2025 in Afghanistan

Events

Ongoing

January

• January 21 –
• *The Taliban announces the release of two American citizens in exchange for Taliban figure Muhammad Khan who was arrested in Nangarhar Province and imprisoned in the US.
• *A Chinese national is killed in an attack on his vehicle by a group calling itself the National Mobilization Front in Takhar Province.

February

• February 1 – A British couple based in Bamiyan is arrested by the Taliban in unspecified circumstances. They are subsequently released on 19 September after Qatari mediation.
• February 2 – A Taliban fighter opens fire on the United Nations compound in Kabul, injuring a guard before being found dead in undisclosed circumstances. The Taliban government attributes the incident to a "misunderstanding".
• February 4 – The Taliban order the suspension of operations of the women-run radio station Radio Begum for “unauthorized provision” of content and programming to an overseas TV channel.
• February 6 – Turkey withdraws its accreditation of Afghan diplomats representing the pre-2021 government.
• February 11 – Five people are killed in a suicide bombing near a bank in Kunduz Province.
• February 13 – One person is killed in a suicide bombing at the compound of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in Kabul.
• February 17 – The Taliban conducts a diplomatic visit to Japan for the first time since taking power in 2021.
• February 24 – The Taliban announce the arrest of a Chinese-American national and her translator for using a drone without authorization. She is subsequently released on 29 March.
• February 26 – At least 36 people are reported killed in heavy rain and snowstorms nationwide.

March

• 3 March – An Afghan soldier is killed during clashes with Pakistani forces at the Torkham border crossing.
• 20 March – The Taliban announce the release of American tourist George Glezmann, whom it had held since 2022, following negotiations mediated by Qatar.
• 23 March – The Taliban announce the lifting of bounties placed by the United States on three senior officials, namely Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, Abdul Aziz Haqqani, and Yahya Haqqani.

May

• 11 May – The Taliban announce a suspension on playing chess nationwide, citing concerns over its association with gambling.

June

• 4 June – US President Donald Trump issues a proclamation barring Afghan nationals from entering the United States.

July

• 3 July – Russia becomes the first country to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan since they retook power in 2021.
• 4 July – According to Pakistan's military, 30 fighters cross from Afghan territory into Pakistan before being killed in North Waziristan.
• 8 July – The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants against the Taliban's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani over the persecution of women in Afghanistan.
• 17 July – Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan sign a tripartite framework agreement in Kabul to conduct a feasibility study for the Trans-Afghan railway project.
• 18 July – Germany launches its second repatriation flight to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021, deporting 81 Afghan nationals.

August

• 19 August – 2025 Herat road crash: A bus carrying Afghans returning from Iran collides with a fuel truck and a motorcycle before catching fire in Guzara District, Herat Province, killing 79 people and injuring two.
• 26 August – The Taliban issue a ban on lavish and "un-Islamic" wedding practices.
• 27 August – A bus overturns in Arghandi, Kabul, killing 25 people and injuring 27 others.
• 30 August – The Taliban issue a ban on romantic poetry.
• 31 August –
• *A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hits Kunar Province, killing at least 2,210 people.
• *At least five people are killed in floods in Nangarhar Province.

