Local sources report that the Taliban’s governor and mining chief in Badakhshan province have traveled to the Shahr-e Buzurg district to collect weapons permit cards.
Sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Thursday, June 25, that the Taliban have begun collecting weapons permit cards and are confiscating and disarming weapons that had previously been issued to certain companies.
These measures come amid rising tensions in Badakhshan, with the security situation in parts of the province described as alarming.
Earlier reports had indicated that talks between a Taliban special commission and Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident commander within the group, had ended without result.
Sources had previously told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban’s defense minister, had traveled to Badakhshan in connection with these developments, arriving this morning with more than 40 military vehicles and heading to Jurm district.
According to sources, the Taliban have described the purpose of the visit as an assessment of the security situation along the Wakhan, Ishkashim, and Shughnan borders.
However, sources added that the visit may also have been conducted to evaluate military readiness in the event of a confrontation with the forces of Juma Khan Fateh.
