Within a few days of their victory, the new rulers of Kabul released members of the Pakistani Taliban (known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP) who had been imprisoned in Afghan jails.
South Africa quick Marco Jansen, India pacer Arshdeep Singh, New Zealand batter Finn Allen, and Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran are the contenders to win the award.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15 last year, the country has undergone a myriad of changes like barring girls from education, restriction on press, imposition of repressive policies which led to acute humanitarian crisis.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday said that it is "deeply alarmed" by the reports that the Taliban have prohibited women and girls from attending universities, and it reiterated its serious concerns regarding the Taliban's decision to close all schools up to and includ
Out of 140 Private universities that are functional in Afghanistan, at least 35 are at risk of collapse as the educational institutes in the country are facing an economic slump following the suspension of women attending universities by the Taliban, Tolo news reported.
Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi revealed that the team's morale for the Asia Cup clash against India was down after losing narrowly to Pakistan in the previous match.
The flight of US dollars from Pakistan to Afghanistan continues unabated resulting in the erosion of Islamabad's foreign exchange reserves, reported Dawn.
On 24 December, the de facto authorities issued a decree banning women from working in NGOs, TOLOnews reported. This came after they had already suspended university education for women and secondary schooling for girls until what they termed further notice.
The grave terrorist threat confronting Pakistan is evident from the Bannu hostage crisis ( Dec 19-21) followed by the Islamabad suicide attack by two suicide bombers including a female at I-10/4 on Dec 23 in which one policeman was killed and six others injured.