Afghanistan: Taliban commander killed in airstrike

India on Thursday rejected Pakistan's allegations of aggravating skirmishes with Afghanistan, calling them "baseless" and accusing Pakistan of blaming others for its own misdeeds.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a "state sponsor of wrongful detention" in a release on Monday. He urged the Taliban to release Americans "unjustly detained," accusing the group of using "terrorist tactics" and "hostage diplomacy" to seek policy concessions from the US.

With Pakistan facing the impact of the crisis in West Asia, the Chief Minister of the country's Punjab province, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, has announced a series of measures "to protect the public and manage resources responsibly".

The findings have raised questions about the effectiveness of legal mechanisms meant to protect women and vulnerable communities in the province.

Three young men were shot dead in Balochistan's Panjgur district, allegedly by state-backed "death squads." The Baloch Yakjehti Committee condemned the killings alongside recent attacks on intellectuals and artists, urging the UN to investigate these escalating human rights violations and targeted violence across the province.