A US envoy has warned the Taliban to release detained American citizens, saying the Taliban-led authorities in Afghanistan should not test Washington’s resolve or risk consequences similar to those faced by Iran and Venezuela.
The US ambassador to the United Nations said international aid to Afghanistan should be reassessed given Taliban restrictions, particularly on women.
Ahmad Massoud, leader of Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front, says the current crisis in the country is a direct result of Taliban policies, accusing the group of sheltering the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and more than 20 other militant organisations.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Pakistan’s recent strikes were an unjust violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Kabul.
Dozens of Afghan and international civil society groups have urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to condemn Taliban policies and avoid normalising relations with the group. They warned that its new penal code deepens Afghanistan’s human rights crisis.
Afghan refugees living in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in north-western Kenya say their situation is deteriorating and that they feel increasingly forgotten by the international community.
The Islamabad High Court has stopped the deportation of 18 Afghan nationals and directed Pakistani authorities to explain the cancellation of their residency cards.
Afghan migrants in Pakistan say their visa extension requests are being rejected without explanation, leaving many in limbo and unable to return home.