September

• 1 September – An overcrowded car overturns in Aqcha District, Jowzjan Province, killing eight people and injuring four others.
• 4 September –
• *A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Kunar Province, killing one person.
• *Around 130 people are taken ill during a charity meal in Zazai Maidan District, Khost Province.
• 8 September –
• *Russian ethnographer Svyatoslav Kaverin, who was arrested by the Taliban in Kunduz Province on 19 July on charges of smuggling jewelry, is released and repatriated.
• *Iranian border guards open fire on a group of 120 Afghan migrants attempting to enter the country at the Golshan border crossing, killing six people.
• 9 September – Seven members of a single family are killed in the detonation of explosives stockpiled inside a house in Bala Buluk District, Farah Province.
• 10 September –
• *A bus falls off a ravine in the Palfi Pass in Baghlan Province, killing nine people and injuring seven others.
• *A helicopter of the Afghan Air Force crashes in Tulak District, Ghor Province. All occupants survive.
• 14 September – Six people are killed in a traffic accident in Faryab Province.
• 16 September – The Taliban order a ban on fibre optic internet in Balkh Province, citing immorality concerns.
• 18 September – The Taliban order a ban on fibre optic internet in Baghlan, Badakhshan, Kunduz, Nangarhar, and Takhar Provinces.
• 23 September – A magnitude 4.9 earthquake hits Nangarhar Province, injuring 15 people.
• 28 September – The Taliban release American citizen Amir Amiri, who had been detained in unexplained circumstances since December 2024.
• 29 September –
• *The Taliban order a nationwide shutdown of fibre optic internet. Internet access is restored on 1 October.
• *Staff at the Afghan consulate-general in Bonn, Germany resign en masse in protest over the German government's decision to accredit Taliban representatives as diplomats.

October

• 2 October – Clashes break out between the Taliban and Pakistani forces along a section of the Durand Line in Nari District, Kunar Province.
• 9 October – 2025 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict: The Taliban accuses Pakistan of responsibility for an explosion in the vicinity of Abdul Haq Square in Kabul.
• 10 October –
• *The Taliban accuse Pakistani forces of bombing a market in Paktika Province.
• *India upgrades its Technical Mission in Kabul to embassy status for the first time since the Taliban takeover in 2021.
• *The UAE-based airliner Etihad begins direct flights to Kabul.
• 12 October – 2025 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict: The Taliban carry out cross-border attacks against Pakistan, resulting in at least 23 deaths among Pakistani forces.
• 15 October – 2025 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict: The Pakistani military carries out airstrikes on Kabul.
• 19 October – 2025 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict: Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to an immediate truce after negotiations mediated by Qatar and Turkey.

November

• 3 November – A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hits Samangan Province, killing at least 31 people.
• 5 November – One person is injured in an explosion at a mosque in Ghani Khel district, Nangarhar Province.
• 6 November – Five people are killed in clashes between the Taliban and Pakistani forces at the Spin Boldak border crossing in Kandahar Province.
• 7 November – A would-be suicide bomber dies in a premature detonation near a buzkashi field in Kunduz.
• 23 November – A bus collides with a minivan in Zawol District, Herat Province, killing 10 people and injuring 12 others.
• 25 November – At least 10 people are killed in a Pakistani airstrike in Gurbuz District, Khost Province.
• 28 November – The United States suspends the issuance of visas to Afghan passport-holders in response to the 2025 Washington, D.C., National Guard shooting believed to have been carried out by an Afghan national.

December

• 2 December – The Taliban publicly execute a man convicted of killing 13 members of a single family in Khost.
• 5 December – At least five people are killed in clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces in Spin Boldak District, Kandahar Province.
• 6 December – Australia imposes a weapons embargo on Afghanistan and sanctions on four senior Taliban officials, citing their role in human rights violations against women.
• 16 December – The Ariana Cinema in Kabul, which opened in 1963, is demolished.

Holidays

• 14 February – Liberation Day
• 1 March – Ramadan
• 30 March – 1 April – Eid al-Fitr
• 28 April – Victory Day
• 1 May – Labour Day
• 5 June – Arafat Day
• 6–8 June – Eid al-Adha
• 5–6 July – Ashura
• 15 August – Anniversary of return to the power
• 19 August – Afghan Independence Day
• 31 August – American Withdrawal Day
• 4 September – Milad un-Nabi

Deaths

• 23 January – Ali Reza Asahi, 50, bodybuilder.
• 2 November – Hedayat Amin Arsala, 84, vice president, minister of foreign affairs and finance.
• 9 November – Mohammed Rafie, 79, vice president, Minister of Defence and public works.
• 29 December – Abu Walid al-Masri, 80, Egyptian-born journalist and Islamist militant.