Markus Potzel Meets Taliban’s Deputy PM in Kabul

Al-Arabiya TV quoted Hamid Karzai on Tuesday, July 5th , as saying that if the Taliban government is accepted by the people, there is no need to share power.

The former Afghan president’s statement was republished by Afghanistan International, quoting Al-Arabiya, which received widespread reactions. Karzai's office said that it has sent a letter to Al-Arabiya TV to correct its report.

The former president of Afghanistan, who is allegedly under house arrest by the Taliban, has repeatedly insisted on holding a Loya Jirga in the past few months.

Mr. Karzai says that a national dialogue is needed to resolve the Afghan crisis.

In the statement, the Taliban leader said, “We want good and strong diplomatic, economic and political relations with the world, including the United States, in the framework of mutual commitments.”

In Eid message, the Taliban leader assured others that Afghanistan will not be a threat to neighbouring countries and the world and that no one should not interfere in Afghanistan's affairs. This comes even though according to the US intelligence and neighbouring countries, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups are actively present in Afghanistan.

In fact, just a day ago (July 5), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan announced in a statement that several missiles were shot from Afghanistan towards their country. In the last ten months, there have been attacks on other neighbouring countries around Afghanistan, for which ISIS has taken responsibility.

However, the leader of the Taliban and officials of this group have always talked about interaction with America and other countries in the messages they have published on various occasions.

So far, the Taliban government in Afghanistan has not been recognized internationally as a legitimate state.

Among other issues, the Taliban leader asked religious scholars to "put their efforts in order to enlighten people's minds through mosques, assemblies, and media”.

In the message, he said that people will taste true dignity, security, and prosperity when there is no rebellion and disobedience to Allah Almighty, so, the task of enlightening the people and making them aware of religion has been entrusted to honourable scholars. He added that scholars should cooperate with the Taliban on religious education.

The Taliban cabinet recently approved the establishment of three to 10 seminaries in every district of Afghanistan. The Taliban leader also stated that the Taliban government is committed to freedom of speech in the light of Islamic principles and Sharia law, and implicitly warned the journalists to frame their activities in the abovementioned context.

So far, no picture of the Taliban leader has been published and many people and former officials of Afghanistan doubt that Akhundzada is alive.

According to the Taliban MoFA, Iran's deputy ambassador in Kabul met with Sher Abbas Stanikzai on Tuesday and called the relations between Afghanistan and Iran historical.

According to the Taliban, Abbas Stanikzai asked the Iranian official to resolve the banking issues of Afghan immigrants in Iran.

Ahmed Zia, Deputy Spokesman of the Taliban's MoFA, announced on Twitter that Seyyed Hassan Mortazavi, Iranian deputy ambassador in Kabul, spoke to Abbas Stanikzai about important issues and emphasized on further strengthening the economic and political cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting took place two days after the Iranian Ministry of Interior announced that the process of census of foreign nationals has been completed and those Afghans who did not take part in the process will be deported back to Afghanistan. He had said that the immigrants who participated in the census will benefit from banking and health services inside Iran.

Abdul Hakim Hakimi, Taliban’s head of public health in Zabul province, said that a medical team has been sent to the area to treat the children.

No more details have been published about the current condition of the children.

Over the past few months, Taliban health officials have reported an increase in cholera cases. According to them, cases have been registered in Kandahar, Zabul and Nangarhar provinces.

Cholera is a disease that causes diarrhoea and dehydration and is caught by drinking contaminated water.

A short video published on the ISIS-affiliated Amaq website showcases windows of a military vehicle being hit by a barrage of bullets and then, the vehicle halts.

The Taliban Ministry of Defense has confirmed that two of its men had been killed in the attack. However, local sources told Afghanistan International that multiple attacks had caused 18 casualties.

A local reporter from Herat said that the Taliban did not allow reporters near the scene of the attack.

A journalist, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said that despite the reporters' repeated efforts, they failed to get more information regarding these attacks.