Iran Seeks Clarification From Taliban on Killing of Border Guard

The council has stressed that the direct vote of citizens is the only source of legitimacy of an Islamic system. The council’s statement added that the testimony of Ahl al-Ḥall wal-ʿAqd or any other resolution, recognising the Taliban, wouldn’t have religious legitimacy. Concluding the statement, the council said that the Taliban had no clear plan for an Islamic state.

However, the Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has termed the Ulema gathering as grand. The Taliban’s gathering was scheduled for today at the Loya Jirga hall in Kabul, but the group’s sources confirmed it is nonw taking place on Thursday 30th June.

The Taliban had announced that the gathering has been called at the request of religious scholars from across Afghanistan and the attendees would be tribal elders and religious scholars.

The Taliban have not issued any official statements regarding the meeting.

Around 3,000 people from across Afghanistan have been invited by the Taliban to a gathering of Islamic clerics, expected to be held at the Loya Jirga Hall. Three representatives--mostly clerics--from each village have been invited, sources said and added that the meeting will last for three days.

“There is no instruction in the Islamic law to approve it”, he told Bloomberg.

Since Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, the collapsing economy in the country has forced Afghans to use Forex (Foreign Exchange Market) or digital currencies, in other to keep their money out of Taliban’s access.

Even though, there is no information about the number of active users of Forex in Afghanistan, Mohmand said that “millions of dollars” are being traded mainly in Sara-e-Shahzada, the biggest exchange market in the capital of Afghanistan. The order comes as the Taliban is trying to reintegrate Afghanistan’s devastated economy.

Lack of recognition of this regime has caused loss of international assistance in Afghanistan which had accounted for over 40 percent of Afghanistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) previously.

This cash aid will be distributed transparently by the commission of disaster management of the Taliban, the office added.

According to Taliban’s statement, Mullah Baradar promised victims that the government will cooperate with the people, oversee that their houses are rebuilt, send in more economic aid and help them return to their normal life.

Pictures shared show Khalil Haqqani, Taliban’s minister of refugees and one of the senior members of Haqqani network members, along with Mullah Baradar. This is for the first time that Mullah Baradar and Khalil Haqqani have been seen together in the past 10 months, ever since there were reports of their dispute in the Arg (presidential palace of Afghanistan).

Meanwhile, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that they have appealed for USD 110 million for emergency aid for the victims of the earthquake in Afghanistan for the next three months. It added that 362,000 people have been affected in Khost and Paktika provinces.

As the Taliban launched their offensive in Balkhab district of Sar-e-Pol province, hundreds of locals reportedly fled from their homes to the mountains or to neighboring districts and provinces.

Local sources in Bamyan confirmed to Afghanistan International that the displaced from the Balkhab war are now living in the province without shelter, water, or food.

Social media campaign organizers have emphasised that the affected citizens of Balkhab war need food, medicine, and shelter.

Over the past few days, Taliban has sent thousands of troops to Balkhab district in Sar-e-Pol province to suppress Mawlawi Mahdi, the group’s only Hazara commander. After three days of fighting, Taliban officials said that the group took control of the Balkhab district and the offensive was over.

However, a number of human rights groups have expressed concern about the possibility of civilians being killed by the Taliban in Balkhab district. Amnesty International had said that it is deeply concerned about the summary executions and civilian casualties by the Taliban forces in the district.

As the clashes began, there were reports of Taliban killing civilians in Balkhab. However, a Taliban spokesman said that no one had been "oppressed" and that "propaganda about civilian casualties in Balkhab was untrue".

Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesperson, said that in Balkhab, "people live in peace and security".