send money to Pakistan for security and unwittingly fund a conflict crafted by Western interests. Pakistan, meanwhile, profits from both sides. Click here to read more (external link).

Wushu team returns home with bronze medal from Islamic Solidarity Games

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Amu: Afghanistan’s five-member national wushu team returned to Kabul on Wednesday after securing a bronze medal at the Sixth Islamic Solidarity Games, held this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The team was greeted at Kabul International Airport by enthusiastic supporters and fellow athletes. The competition, which began on Nov. 19, featured athletes from across the Islamic world. Afghanistan was represented by three wushu competitors and two delegation officials. Click here to read more (external link).

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Taliban Blames Pakistan For Air Strikes Killing 10, Including 9 Children

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Zabihullah Mujahid

By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal and RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi

November 25, 2025

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has vowed a “necessary response” after air strikes it alleged were carried out by Pakistan killed at least 10 people — nine of whom were children — just inside the country’s eastern border region.

The Taliban’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, wrote on X on November 25 that nine children, including five boys and four girls, and one woman were killed in the strike on the house of a local civilian in the Afghan city of Khost. Four more civilians were injured in another air raid in Kunar Province.

“The air strikes carried out last night by Pakistani forces in Afghanistan’s Paktika, Khost, and Kunar provinces constitute a direct assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty,” Mujahid wrote.

“The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this violation and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right, and it will respond appropriately at the right time,” Mujahid added.

The Pakistani military denied the Taliban claims saying it had not “attacked civilians inside Afghanistan.”

Mustaghfir Gurbuz, a spokesman for the governor of Khost, said drones and military aircraft carried out the attacks.

On the ground, anger and desperation were palpable as a mass funeral was held for those killed.

“The martyred are innocent people. There is nothing else. Pakistan is targeting civilians,” Abdul Aleem, who was an uncle of the children, told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal.

“The world should investigate and ask (Pakistan) about this. What use is the international community if they do not ask about this?”

Once close allies, the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan’s powerful military have fallen out and accuse each other of sheltering or supporting militant groups. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering the militant Tehrik‑e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) rebel group and some minor Pakistani Taliban factions.

In contrast, the Afghan Taliban accuses Islamabad of disregarding its rival Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group.

The latest air strikes threaten a fragile cease-fire between the two Muslim neighbors who share a more than 2,500-kilometer-long border. Following intense clashes last month, Islamabad and Kabul agreed to a truce.

Tensions have been running high between the two countries following a suicide attack on a paramilitary installation in northwestern Pakistan on November 24.

At least three members of Pakistan’s paramilitary Federal Constabulary force were killed, and 11 others were injured when a suicide attacker targeted its headquarters in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

In a press conference on November 25, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar blamed the Afghan Taliban and the TTP for a suicide attack in Islamabad.

The attack on November 11 killed at least 12 people and injured 21 more.

“Afghanistan is fully involved… and their soil is also involved. The people being sheltered there are also involved,” Tarar told journalists.

With reporting by the AFP and DPA.

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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From Legal Ownership to Taliban Coercion: Mina Bazaar Shops Forced Back onto Their Owners

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8am: Several shopkeepers in Mina Bazaar in the city of Fayzabad, the center of Badakhshan province, say the Taliban, after renovating their shops, are now reselling them back to them at exorbitant prices. These shopkeepers add that they purchased their shops years ago and hold official ownership documents, but the Taliban-run municipality in Fayzabad does not recognize these documents. According to them, the Taliban are even demanding money from individuals who renovated their own shops at their own expense. Click here to read more (external link).